Open Recommendations

We recommend that the FWS work with the Division to develop and implement procedures to evaluate each subrecipient's risk of noncompliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the subaward.

We recommend that the FWS work with the Division to develop and implement procedures to adjust monitoring plans based on the results of each subrecipient's risk assessment.

Treasury OIG should pursue obtaining documentation from the Chippewa Cree Tribe's (CCT) management and ensure reporting corrections are made within the GrantSolutions portal. Further, based on CCT’s responsiveness to Treasury OIG’s requests and its ability to provide documentation, Treasury OIG should determine if a focused audit is feasible for Grants greater than or equal to $50,000 and Direct Payments greater than or equal to $50,000.

Develop a standardized statement for Social Security Administration employees to confirm the beneficiary or representative payee’s intent to enroll into the Direct Express Debit Card program and explain Comerica Bank is the financial institution that will mail the debit card and provide instructions on activating the card. The standardized statement could also include such information as the Direct Express® customer service telephone number.

The Under Secretary for Health ensures the Office of Primary Care and Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention determine impediments to maintaining accurate identification of opioid use disorder in electronic health record problem lists and implement policy and training to support accurate use of problem lists.

The Under Secretary for Health confirms the Office of Primary Care and Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention evaluate barriers affecting provider access and use of Department of Defense treatment records in Joint Longitudinal Viewer and implement solutions.

The Under Secretary for Health ensures the Office of Primary Care and Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention improve continuity of care by confirming providers are educated on the navigation and retrieval of Department of Defense treatment records in Joint Longitudinal Viewer.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services direct the appropriate Medicare contractors to review claims billed under CPT code 81408 for our audit period to determine whether they complied with Medicare requirements.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services direct the appropriate Medicare contractors to determine the amount of improper payments for the claims that did not comply with Medicare requirements and, for those that are within the 4-year claim-reopening period, in accordance with CMS's policies and procedures, recover up to $888,169,038 for claims that were at risk of improper payment during our audit period.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services direct the appropriate Medicare contractors to based upon the results of this audit, notify appropriate providers (i.e., those for whom CMS determines this audit constitutes credible information of potential overpayments) so that the providers can exercise reasonable diligence to identify, report, and return any overpayments in accordance with the 60-day rule and identify any of those returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation.

Implement a new labor distribution system that includes features such as timekeeping, overtime and Controller-in-Charge tracking, and real-time leave balances.

Determine the workload impact of commercial space operations at air traffic facilities, and take action as needed.

Identify the specific direct tasks associated with commercial space operations, determine if they should be included in the en-route controller workload model, and if so, incorporate them in the next updated model.

Provide guidance to OAs on how to identify and assess fraud risks in their programs, including guidance on specific tools, methods, and sources for gathering information about fraud risks. This guidance should also address the leading practices for identifying and assessing the likelihood and impact of inherent fraud risks, determining fraud risk tolerance, examining the suitability of existing controls, prioritizing residual fraud risks, and documenting the program's fraud risk profile to inform managers' decisions on their responses to assessed risks.

(U) Rec. 2.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security revise or replace DoD Instruction O-3300.04 to reflect the transition of responsibilities from the Defense Intelligence Agency to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security for the management, support, and requirements of the DoD Biometrically Enabled Watch List.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs should require that the visa appointment system provided to Mission Nigeria by the Global Support Strategy vendor complies with the Department’s public service and transparency standards.

Embassy Abuja should develop and implement standard operating procedures for management of federal assistance awards to ensure compliance with Department standards.

Embassy Abuja should establish a comprehensive foreign assistance coordination and collaboration mechanism, in accordance with Department standards.

Embassy Abuja should obtain authorization from the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations to use shipping containers for storage and office space or dismantle and remove them in accordance with Department.

Embassy Abuja should dispose of excess expendable and nonexpendable property in accordance with Department guidelines.

Embassy Abuja should adhere to travel regulations in accordance with Department standards.

Embassy Abuja should manage the fuel and motor vehicle transportation coupon program in accordance with Department guidance.

Embassy Abuja should review its unliquidated obligations in accordance with Department standards and put up to $1.2 million to better use.

Embassy Abuja should review and revise locally employed staff position descriptions and classify them in accordance with Department standards.

Embassy Abuja should complete all information systems security officer responsibilities in accordance with Department standards.

Embassy Abuja should install emergency power-off switches inside the server rooms adjacent to each egress door, in accordance with Department standards.

