Open Recommendations

Restricted due to sensitive information.

Restricted due to sensitive information.

Restricted due to sensitive information.

Restricted due to sensitive information.

We recommend the GSA Administrator enforce internal procedures to ensure that the Office of Mission Assurance and Office of Facilities Management perform their required facility security responsibilities.

We recommend the GSA Administrator in conjunction with FPS: a) conduct a nationwide assessment of outstanding deficient security fixtures; b) develop and implement a plan to repair, replace, or install security fixtures identified through the nationwide assessment; c) redacted due to sensitive information related to federal building security; and d) if GSA cannot secure funding to repair, replace, or install security fixtures, work with the Office of Management and Budget to establish a consistent funding stream to address current and future security fixture deficiencies.

Implement guidance and training on the requirements for the additional time tracking data fields in FedEZFile for case managers.

Develop reports or dashboards that leverage the updated FedEZFile fields to provide case managers and management with enhanced visibility on each application's status, such as milestones that are approaching targets or are overdue.

Establish a process to periodically
a. identify recurring themes and apparent patterns across applications, such as aspects of the process where actual processing times frequently exceed targets.
b. assess whether existing targets for key milestones should be recalibrated or additional targets should be established.
c. assess whether additional information should be captured in FedEZFile to enhance ongoing monitoring of the application process, such as fields for each level of manager and officer review.

Document and implement a process to identify, prioritize, track and communicate changes in cybersecurity requirements, threats, technology, and organizational mission as they occur to facilitate the review of directives at least annually to ensure emerging cybersecurity risks and potential compliance gaps are addressed timely.

Implement a process to screen for duplication and overlap across Departmental directives during the drafting, review, and revision of IT security directives.

Transfer into the election fund $154,189 for the unsupported expenditures.

Implement subrecipient monitoring policies and procedures and provide training to ensure that subrecipients use federal funds in compliance with federal statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of the award.

Transfer into the election fund $278,815 for the unsupported expenditures noted.

Implement policies and procedures to ensure expenditures are being compared to budget amounts for the Election Security funds and request changes if expenditures in a budget category exceed the budgeted amount by 10 percent.

We recommend that OSMRE resolve the unsupported labor costs totaling $493,822.

We recommend that OSMRE require States to submit those Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-funded abandoned mine land projects that States do not consider to be infrastructure (and therefore are not subject to Build America, Buy America Act requirements) to OSMRE for final applicability determination.

We recommend that OSMRE provides direction to the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands to properly classify projects and apply Build America, Buy America Act requirements to any ongoing and finished projects, as necessary.

We recommend that OSMRE require the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands to use the correct subaccount in its Kentucky Human Resource Information System according to OSMRE's Federal Assistance Manual and Guidance on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Abandoned Mine Land Grant Implementation.

We recommend that OSMRE update the Federal Assistance Manual to require grant recipients to track time and all costs allocable to a specific reclamation project, such as direct project costs, planning and design, construction monitoring and inspection, and other necessary administrative expenses.

We recommend that OSMRE require the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands to train staff on updated procedures for allocating time to specific reclamation projects.

We recommend that OSMRE assess the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands' implementation of the Office of Administrative Services approved training plan to ensure branch managers, supervisors, and inspectors understand the importance of executing contracts and change orders in accordance with the division's policies.

We recommend that OSMRE assess the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands' implementation of the Office of Administrative Services approved monitoring plan to conduct quarterly reviews of abandoned mine land projects and speak with branch managers, inspectors, and supervisors to ensure they are obtaining change orders before the work is initiated.

We recommend that OSMRE implement policies and procedures to ensure that leave paid to employees is properly allocated to the Federal grant on which it was earned and does not exceed the value of benefits earned on that grant.

We recommend that OSMRE require the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands to ensure the payroll expenses are properly supported by personnel activity reports reflecting actual time worked on Federal grant programs.