Open Recommendations

OIG recommends that the Department of State’s Executive Secretary, or another official with delegated authority, finalize and sign the updated memorandum of agreement with the Department of Defense that governs noncombatant evacuations (previously titled “Memorandum of Agreement Between the Departments of State and Defense on the Protection and Evacuation of U.S. Citizens and Nationals and Designated Other Persons from Threatened Areas Overseas,” dated July 14, 1998) to memorialize the agencies’ arrangements for the collection, tracking, analysis, and sharing of evacuee data.

OIG recommends that the Department of State's Executive Secretary, or another official with delegated authority, finalize the "Memorandum of Understanding Between Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) and Department of State (State) for Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation Tracking System (NTS) Agreement Number: M2330" to improve noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) data collection and sharing before, during, and after a NEO.

OIG recommends that the Department of States Executive Secretary, or another official with delegated authority, finalize and sign the updated memorandum of agreement with the Department of Defense that governs noncombatant evacuations (previously titled Memorandum of Agreement Between the Departments of State and Defense on the Protection and Evacuation of U.S. Citizens and Nationals and Designated Other Persons from Threatened Areas Overseas, dated July 14, 1998) to memorialize the agencies arrangements for the collection, tracking, analysis, and sharing of evacuee data.

OIG recommends that the Department of State's Executive Secretary, or another official with delegated authority, finalize the "Memorandum of Understanding Between Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) and Department of State (State) for Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation Tracking System (NTS) Agreement Number: M2330" to improve noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) data collection and sharing before, during, and after a NEO.

Rec. 6.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director update DoD Instruction 1020.03 and DoD Instruction 1020.04 to require DoD Components to have documentation and records retention policies that demonstrate compliance with the Instructions.

Rec. 6.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director update DoD Instruction 1020.03 and DoD Instruction 1020.04 to include procedures for dismissal of allegations.

Rec. 6.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director update DoD Instruction 1020.03 and DoD Instruction 1020.04 to include definitions for dismissed, substantiated, and unsubstantiated allegations, and evaluate the Instructions to determine any additional definitions that should be added.

Rec. 6.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director update DoD Instruction 1020.03 to include procedures for responding to allegations in which it is unknown whether the complainant is a Service member or anonymous allegations at DoD Components that are not Military Services.

Rec. 6.e: The DoD OIG recommended that the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director update DoD Instruction 1020.03 and DoD Instruction 1020.04 to include procedures that address harassment allegations processed through alternate procedures.

Rec. 7.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness designate an office of primary responsibility for allegations of retaliation by victims of sexual harassment.

Rec. 7.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness ensure that DoD Instruction 1020.03 is updated to identify the actions that commanders and supervisors are expected to follow when a complainant alleges sexual harassment and retaliation.

Require International Rescue Committee to develop and implement procedures to include complete environmental information in its program reports or obtain Agency approval to exempt recipients from the reporting requirements.

OCIO to follow OFM policies and procedures for collecting advance payments prior to providing products or services and review the $29.5 million in questioned costs identified in this report after implementing recommendation 7.

OCIO to update and publish billing rates to approximate cost recovery in accordance with 49 U.S. Code (U.S.C.) 327. Implementing this recommendation could put up to $194 million in funds for better use.

OFM to develop procedures to prevent future overbillings such as the $16,949.05 overbilled and identified in this report as a questioned cost.

OCIO to develop and implement a review process to validate the charges in its Financial Management System are accurate prior to providing OFM documentation used to bill customers.

OCIO to follow the procedures for reporting WCF transactions to OFM, including the $14.7 million identified in this report in accordance with DOT Order 2300.3B.

OFM to develop and implement written procedures for determining if the WCF is recovering costs and identifying advances and excess funds that should be returned to Treasury.

OCIO to develop a process for identifying severable services on IAAs to ensure that billing occurs in the correct fund year in accordance with the DOT Order and the Principles of Federal Appropriations Law.

We recommend the Director of USCIS develop and implement a multi-year operational plan that will enable USCIS to adjudicate new affirmative asylum claims consistent with the law and reduce the backlog. The plan should include clear priorities and goals, appropriate staffing levels, an analysis of funding, and how that funding will be generated.

We recommend the Director of USCIS prepare and submit annual budget requests consistent with the established multi-year operation plan as outlined in Recommendation 1.

Update MD 13.1, Property Management, or develop other guidance, to clearly describe the roles and responsibilities of NRC employees and contractors as it pertains to the handling, storage, issuance, and return of IT assets under the $2,500 threshold.

Complete an inventory of laptops, desktops, and tablets, and update the information in the CMBD in the current ITSM toolset.

Update MD 13.1, Property Management, and the Hardware Asset Management Playbook, or develop other guidance, to expressly state the roles and responsibilities for acquiring assets and requesting red tags for IT assets in a timely manner.

