Open Recommendations

Recommendation is not publicly available.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

Establish GAO’s cost management procedures for its cloud systems, including addressing data egress fees and the implementation and review of alerts and reports.

Develop an oversight mechanism to ensure that all fees, including data egress fees, are quantified in the cost estimate, or the exclusion of any costs is documented.

We recommend the New Mexico Joint Recovery Office Director of Operations develop and implement a comprehensive staffing plan to evaluate and ensure that current staffing levels are adequate for processing claims within the timeframe mandated by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act.

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

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.

(U) Rec. 1.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretary of the Navy direct the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Shore Readiness Division; Commander, Navy Installations Command; Naval Facilities Engineering Command; and other Department of the Navy organizations as appropriate develop and implement processes that establish control system ownership and clearly define responsibilities for managing the risk associated with control system cybersecurity vulnerabilities in accordance with DoD and Navy.

(U) Rec. 1.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretary of the Navy direct the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Shore Readiness Division; Commander, Navy Installations Command; Naval Facilities Engineering Command; and other Department of the Navy organizations as appropriate establish expectations for mitigating the unmitigated cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified during the Section 1650 assessments, require the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations to develop and document corrective action plans for unmitigated cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and hold the Commander, Navy Installations Command, Naval Facilities Engineering…

(U) Rec. 1.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretary of the Navy direct the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Shore Readiness Division; Commander, Navy Installations Command; Naval Facilities Engineering Command; and other Department of the Navy organizations as appropriate develop and implement processes with periodic reporting requirements to track the status of the cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified during the Section 1650 assessments.

(U) Rec. 1.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretary of the Navy direct the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Shore Readiness Division; Commander, Navy Installations Command; Naval Facilities Engineering Command; and other Department of the Navy organizations as appropriate develop and implement processes for documenting corrective actions and retaining documentation of corrective actions to mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified during the Section 1650 assessments.

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.

We recommend that USAID/Kenya and East Africa verify that Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies corrects the one material weakness in internal control detailed on page 32 of the audit report.

We recommend that USAID/Kenya and East Africa verify that Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies corrects the four instances of material noncompliance detailed on pages 34 to 39 of the audit report.

We recommend that USAID/Southern Africa determine the allowability of $112,456 in questioned costs ($104,385 ineligible, $8,071 unsupported) on pages 15 and 21 of the audit report and recover any amount that is unallowable.

We recommend that USAID/Southern Africa verify that Young Heroes corrects the three material weaknesses in internal control detailed on pages 24 to 27 of the audit report.

CMS should Assist MACs in obtaining more complete and timely utilization data with which to make coverage determinations.

CMS should Provide guidance on how MACs should account for enrollees who receive injections in both home and professional settings when performing their comparisons.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration pursue legislative changes regarding the authority to impose civil monetary penalties for Mental Health Parity Addiction and Equity Act violations to increase compliance with Part 7 of ERISA, which include the mental health parity provisions.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration pursue legislative changes regarding the authority to enforce the group health plan requirements of Part 7 of ERISA against service providers, including insurance issuers and third-party administrators for violations such as designing and applying impermissible non-quantitative treatment limitations.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration pursue legislative changes regarding provisions that specify remedies available for violations of Part 7 of ERISA, including the ability to force the re-adjudication of wrongfully denied claims or other remedies to restore losses resulting from Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violations.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration develop processes to utilize enforcement tools available to the agency, including referring health plans to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to levy the excise tax for Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violations, as appropriate.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration develop and issue additional guidance to support the implementation of the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act non-quantitative treatment limitation comparative analysis requirements and the September 2024 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act final rule, such as an updated Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Self-Compliance Tool or Frequently Asked Questions document(s).

In our February 2024 alert, we recommended that the Director, Field Assistance, take actions to address the issues we identified regarding the hours of operation, incorrect addresses, and current operational status to ensure that taxpayers have the most accurate and up-to-date information available. Additionally, immediate action should be taken to ensure that TAC facilities that are open for extended hours are accessible to taxpayers and that the hours posted at the facility are accurate and observed.

The Chief, Taxpayer Services, should develop processes and procedures to ensure that the hours of operation are accurately posted at all TAC locations and consistent with what is reflected on the IRS website. These processes and procedures should include verification steps to be taken as part of the IRS’s annual filing season readiness confirmation process.