Open Recommendations

We recommend the Administrator of FEMA publish an annual claims status report to Congress, on time, as required.

We recommend that HUD work with Connecticut and Shelby County to fully realize the program benefits by (1) assessing whether any of the current project activities need to be replaced with more viable project activities, thereby ensuring that any modifications to the project activities will lessen the susceptibility of rain and flood events; (2) assessing whether administrative funds have been properly allocated and charged to identify any possible cost savings; (3) determining whether enough administrative funds or other available funds exist to complete the administration of t

We recommend that HUD conduct onsite or remote monitoring for the City of Minot and Tennessee, which have not had any monitoring since grant inception, to ensure that these grantees are on track to meet their program goals.

We recommend that HUD for its disaster-related program wide activities, revise the action plan and quarterly performance review checklists to a format that more specifically and directly addresses the subject program.

Develop and implement a written procedure or methodology to account for passports removed from the production line. The procedure/methodology should annotate the type of document taken, the purpose for its removal, the quantity taken, and the identity of the person responsible. An automated computer-based process is also recommended.

Develop and implement a policy detailing how passports and passport documents should be securely stored in offices including PII storage.

To address weaknesses identified in Premier Group's report, we recommend that USAID's Director, Office of Acquisition & Assistance:
Determine the allowability of $53,983.41 in questioned costs on page 21 of 25 of the audit report and recover any amount that is unallowable.

To address weaknesses identified in Premier Group's report, we recommend that USAID's Director, Office of Acquisition & Assistance:
Require Chemonics to establish clear guidelines for documentation
requirements for all transactions. Ensure that all supporting documents, such as invoices, receipts, and allocation details, are complete and readily accessible.

To address weaknesses identified in Premier Group's report, we recommend that USAID's Director, Office of Acquisition & Assistance:
Require Chemonics to conduct training sessions for relevant staff
on proper documentation procedures and the importance of maintaining complete and accurate records. Emphasize the connection between thorough documentation and compliance with audit requirements.

To address weaknesses identified in Premier Group's report, we recommend that USAID's Director, Office of Acquisition & Assistance:
Require Chemonics to implement a routine process for reviewing and reconciling transaction documentation with the general ledger. This should include periodic checks to identify and resolve any discrepancies in a timely manner.

We recommend that USAID/Bureau for Management/Office of Acquisition & Assistance determine the allowability of $32,438.89 in questioned costs on page 23 of 27 of the audit report and recover any amount that is unallowable.

Require PACT to update their internal controls to mitigate the risk of assigning funds from one project to another by developing a process to document how to input project expenses into the financial management system.

We recommend that USAID/Bureau for Management/Office of Acquisition & Assistance require PACT to establish and implement policies and procedures that requires a two-person review and signatures indicating that funds are accurate and solely being used for their authorized purposes.

We recommend the Commandant of the Coast Guard develop and implement a drug interdiction contingency plan to prioritize the availability of cutters for drug interdiction missions and to mitigate the risk of cutters being unavailable.

We recommend the Commandant of the Coast Guard update the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement system to require commanding officer and district-level reviews to ensure data accuracy within the system.

We recommend the Commandant of the Coast Guard conduct a needs assessment for the Digital Evidence Search and Seizure program, including the number of kits and trained personnel needed to ensure the program’s success in gathering intelligence while at sea.

We recommend the Commandant of the Coast Guard identify and implement a centralized database to capture, analyze, and report on information related to the Coast Guard’s Digital Evidence Search and Seizure program’s success.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for health make sure the Office of Integrated Veteran Care develops contract language and/or maximum allowable rates to limit reimbursements that do not have a Medicare or VA fee schedule rate for Community Care Network claims.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of Integrated Veteran Care improves oversight of healthcare claim payments to prevent, identify, and recover overpayments in a more timely manner.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for health, in conjunction with the chief acquisition officer and principal executive director for the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, ensure the Office of Integrated Veteran Care and the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, collaborate to extend the contracting officers representatives designated responsibilities to include monitoring of healthcare invoices.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for health make sure the Office of Integrated Veteran Care considers including dental contract reimbursement language in the current and/or future contracts that is consistent with other contract healthcare reimbursement methodology to limit dental contract reimbursements, not to exceed the amount the third-party administrators pay the providers.

The OIG recommended the chief acquisition officer and principal executive director for the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction make certain the Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics develops sufficient oversight and internal controls over the contract modification process to prevent program overpayments.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for health, in conjunction with the chief acquisition officer and principal executive director for the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, require the Office of Veteran Integrated Care and the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction to collaborate to explore potential recovery of dental payments to Optum.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for health, in conjunction with the chief acquisition officer and principal executive director for the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and
Construction, ensure the Office of Integrated Veteran Care and the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction collaborate to establish oversight and internal controls for dental services provided through Community Care Network to prevent excessive reimbursements.

We recommend that USAID/Kenya and East Africa determine the allowability of $167,463 in ineligible questioned costs on page 28 of the audit report and recover any amount that is unallowable.