Federal Reports

Section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires postsecondary schools participating in Title IV programs to annually report data, including data relevant to students’ cost of attendance and financial aid and the schools’ graduation rates, to the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to the satisfaction of the Secretary The objective of our inspection was to determine whether the National College of Business & Technology Company, Inc., doing business as NUC University (NUC University), reported verifiable data to IPEDS for the 2020–2021 reporting period. We found that NUC University did not always report verifiable data to IPEDS for the 2020–2021 reporting period. The total amount of grant or scholarship aid that NUC University students received for the 2020–2021 reporting period and the number of full-time undergraduate students who were enrolled in the fall of 2020 and seeking their first postsecondary certificate or degree that the school reported to IPEDS were not verifiable. In addition, the number of students who were full-time undergraduate students who began attending the school during academic year 2015–2016, were seeking their first postsecondary certificate or degree, and completed their program of study by the end of academic year 2020–2021 (150 percent of the normal time) that NUC University reported to IPEDS were not verifiable. While not all reported data were verifiable, the average tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and other expenses charged to full-time undergraduate students who were seeking their first certificate or degree that the school reported to IPEDS for the 2020–2021 reporting period were verifiable. NUC University did not always report verifiable data to IPEDS because it did not design and implement procedures for collecting, consolidating, assessing the reliability of, and reporting data to IPEDS.

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the VA Bronx Healthcare System in New York.

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
  •    Culture
  •    Environment of care
  •    Patient safety
  •    Primary care
  •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued no recommendations.

Underground storage tanks (USTs) are a critical part of the Veterans Health Administration’s healthcare facilities. The tanks store fuel for boilers and backup generators, which are essential to operations, especially during power failures. If the tanks are not properly installed and maintained, any chemicals they contain can be released into the environment, posing health and safety risks, such as cancer or adverse effects to reproductive, nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory system health. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine whether VA is managing USTs according to federally established regulations to prevent corrosion, spillage and overfill, and releases of substances into the environment.

The OIG reviewed 44 regulated VA-owned and -operated USTs at eight selected medical facilities and found that seven facilities, which had 42 of the 44 USTs reviewed, failed to comply with relevant VA and federal requirements from October 1, 2022, through September 2023. Although there were no instances of chemical releases from the reviewed USTs found during the audit, the OIG identified inaccurate records of USTs or related monitoring equipment, prolonged responses to and correction of automatic tank gauge alarms, and inconsistent reporting of regulatory inspections and results. By addressing these concerns with increased oversight, VA can reduce the risk of potential releases that pose significant environmental and health risks to veterans and employees at its medical facilities.

The OIG made seven recommendations, including to provide guidance on correctly and consistently recording UST assets, as well as to ensure the oversight requirements in VHA directives and federal, state, and local codes, laws, and regulations are followed.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this audit to assess the EPA’s compliance with the fiscal year 2024 Inspector General Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 reporting metrics. The reporting metrics outline five security function areas and nine corresponding domains to help federal agencies manage cybersecurity risks.

Summary of Findings

We assessed the EPA’s information security program effectiveness against the Office of Management and Budget’s FY 2023–2024 Inspector General Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) Reporting Metrics at the maturity level of Level 4 (Managed and Measurable). The Agency achieved Level 4 ratings for 30, or 81 percent, of the 37 fiscal year 2024 metrics. Overall, we concluded that the EPA achieved a maturity level of Level 4 for the five security functions and nine domains outlined in the IG FISMA Reporting Metrics. This means that the EPA collects quantitative and qualitative measures on the effectiveness of policies, procedures, and strategies across the organization that are used to assess and make necessary changes. We identified that the EPA had deficiencies in the following areas:

• Complete and accurate inventory of EPA information systems.
• Software asset management data. We found that the Agency’s software management asset tool lacks complete and accurate data related to its software license inventory.

We audited the Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER’s) use of Federal Emergency and Pandemic Relief Financial Assistance Funds. Our audit objective was to determine whether federal funds received by PRDNER to support its fisheries in recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic1 and damages caused by several hurricanes were properly disbursed and used for their intended purpose. We conducted this audit in response to a congressional request, and answers to congressional questions about disaster relief funds are included in this report.

Overall, we found that for the funds it expended, PRDNER properly disbursed and used funds as intended. However, PRDNER was slow in spending funds, as only approximately 7 percent of the total disaster assistance funds ($801,362 of the approximate $11.4 million) have been expended since April 1, 2020. Additionally, PRDNER has expended funds for only 4 of the 17 (approximately 24 percent) combined projects under both awards.