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Read our report on six communities’ experiences with pandemic funding and programs, which provides valuable lessons learned to improve federal emergency response programs.

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Small Business Administration OIG

Ending Active Collections on Delinquent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this management advisory to bring attention to concerns regarding SBA’s decision to end active collections on delinquent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) with an outstanding balance of $100,000 or less. First, SBA’s decision to cease collections risks violating the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which prohibits ending collections on fraudulent, false, or misrepresented claims, because SBA OIG and other oversight agencies are continuing to work on identifying COVID-19 EIDL fraud that...
Small Business Administration OIG

SBA’s Oversight of Restaurant Revitalization Fund Recipients

We reviewed the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) oversight of Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) recipients. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized SBA to administer the RRF and provided $28.6 billion to assist eligible small businesses adversely affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We determined program officials developed a plan for monitoring RRF award recipients use of funds and recovering unused or improperly awarded funds. However, program implementation was not executed in accordance with the plan. We made six recommendations for SBA to...
Election Assistance Commission OIG

Audit of the HAVA Grants Awarded to the State of Wisconsin

EAC OIG, through the independent public accounting firm of McBride, Lock & Associates, LLC, audited $27.4 million in funds received by the State of Wisconsin under the Help America Vote Act. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Wisconsin Elections Commission: 1) used funds for authorized purposes in accordance with Section 101 and Section 251 of HAVA and other applicable requirements; 2) properly accounted for and controlled property purchased with HAVA payments; and 3) used the funds in a manner consistent with the informational plans provided to EAC. The audit...
Department of Transportation OIG

DOT Has Effectively Managed the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Program and Should Capture Lessons Learned From Its Oversight Efforts

What We Looked At The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection (AMJP) program in March 2021. To support the program, the ARPA appropriated $3 billion in funding via the Department of Transportation (DOT) through September 2023 for eligible companies engaged in aviation manufacturing and services, maintenance, repair, and overhaul activities. Program funds would allow these companies to continue paying employee wages, salaries, and benefits or rehire employees who were furloughed as a result of the pandemic, and Congress expected DOT to award the...
Election Assistance Commission OIG

Audit of the Help America Vote Act Grants Awarded to the State of Missouri

EAC OIG, through the independent public accounting firm of McBride, Lock & Associates, LLC, audited $27.4 million in funds received by the State of Missouri under the Help America Vote Act. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Missouri Office of the Secretary of State: 1) used funds for authorized purposes in accordance with Section 101 and Section 251 of HAVA and other applicable requirements; 2) properly accounted for and controlled property purchased with HAVA payments; and 3) used the funds in a manner consistent with the informational plans provided to EAC. The audit...
Election Assistance Commission OIG

Audit of the Help America Vote Act Grants Awarded to the State of Alaska

EAC OIG, through the independent public accounting firm of McBride, Lock & Associates, LLC, audited $15.2 million in funds received by the State of Alaska under the Help America Vote Act. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: 1) used funds for authorized purposes in accordance with Section 101 and Section 251 of HAVA and other applicable requirements; 2) properly accounted for and controlled property purchased with HAVA payments; and 3) used the funds in a manner consistent with the informational plans provided to EAC. The audit...
Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG

HUD’s Assistance and Grantee Challenges With the Office of Native American Programs’ COVID-19 Recovery Programs

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Native American Programs’ (ONAP) coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) recovery programs. We performed this audit to provide HUD with insight and a nationwide perspective on the challenges that grantees experienced with those programs. Our audit objectives were to identify 1) the information, guidance, and training HUD provided to the grantees for the ONAP COVID-19 recovery programs and 2) the challenges that grantees faced in implementing and using program-provided funding. HUD provided information, guidance...
Small Business Administration OIG

SBA’s Awards for Staffing Support for COVID-19 Economic Relief Loan Programs

We reviewed the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) blanket purchase agreement with Highlight Technologies, LLC for loan support services. To meet the increased demand for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) loan program support services, SBA issued labor hour contracts, e.g. call orders, using an existing blanket purchase agreement. However, SBA contracting officials did not always perform adequate price analyses, awarding contracts that were not the best use of taxpayer funds. SBA did not establish adequate guidance to ensure contracting officials consistently followed federal...
Small Business Administration OIG

SBA’s Administrative Process to Address Potentially Fraudulent Restaurant Revitalization Fund Awards

We inspected the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) administrative process used to review potentially fraudulent Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) applications and recover funds. Program officials designed the RRF application validation and approval processes using the Government Accountability Office’s A Framework for Managing Fraud Risks in Federal Programs. However, 3,790 applications submitted through a point-of-sale partner were processed without verifying gross sales, a key control designed to prevent ineligible entities from receiving awards. As a result, SBA’s RRF...
Small Business Administration OIG

COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to provide a comprehensive estimate of the potential fraud in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) pandemic assistance loan programs. Over the course of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, SBA disbursed approximately $1.2 trillion of COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. In the rush to swiftly disburse COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds, SBA calibrated its internal controls. The agency weakened or removed the controls...