Open Recommendations

Include reference to BLS Commissioner’s Order 10-5 in the Consumer Price Index Program’s training materials and policies and procedures. Consider including reference to these policies in training materials and policies and procedures for all BLS programs.

Train management at all delivery units in the district on the proper procedures for checking and reporting delayed mail.

Develop a contingency plan for situations that may interfere with normal delivery services, such as vehicle availability issues, at the Suffolk Main Post Office.

Train carriers on the proper procedures for scanning firm sheets at the Virginia Beach Main Post Office.

Monitor that high-risk Voyager card transactions are properly reconciled, as required, and high-risk fuel transactions are annotated with an appropriate comment at the Norfolk Sorting and Delivery Center, and Lynchburg, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach main post offices.

Take action to correct the records and pay any retroactive benefits, as appropriate, for the 78 beneficiaries we identified.

Identify the factors that contribute to employee errors and implement appropriate corrective actions.

We recommend the Vice President, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, reinforce the expectation for hours worked to be entered in the work-hour system.

We recommend the Vice President, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, reinforce the expectation for hours not worked to be removed from the work-hour system.

We recommend the Vice President, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, reinforce the expectation for fatigue assessments to include all required information for trending purposes.

Develop and implement procedures to address and document resolution of any issues reviewers identify during the application review process.

During the agency’s review of participants’ annual performance evaluation reports, identify performance measures that do not meet the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program requirements and resolve any noncompliance identified.

We recommend the Vice President, Coal Operations, take steps to ensure asset condition of Tier 1 assets are assessed annually.

We recommend the Vice President, Coal Operations, take steps to ensure assets are accurately classified and tracked as required.

We recommend the Vice President, Coal Operations, evaluate assets in poor condition at Shawnee and Gallatin without a planned project to determine if near-term actions are needed to address degradation.

We recommend the Vice President, Coal Operations, verify the completed project plans for Kingston and Cumberland properly address assets in poor condition.

Review the 72 abandoned foreclosure properties and reassess for foreclosure.

Develop a plan to review the remaining 3,794 potentially improperly abandoned foreclosure properties (4,148 abandoned foreclosure properties less statistical sample of 354) and reassess for foreclosure.

Establish clear guidelines to prevent abandonment of foreclosure on property when sufficient recoverable value exists.

Establish clear guidelines to ensure unnecessary care and preservation of collateral costs are not incurred during active workout.

Establish controls to verify that SBA employees and their close relatives and associates do not purchase collateral and that these requirements be extended to the agency’s vendors and subcontractors.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement establish quality control mechanisms for supervisors to routinely monitor the progress of post-shipment verifications from approval to closure to verify that export compliance specialists:

a. Notify export control officers to conduct post-shipment verifications.

b. Submit the post-shipment verification results for approval within the required timeframes.

c. Initiate investigative leads within required timeframes when applicable.

We recommend that once quality control mechanisms are established, the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement require that supervisors who are responsible for monitoring post-shipment verifications report the following to the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement:

a. Status of all approved post-shipment verifications, including verifications that remain open in IMS-R.

b. Completion of accountability actions for verifications with unsatisfactory results.

We recommend the Secret Service Office of the Chief Information Officer develop and implement a formal policy and process for routinely identifying, evaluating, and implementing mobile device capabilities to ensure all mission functions — foreign and domestic — can be conducted effectively and securely.

We recommend the Secret Service Office of the Chief Information Officer ensure employees complete cybersecurity awareness training, as required, and training features clear guidance on the proper use of mobile devices in operational settings domestically and overseas.