Federal Reports

HHS codified the Uniform Guidance at 45 CFR part 75, which governs awards and award increments made on or after December 26, 2014. The new rule requires prime Federal award recipients to perform pre-award subrecipient risk assessments and monitor the programmatic activities of subrecipients throughout the life of each subaward.

These challenges illustrate the most significant areas the Office of Inspector General (OIG) believes need improvement for the Peace Corps to effectively manage its resources and minimize the potential for fraud, waste, and abuse occurring in its operations. Addressing the issues related to these challenge areas will enable the agency to increase operational efficiencies and improve mission effectiveness.

The objectives of this performance audit were to assess the completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of Fiscal Year 2019, First Quarter financial and award data submitted for publication on USAspending.gov in accordance with the DATA Act and to assess the Peace Corps’ compliance with use of the Government-wide financial data standards established by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of the Treasury. While the Peace Corps’ FY 2019, Q1 DATA Act submission was of high quality, the agency lacks a comprehensive data quality plan outlining the risks and what mitigating controls it has in place to demonstrate that data submitted is of high quality.

At the time of our onsite work in July 2017, Box Elder County had not awarded any contracts under this grant. Therefore, we could not determine whether the County had complied with Federal procurement regulations. However, in reviewing Box Elder County’s written procurement policies and procedures we noted the County did not include procedures to ensure opportunities for small and minority businesses, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms to bid for federally funded work. In addition, Box Elder County’s procurement policies did not require federally mandated provisions be incorporated in all contracts funded by Federal grants. In response to our review, Box Elder County revised its procurement policies and procedures to include these Federal procurement requirements. Consequently, we made no recommendations.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection to assess allegations involving ophthalmology equipment-related maintenance and repair issues and other concerns at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida. Ophthalmology equipment is often expensive and delicate; maintenance and repairs require detailed precision. The facility has a Medical Equipment Management Program (MEMP) to ensure operational reliability, assess and minimize risks, and respond to failures of medical equipment. In Veterans Health Administration facilities, equipment maintenance activities, including preventive maintenance, are the responsibility of the Biomedical Section. The OIG did not substantiate allegations related to specific ophthalmology equipment. Preventive maintenance was performed according to the manufacturers’ recommendations and the facility’s MEMP plan. The team found no evidence that biomedical support specialists lacked competencies to perform assigned tasks. The OIG was unable to determine whether eye clinic procedures were canceled due to equipment issues. Available documentation did not include the reason a community referral was made. The OIG substantiated an increase in eye care-related community care consults; however, the increased volume was largely the result of changes in access to ambulatory surgery services and clinic scheduling practices. The OIG substantiated that Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service took four to six weeks to issue a purchase order, resulting in patients waiting six to eight weeks for eyeglasses. The two facility purchasing agents, designated to process purchase orders for eyeglasses, retired. The OIG was unable to determine if facility leaders had not responded to complaints for at least 15 years. Facility leaders made management decisions in consideration of financial priorities, which excluded preventive maintenance contracts. The OIG made four recommendations related to Biomedical Section staff work order documentation; equipment corrective maintenance timeliness and communication; timeliness of eyeglass purchase order processing; and addressing the backlog of open eyeglass purchase order requests.

The Office of Inspector General examined the completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of NASA’s financial and award data as required under the DATA Act.