Federal Reports

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the inpatient and outpatient care provided at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center and multiple outpatient clinics in Pennsylvania. This evaluation focused on five key operational areas:• Leadership and organizational risks• Quality, safety, and value• Medical staff privileging• Environment of care• Mental health (emergency department and urgent care center suicide prevention initiatives)The OIG issued four recommendations for improvement in three areas:1. Medical Staff Privileging• Incorporate service-specific criteria in Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations2. Environment of Care• Conduct comprehensive environment of care inspections at the required frequency• Document response times for panic alarm testing3. Mental Health• Complete Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations within the required time frame

What We Looked AtThe American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection (AMJP) program in March 2021. To support the program, the ARPA appropriated $3 billion in funding via the Department of Transportation (DOT) through September 2023 for eligible companies engaged in aviation manufacturing and services, maintenance, repair, and overhaul activities. Program funds would allow these companies to continue paying employee wages, salaries, and benefits or rehire employees who were furloughed as a result of the pandemic, and Congress expected DOT to award the relief funds quickly. In April 2021, DOT established a process to accept, review, and award AMJP funding to eligible companies, relying on internal controls developed for emergency funding programs. An important DOT objective and a focus of our oversight is to ensure the Department’s proper stewardship of pandemic-related grants and newly created grant programs. Accordingly, our audit objective was to evaluate DOT’s processes to validate AMJP applicant data, allocate Government funding, and ensure funding was used lawfully. What We FoundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented upheaval in the aviation manufacturing industry due to idled aircraft, declining aircraft maintenance and repair activity, and employee lay-offs. Through the AMJP program, DOT gave a “lifeline” to the industry by providing over $664 million to help 584 companies pay employee wages, salaries, and benefits or rehire furloughed personnel. DOT has appropriately managed the AMJP program, particularly given the urgency to aid the aviation manufacturing industry. Still, capturing the lessons learned from its AMJP oversight efforts will help the Department strengthen any grant programs targeted at future emergencies. Our RecommendationsDOT concurred with our recommendation, and we consider the recommendation resolved but open pending completion of planned actions.

The EPA can further strengthen program controls to better ensure the integrity of the RINs market and meet goals for increased use of renewable fuels.