Federal Reports

Our objective for this report was to assess how effective the company has been in achieving its emissions-reduction goals.We found that the company appears to be on track to reach its 2030 goal to reduce emissions by 40 percent below its 2010 baseline, to purchase 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030, and to purchase 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035. We identified, however, two opportunities that could help it more easily achieve these goals. First, the company could collect and analyze its own data to reduce idling time for diesel locomotives. Second, it could require sustainability training for management employees. To address the report’s findings, we recommended that the company analyze its data to better target and reduce excess idling. Further, to ensure management employees are aware of the company’s sustainability goals, we recommend that the company make its sustainability training mandatory for all management employees.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is 1 of 17 national laboratories operated by the Department of Energy. PNNL carries a broad portfolio of scientific activities within chemistry, earth science, biology, and data science. PNNL conducts research utilizing controlled substances in contributing to fentanyl standards establishment and detection technology. The Pacific Northwest Site Office oversees PNNL for the Department’s Office of Science.We initiated this inspection to determine the extent that PNNL effectively manages controlled substances.Based on our inspection, we found that PNNL’s management of its controlled substances was incomplete. Specifically, PNNL did not incorporate all applicable Federal property regulations into its management of controlled substances, as it did not classify them aspersonal property, did not categorize them as sensitive personal property, and did not follow prescribed inventory standards. This occurred because PNNL and the Pacific Northwest Site Office misclassified controlled substances as chemical assets. However, nothing came to our attention to indicate that PNNL’s safeguarding, use of, and record-keeping for controlled substances were not effective.Failure to address all applicable Federal requirements resulted in PNNL not properly tracking and reporting controlled substances inventories, not sending disposition reports to the Pacific Northwest Site Office, and improper segregation of duties for physical inventory counts. Moreover, the lack of additional mechanisms for identifying lost, misplaced, or stolen controlled substances could pose a danger to public health and safety.To address the issues identified in this report, we made one recommendation that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that PNNL properly manages its controlled substances.

The SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 reauthorized the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The Inspector General of a Federal agency that participates in the SBIR or STTR programs must submit an annual report to Congress describing its investigations involving those programs (15 U.S.C. Section 638b(c). Information in this report presents the OIG investigative information related to SBIR for FY 2022.

As part of a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Disaster Assistance Working Group cross-cutting initiative, we summarized the conclusions, findings, and recommendations of 28 reports related to the Federal Government’s natural disaster preparedness and response issued by 7 Offices of Inspector General (OIGs).  The seven participating OIGs included U.S. Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Transportation and the U.S. Small Business Administration.  Many of these reports focused on the Federal Government’s preparedness to respond to the devastating 2017 hurricanes.

The 28 OIG reports, issued between June 2015 and November 2021, made 89 recommendations to the Federal agencies and grant recipients, including recapturing questioned costs, strengthening internal controls, maintaining adequate oversight of contractors and grants, and complying with Federal regulations.  Agencies should learn from the results of these reports and implement controls and systems to limit future obstacles to spending disaster funds efficiently and effectively.

Click below to read more about each management challenge.

•  Challenge 1:  Performance Management and Accountability
• Challenge 2:  Human Capital Management
• Challenge 3:  Financial Management
• Challenge 4:  Procurement Management
• Challenge 5:  Grant Management
• Challenge 6:  Homeland Security and Disaster Preparedness
• Challenge 7:  Information Technology Security and Management
• Appendix B

Click here to access the full report. To access the CIGIE's 2021 Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing Multiple Federal Agencies report, click here.

This report presents a summary of the results of our self-initiated audits assessing mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at four selected delivery units in the Milwaukee, WI region (Project Number 22-147) and responds to a request from Senator Tammy Baldwin asking for a review of delivery operations in the Milwaukee area. The four delivery units we audited were the North Milwaukee and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Stations, the Waukesha Main Post Office (MPO), and the Bradley Carrier Annex. We judgmentally selected these delivery units based on the number of Stop-the-Clock (STC) scans occurring at the delivery unit, rather than at the customer’s point of delivery. We previously issued interim reports to district management for each of these units regarding the conditions we identified. In addition, we issued a report on the efficiency of operations at the Milwaukee Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC), which services these four delivery units. All four delivery units are in the Wisconsin District of the Central Area and have a combined total of 147 city routes and 14 rural routes. Staffing at the delivery units during our audit included 162 full-time city carriers, 34 city carrier assistants, 14 rural carriers, five assistant/replacement rural carriers, 21 full-time clerks, and 22 postal support employees (see Table 1).