Open Recommendations

We recommend that the Office of Wildland Fire develop and implement policies and procedures to track, evaluate, and monitor bureau fuels management program activities to ensure expenditures comply with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

We recommend that BIA resolve the questioned costs of $180,392.

We recommend that BLM resolve the questioned costs of $168,939.

We recommend that NPS resolve the questioned costs of $235,450.

We recommend that the Office of Wildland Fire develop and implement a process to ensure that all wildland fire bureaus annually review and update all fire management plans as required.

We recommend that BIA review and update fire management plans at the Lower Brule Agency, South Dakota; Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho; Southern California Agency; Hualapai Tribe, Arizona; Crow Agency, Montana; Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon; Northern Cheyenne Agency, Montana; Southern Ute Tribe, Colorado; and Eastern Oklahoma Region.

We recommend that the Office of Wildland Fire require bureaus to document how they prioritize funding for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act fuels management projects in accordance with the Act.

We recommend that the Office of Wildland Fire develop and implement a process to review each bureau's prioritization process and project selection justification to ensure fuels management projects meet Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requirements.

We recommend that BIA resolve the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado questioned costs of $105,600.

We recommend that BIA develop and implement procedures to require that Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-funded fuels management contracts, grants, and projects are identified and approved in the National Fire Plan Operations Reporting System and the program of work prior to distributing funds.

We recommend that BIA develop and implement procedures that ensure all fuels management purchases, activities, and treatments are documented and supported in the National Fire Plan Operations Reporting System and included in the program of work.

We recommend that NPS develop and implement procedures that ensure all fuels management purchases, activities, and treatments are documented and supported in the National Fire Plan Operations Reporting System and included in the program of work.

We recommend that BIA develop and implement a process to ensure it documents and maintains adequate expense records to validate that expenditures are in compliance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and DOI policy.

We recommend that BIA develop and implement a process to ensure it documents its justification and obtains management approval before transferring existing transactions to Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act accounts.

We recommend that BLM develop and implement a process to ensure it maintains all purchase records in accordance with BLM and DOI policies.

We recommend that NPS develop and implement a process to ensure post-burn reports include costs for all prescribed fires as required by NPS policy.

We recommend that BIA develop and implement a process to ensure it reviews and updates all fire management plans.

Issue and distribute to all employees, and prominently post an annual anti-harassment policy statement signed by the Chairman
reinforcing:
• Harassment will not be tolerated,
• Certain conduct is prohibited,
• How to report harassment, and
• Consequences of engaging in harassment and retaliation.

Develop a plan to ensure a culture of accountability and commitment to the CFTC anti-harassment effort. The plan should:
• Include a schedule for training employees and supervisors and a consistent and repeatable mechanism to monitor
attendance.
• Create a reporting mechanism to receive harassment complaints that ensures confidentiality.
o Notify the workforce of this reporting mechanism.
• Develop procedures to ensure consistency in tracking complaints and documenting delays to EEOC-mandated timelines for
sexual and non-sexual harassment claims.

Devote sufficient independent support to harassment prevention efforts to reinforce the credibility of leadership’s commitment to creating a workplace free of harassment.

Ensure CDSS corrected the miscoding error of the $282,665 claimed as SNAP administrative expenses. Ensure the funds that were previously reimbursed by FNS were adequately returned, and CDSS appropriately claimed and was reimbursed for the Pandemic EBT administrative expense through proper funding.

Review whether Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer administrative expenses were properly claimed and reported in the next FMR of CDSS.

We recommend that USAID/Kenya and East Africa verify that Centre for Health Solutions corrects one instance of material noncompliance detailed on page 39 of the audit report.

Verify that Tsofen High Technology Centers corrects the material weaknesses in internal control detailed on pages 21 and 22 of the audit report.

Verify that Tsofen High Technology Centers corrects the three instances of material noncompliance detailed on pages 25 to 29 of the audit report.