Federal Reports

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA’s) statistics related to pending disability claims to determine if it accurately reported its claims backlog. For reporting, VBA defines its backlog as rating claims pending greater than 125 days. VBA reported it had reduced its claims backlog from a peak of 611,000 in March 2013 to 70,537 at the end of May 2018. However, in earlier reports, the OIG identified instances in which VBA created new policies that resulted in unreliable performance measures, or that VBA staff took incorrect actions that misrepresented workload statistics. In this review, the OIG found that VBA’s reported backlog did not include all claims from October 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, that were awaiting rating decisions for more than 125 days. The OIG estimated VBA completed about 63,600 of these claims that were not counted as part of the backlog. As a result, the OIG estimated that, in its completed backlog, VBA only reported about 79 percent of the claims that required rating decisions that took over 125 days. Although VBA has reported significant reductions in its backlog, the OIG found that what the backlog represented was not always clearly defined, possibly resulting in significant understating. Also, VBA’s prioritization of its backlog resulted in delays in processing other claims, even if they were older and required rating decisions. Finally, inaccurate claims characteristics impaired VBA’s ability to manage its workload causing even further processing delays. The OIG recommended the Under Secretary for Benefits consider revising which claims are included in VBA’s reported disability claims backlog and provide a clear definition to all stakeholders. In addition, the OIG recommended the Under Secretary for Benefits implement a plan to provide consistent oversight and training of Claims Assistants through national performance and training plans.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review at the request of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The Subcommittee asked the OIG to respond to questions related to the qualifications of the individuals who perform initial traumatic brain injury (TBI) medical examinations, equitable relief offered to those who had an initial TBI medical examination conducted by someone other than a designated specialist, and contract provisions between VA and vendors that provide initial TBI medical examinations. In 2008, VA revised the criteria used to evaluate TBI. However, VA failed to implement procedures then to ensure veterans received adequate initial TBI medical examinations. Subsequent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies regarding initial TBI medical examinations were not consistent. Between September 2007 and July 2015, VBA updated its policy relating to TBI medical examinations five times while VHA changed its policies four times. In July 2016, VBA sent letters to more than 24,000 veterans informing them of the opportunity to undergo a new TBI medical examination and TBI disability determination. However, TBI medical examination worksheets changed over the years and they did not always differentiate between initial and review TBI medical examinations or did not state examiner credentials. Therefore, VBA and VHA could not identify all initial TBI medical examinations completed between 2007 and 2015. The OIG recommended that VBA coordinate with VHA to determine whether any veterans who had received initial TBI medical examinations by an individual other than one of the four designated specialists were excluded from equitable relief. The OIG also recommended that VBA confirm whether there are other veterans entitled to consideration for equitable relief by the VA Secretary.

What We Looked AtWe reviewed the City of Union City's single audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, in order to identify findings that affect directly awarded Department of Transportation programs. An independent auditor prepared the single audit report, dated March 22, 2018.What We FoundWe found that the report contained a subrecipient monitoring finding that needs prompt action from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) management.RecommendationsWe recommend that FTA ensures that the City complies with the subrecipient monitoring requirements. We also recommend that FTA recovers $2,780,059 from the City, if applicable.

What We Looked AtWe reviewed the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's single audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, in order to identify findings that affect directly awarded Department of Transportation programs. An independent auditor prepared the single audit report, dated March 27, 2018.What We FoundWe found that the report contained an equipment and real property management finding that needs prompt action from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) and the Office of the Secretary's (OST) management.RecommendationsWe recommend that FTA and OST ensure that the Authority complies with the equipment and real property management requirements.

What We Looked AtWe reviewed the State of Louisiana's single audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, in order to identify findings that affect directly awarded Department of Transportation programs. An independent auditor prepared the single audit report, dated March 28, 2018.What We FoundWe found that the report contained a subrecipient monitoring finding that needs prompt action from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) management.RecommendationsWe recommend that FTA ensures that the State complies with the subrecipient monitoring requirements. We also recommend that FTA recovers $106,181 from the State, if applicable.

What We Looked AtWe reviewed the Capital Area Transportation Authority's single audit report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, in order to identify findings that affect directly awarded Department of Transportation programs. An independent auditor prepared the single audit report, dated March 15, 2018.What We FoundWe found that the report contained a cash management finding that needs prompt action from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) management.RecommendationsWe recommend that FTA ensures that Authority complies with the cash management requirements. We also recommend that FTA recovers $30,641 from Authority, if applicable.

What We Looked AtWe reviewed the Crow Tribe of Indians' single audit report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, in order to identify findings that affect directly awarded Department of Transportation programs. An independent auditor prepared the single audit report, dated March 31, 2018.What We FoundWe found that the report contained cash management, activities allowed/allowable costs and cost principles, equipment and real property, period of performance and special tests and provisions findings that need prompt action from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) management.RecommendationsWe recommend that FHWA ensures that the Tribe complies with the cash management, activities allowed/allowable costs and cost principles, equipment and real property, period of performance and special tests and provisions requirements. We also recommend that FHWA recovers $3,100,265 from the Tribe, if applicable.