Open Recommendations

Embassy Luxembourg should update its public-private partnership with the University of Luxembourg.

Embassy Luxembourg, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should bring its fire protection program into compliance with Department standards.

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center review all active cooperative agreements and grants to verify whether the award provisions comply with Office of Management and Budget Policy Letter 11-01 requirements regarding inherently Governmental functions and U.S. Federal employee decision-making authority over all programmatic aspects of the awards and, for those that do not, revise the award provisions to comply with those requirements.

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center review the assigned roles, authorities, and responsibilities of its award management team members (Federal employees and third-party contractors) to determine (a) authorities and responsibilities that are inherently Governmental functions and (b) whether those authorities and responsibilities are assigned to or performed by team members who are not Federal employees or Personal Service Contractors, as appropriate.

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center transfer to Federal employees or Personal Service Contractors, as appropriate, those authorities and responsibilities found to be inherently Governmental functions that are currently assigned to third-party contractors (as determined by the review in Recommendation 3).

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center develop and implement a process to verify that inherently Governmental functions are only assigned to and performed by Federal employees or Personal Service Contractors, as appropriate.

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center (GEC) develop and implement a process to formally notify GEC award management personnel and award recipients of all roles, authorities, and responsibilities that are inherently Governmental and are only to be assigned to and performed by Federal employees and Personal Services Contractors, as appropriate. The notification process should highlight all revisions to previous guidance and practice, beginning with the revisions to GEC’s Policies and Procedures Manual (Version 1.6, December 2020) following the implementation of Recommendations 1 through 6.

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center design and implement controls, rather than relying only on the State Assistance Management System, to ensure that Grants Officers designate a Grants Officer Representative prior to awarding cooperative agreements or grants and throughout the award’s period of performance.

OIG recommends that Global Engagement Center (GEC) Grants Officers implement controls to comply with GEC’s Policies and Procedures Manual (Version 1.6, December 2020), “Post-Award: Changes,” requirements to notify award recipients about changes to Grants Officer Representative (GOR) assignments and furnish award recipients with fully-executed copies of GOR designation memoranda.

Develop a standard operating procedure that instructs program offices and regions on tracking and documenting grant flexibilities and exceptions, and their impacts, due to unanticipated events in order toassure consistency in the information needed to manage grants.

Develop a plan to implement, by December 2022, a uniform electronic record-keeping system for grants to meet the Office of Management and Budget direction in M-19-21, Transition to Electronic Records, that all federal records must be created, retained, and managed in electronicformats with appropriate metadata.

Direct program offices and regions to use a uniform official electronic file system that would allow consistency in agencywide access and storage of electronic grant files.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services do the following, which could have saved Medicare an estimated $47.8 million during our audit period:   -Educate hospitals on the NCD requirements for bariatric surgeries if the NCD has been updated in response to our first recommendation.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

Define and communicate policies and procedures to ensure that its products, system components, systems, and services comply with its cybersecurity and SCRM requirements. This recommendation includes:

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.