Federal Reports

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (Washington) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies’ (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and (2) LEAs use ARP ESSER funds in accordance with applicable requirements and their approved LEA ARP ESSER plans. We found that Washington did not have an adequate review and approval process to ensure that LEA ARP ESSER plans met all applicable requirements. As a result, the public did not have sufficient insight into how the LEAs planned to spend ARP ESSER funds. Washington was required to ensure that LEAs submitted ARP ESSER plans that were complete and timely; however, we found that Washington did not ensure LEAs’ compliance with all Federal requirements and guidance for creating transparent and understandable plans. During the audit, Washington was responsive to the issues we identified and initiated corrective action to ensure that Federal requirements and guidance were met.

The Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 mandates that manufacturers discount drugs they sell to VA, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Public Health Service, and the Coast Guard. The OIG conducts individual audits of manufacturers that have self-disclosed potential noncompliance. This review, however, was conducted to proactively determine the number of covered drugs that manufacturers did not make available as required and the possible reasons. The OIG found manufacturers did not make 22.8 percent of drugs covered by the law available at a discount. This resulted in an estimated $28.1 million in overcharges to VA and the DOD. The OIG recommended better communicating to manufacturers about exemptions and familiarizing them with the law.

Our audit objective was to assess NOAA’s progress in defining GeoXO’s mission and establishing programmatic baselines. We found the program should: I. Evaluate its plans for the Central satellite mission. II. Improve its approach to achieving performance gains.

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.