Federal Reports

This report presents the results of our audit of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) oversight of the Community Navigator Pilot Program (Navigator program). The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 established the Navigator program and authorized $100 million to provide technical assistance and pandemic recovery services to underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs. SBA awarded 51 grants, ranging from $1 million to $5 million, totaling $99.9 million. The Navigator program had a 2-year period of performance, from December 1, 2021, through November 30, 2023 though most were approved to continue providing services through May 31, 2024. Opportunities existed for SBA to improve measuring and monitoring. Although program officials established performance measures and program goals, there was no established target for the number of underserved clients to reach through the program. In addition, the absence of pertinent information on the client intake form coupled with data quality issues limited the reliability of performance results. We made five recommendations, should the Navigator program continue, for SBA to improve measuring program performance, improve the quality of performance data collection efforts, and track partner organizations participating in the program.

The independent public accounting firm of RMA Associates, LLC, under contract with the Office of Inspector General, audited EAC’s information security program for fiscal year 2024 in support of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA). The objective was to determine whether EAC implemented an effective information security program.

The Office of the Inspector General determined that bid evaluation and negotiation processes related for major equipment suppliers of gas construction projects were operating as intended; however, improvements were needed in TVA’s solicitation process. Specifically, we identified an opportunity for improvement related to the development of technical standards used in the solicitation process. In addition, we determined that TVA had a plan for addressing supply chain cybersecurity risk for procurements; however, it did not address how to determine when certain cybersecurity standards applied to equipment procurements.

We performed an audit of costs billed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by BFI Waste Systems of North America, LLC dba South Shelby Landfill (BFI) for the transportation and off-site disposal of coal combustion residual (CCR) material from TVA’s Allen Fossil Plant to BFI’s South Shelby Landfill under Contract No. 15327. Our audit objective was to determine if costs were billed in compliance with the contract’s terms. Our audit scope included about $37.6 million in costs paid from December 23, 2020, through January 31, 2024.In summary, we determined BFI (1) overbilled TVA $459,356 in fuel charges and (2) did not perform a true up of performance bond costs billed to actual performance bond costs, resulting in $96,072 owed to TVA. In addition, we noted some opportunities to improve contract administration by TVA. Specifically, we determined (1) TVA approved BFI to bill $427,654 in costs that were not provided for in the pricing terms or work scope of the contract, and (2) TVA’s request for BFI to increase its workload and then subsequently reducing the number of operating hours resulted in a $3 increase to the per ton disposal rate and could cost TVA $9.07 million through the life of the contract.

NASA uses rocket propulsion test (RPT) sites to see how engines and components will react in launch conditions and in space and address any issues before launch. Much of NASA’s RPT infrastructure is aging and requires significant funding to maintain, while demand for NASA’s large-scale RPT facilities is in decline and funding is insufficient to address major maintenance projects.