Update the affected contract(s) to include a service level requirement for the sanitation of assets.

Update the PC Decommissioning Standard Operating Procedure and the Hardware Asset Management Playbook to reflect all the required steps in the decommissioning and disposal process.

Provide evidence that the owners corrected the 248 deficiencies for the 48 units with outstanding deficiencies. If the owners fail to make corrections, the Authority should implement its stop payment procedures and provide supporting documentation to HUD.

Implement a quality control process for monitoring its contracted inspectors to ensure that units meet HUD's requirements to prevent nearly $36 million in program funds from being spent on units that do not meet HQS over the next year.

Implement procedures and controls regarding its quality control inspections to ensure that the results of those inspections are appropriately used to evaluate and monitor the performance of the Authority's contracted inspectors and documentation is maintained on communications with the contractor on corrective actions taken to address recurring inspection deficiencies.

Implement procedures and controls regarding its stop payment process to ensure that it consistently (1) stops payments as required by its HCV Program administrative plan and HUD requirements, (2) verifies and documents the correction of deficiencies, and (3) maintains sufficient documentation to support the stop payment for each unit.

Implement controls over its inspection processes and procedures to ensure that emergency failures are properly identified, reinspected, and corrected within 24 hours in accordance with its HCV Program administrative plan or the housing assistance to the owner is stopped.

Work with its contractor to ensure that the contractor's inspectors receive training on how to properly identify and categorize life-threatening deficiencies.

Develop and implement policies and procedures that align with HUD's requirements and controls to ensure that owners follow the requirements of the LSHR.

Work with HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes to provide technical assistance to the Authority's staff to develop and implement policies, procedures, and controls for managing cases of children with EBLLs to ensure compliance with the LSHR, including attempts to collaborate with public health departments to identify cases of EBLL in children under 6 years of age under its HCV Program and updating its policies and procedures accordingly.

Conduct route reviews for all routes in the Puerto Rico District, create a prioritized list of routes needing adjustments based on the reviews, and coordinate with Headquarters Delivery Operations to create a plan to perform the necessary adjustments.

Enhance the Commission’s internal controls related to oversight of third-party service providers and implement performance monitoring procedures. These procedures should allow for the effective tracking of the service providers’ actual deliverables against the requirements prescribed in the IAA.

Evaluate third-party service providers’ performance against the milestones and timeline expectations identified in the IAA or SLA. The evaluation mechanisms and tools should incorporate any performance metrics outlined in the IAA or SLA.

Enhance its procedures over the review of, and reconciliation between, the data on the Request for Personnel Action (SF-52) and the Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) for the same personnel event, to ensure that the Commission detects and addresses discrepancies in a timely manner.

Implement measures to ensure that LC3 Solutions properly completes and processes SF-52s in accordance with the nature of the personnel event.

Implement measures to facilitate closer coordination with GSA CABS to ensure that it processes and approves SF-50s in a timely manner, and that it only makes retroactive approvals based on the conditions described in the OPM GPPA.

Implement a contract tracking system that will enable the contract administration team to perform a detailed analysis of small business awards in each of the small business categories and compare the award value for each category against the total value for all awards to ensure that the Commission can effectively monitor its award activities with regard to its small business procurement goals.

Implement a contract-writing system that integrates an industry-standard, automatically updated provision and clause database. The Commission should also have associated controls in place to ensure that the database is up to date and meets the pertinent acquisition regulations and statutory requirements.

Update its COWP policy to ensure that it has appropriately evaluated and assigned its warrant threshold designations. This evaluation should be based on the contracting.

Implement a more robust contracts tracking system that includes validating data against the source documents and ensuring that when an individual updates the tracking system, another individual reviews those updates. The frequency of the quality checks or data validation reviews required is contingent on the volume and complexity of the contracting activities.

The Under Secretary for Health requires facilities to review designated time for Maternity Care Coordinator caseload, and assigned collateral duties, to determine if additional staffing resources are needed to support Veterans Health Administration Maternity Care Coordination, and takes action as appropriate.

Ensure Veterans Benefits Administration staff use improved methodologies similar to the Office of Inspector Generals review to identify eligible veterans, readjudicate claims, and send outreach letters to potential Nehmer class members who could qualify for retroactive benefits under the National Defense Authorization Act.

Evaluate the feasibility of continuously monitoring incentive program participation at facilities with future electric vehicle and charging infrastructure deployments, to include conducting cost-benefit analysis and enlisting the possible use of contractors to support this action.

Formally define and document in writing ISOO’s monitoring methodology to address at a minimum program risk, staff responsibilities, and monitoring of program performance.

Develop and implement written internal policies and procedures that provide clear guidelines and timelines for CUI program management and oversight processes.

Formally document processes in writing that detail ISOO personnel responsible for the preparation and regular review of CUI internal control activities and relevant risks.