We recommend that Retirement Services update their SOP to provide guidance on when exceptions to pulling a credit report would be warranted. The SOP should also discuss alternate procedures to validate income and expenses, when Retirement Services cannot obtain the credit report.

We recommend that the OCFO and Retirement Services develop policies and procedures to ensure that the total (gross) amount of the overpayment(s) is reported as an improper payment, along with controls to validate the proper amount is reported.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, and the Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should consider expanding the use of soft notices to address potentially erroneous PTC claims. These notices should provide individuals with information specific to the eligibility or reporting requirements related to the potential error the IRS identified and suggest the filing of an amended return, if an error has occurred.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should notify the 317,418 taxpayers we identified, who potentially received less PTC than they were entitled or repaid more APTC than required, that they may qualify for additional PTC or overpaid APTC and encourage them to file an amended Tax Year 2021 return, if applicable.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop processes, such as the use of courtesy letters to notify individuals of their potential eligibility, to proactively assist taxpayers who, based on available tax return and Exchange data, potentially claimed less PTC than entitled or paid more APTC than required.

We recommend that the BIA develop a method to track and monitor the closeout process of Public Law 93-638 agreements.

We recommend that the BIA develop a methodology for identifying Public Law 93-638 agreements where the completion of specific administrative tasks would result in ability to close agreements.

We recommend that the BIA take appropriate action on the 183 agreements with $5,070,072 in unused funds identified in this report.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary work with the Authority to assess the risk of potential improper payment for projects PW273 and PW100 and vouchers 576322, 583423, and 578761.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary instruct the Authority to train the CMU staff on the newly developed policies and procedures and obtain technical assistance from HUD as needed.

Establish a process to regularly determine whether back-end edit routines should be added, updated, or discontinued to increase the accuracy and number of reinstatements.

Track all back-end edit routine costs to regularly determine whether each edit routine is a prudent use of SSA’s limited resources.

We recommend that the FWS require the Department to address the questioned costs related to unfunded liabilities totaling $1,366,999 (Federal share) in consultation with appropriate U.S. Department of the Interior offices to determine if the costs are allowable pursuant to Federal regulations and award terms and conditions.

Rec. 1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, develop and implement procedures to monitor future Economy Act transactions to ensure the: 1. Providers are reimbursed for costs incurred. 2. Support agreements are documented. 3. Processes are efficient or economical and in the best interest of the Government.

Rec. 1.c.1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, coordinate with the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to return all Building Partner Capacity funds in the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund to the accounts from which the funds originated.

Rec. 1.c.2: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, coordinate with the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to develop and implement a policy that requires the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund be used only for the purposes outlined in sections 2761 and 2762, title 22, United States Code.

Rec. 1.c.3: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, coordinate with the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to develop and implement policies and procedures requiring that DoD Component purchases for Building Partner Capacity programs be paid for, whether through reimbursement or other means, directly from the accounts to which Congress appropriated the funds.

Rec. 1.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, coordinate with the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to review all applicable criteria for any active Building Partner Capacity programs to determine whether congressional notifications are required when funds are obligated or transferred and, if so, ensure that the congressional notification discloses the use of the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund until Building Partner Capacity funds are removed from the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund.

Rec. 1.e.1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, assess the DoD Agency?Wide financial statements for prior period adjustment and determine materiality for each of the non?Army reporting entities that receive appropriations for Building Partner Capacity programs.

Rec. 1.e.2: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, assess the DoD Agency?Wide financial statements for prior period adjustment and perform an analysis on the status of non?Army Building Partner Capacity appropriated funds in the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund to quantify the misstatement to the non?Army reporting entities financial statements.

Rec. 1.e.3: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, assess the DoD Agency?Wide financial statements for prior period adjustment and adjust the financial reports for non-Army reporting entities consistent with U.S. Treasury guidance.

Rec. 1.f: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, rescind the policy requiring DoD Components to treat Building Partner Capacity funds transferred to the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund as non?exchange transactions.

Rec. 1.g: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, coordinate with the Service Secretaries and appropriate DoD Component directors to develop and ensure the implementation of a policy sufficient to ensure that the DoD fully and accurately account for the funds consistent with the intent of Congress for the: 1. Agency Indicators attribute. 2. Periods of Availability attribute. 3. Main Accounts attribute.

Rec. 1.h: The DoD OIG recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, DoD, coordinate with Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) management to develop and implement procedures to provide the status of Afghanistan Security Forces Fund appropriated funds by fiscal year in the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund and the amount of funds by fiscal year returned to the U.S. Treasury to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction for its quarterly reports to Congress.