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...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Homeland Security OIG

Ineffective Controls Over COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Leave the Program Susceptible to Waste and Abuse

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not always implement effective internal controls to provide oversight of COVID-19 Funeral Assistance. FEMA’s funeral assistance program greatly expanded the universe of reimbursable expenses for deaths related to COVID-19, even beyond those specifically identified as ineligible under established FEMA policy, without establishing guardrails to ensure relief was limited to necessary expenses and serious needs as required by statute.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 8/24/2023

1 - Open

We recommend that the FEMA Administrator resolve questioned costs totaling an estimated $24,438,662 for expenses deemed ineligible by FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide and determine the amount of any debts owed by recipients for erroneous payments.

2 - Closed

We recommend that the FEMA Administrator resolve other questioned costs included in our report and determine the amount of any debts owed by recipients for erroneous payments. Other questioned costs requiring resolution include: a) $1,348,546 for awards issued to multiple applicants for the same decedents; b) $554,653 for awards issued for applications that exceeded the $9,000 per decedent award limit; and c) $591,805 for 93 applications for which FEMA did not adequately review eligibility criteria of the applications.

3 - Open

We recommend that the FEMA Administrator ensure that future iterations of the Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide and supporting procedures (a) provide consistent guidance on eligibility of funeral expenses for all future disaster declarations; and (b) allow for reimbursement of only necessary expenses and serious needs, consistent with the law.

4 - Closed

We recommend that the FEMA Administrator strengthen and monitor improvement of FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance training practices with particular focus on: a) distinguishing legitimate sources of potential duplication such as decedent’s name and social security number from potential duplications that arise due to FEMA using a repurposed Individual Assistance processing system, with a data field such as damaged dwelling address; b) preventing FEMA from reimbursing expenses exceeding the maximum $9,000 per decedent; and c) deducting financial assistance received from outside sources such as pre-need funeral arrangements, burial insurance, and assistance from other voluntary or government agencies.

5 - Open

We recommend that the FEMA Administrator ensure that FEMA provides its COVID-19 Funeral Assistance call center contractor the guidance and training necessary to meet the quality control and production monitoring metrics as prescribed by its agreement with the contractor.

Department of Health & Human Services OIG

Telehealth During 2020 Helped Ensure End-Stage Renal Disease Patients Received Care, But Limited Information Related to Telehealth Was Documented

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

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...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Health & Human Services OIG

Although IHS Allocated COVID-19 Testing Funds To Meet Community Needs, It Did Not Ensure That the Funds Were Always Used in Accordance With Federal Requirements

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 7/20/2023

23-A-07-091.01 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service correct Purpose Statute violations totaling $19,912 relating to funds not used on COVID-19 testing and other testing-related activities from the Pine Ridge Service Unit (an IHS Direct program), and, if IHS is unable to correct those violations, report any Antideficiency Act violations.

23-A-07-091.02 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service identify and correct any other Purpose Statute violations relating to funds not used on COVID-19 testing and other testing-related activities from the Families First Act and Paycheck Protection Act funds allocated to the IHS Direct programs within the GPAO, and, if IHS is unable to correct those violations, report any Antideficiency Act violations.

23-A-07-091.03 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service recover $460,525 in funds not used on COVID-19 testing and other testing-related activities from the applicable sampled Tribal and UIO programs.

23-A-07-091.04 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service identify and recover amounts not used for COVID-19 testing or other testing-related activities that we did not sample from remaining Tribal and UIO programs within the GPAO.

23-A-07-091.05 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service develop and implement procedures to identify and deobligate any unused Families First Act funds that expired on September 30, 2022, from all locations within the GPAO.

23-A-07-091.06 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service develop and provide adequate guidance to programs within the GPAO on the proper use of Paycheck Protection Act funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

23-A-07-091.07 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service strengthen its review process to ensure that modifications to ISDEAA agreements and IHCIA/FAR contracts contain complete and accurate information, including the funding source, amount awarded, and applicable language required under the funding source.

23-A-07-091.08 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service provide adequate guidance to the programs on how to track and account for funds allocated and used under the Paycheck Protection Act.

23-A-07-091.09 - Open

We recommend that the Indian Health Service work with Tribal and UIO programs within the GPAO that we did not sample to ensure that they have properly tracked and accounted for funds used under the Paycheck Protection Act.

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Reports

FRB Boston Followed Its Processes for Monitoring the Credit Quality of Main Street Lending Program Loans

The Strategic National Stockpile Was Not Positioned To Respond Effectively to the COVID-19 Pandemic

CDC Provided Oversight and Assistance; However, ELC Recipients Still Faced Challenges in Implementing COVID-19 Screening Testing Programs

Home Health Agencies Rarely Furnished Services Via Telehealth Early in the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Four States Reviewed Received Increased Medicaid COVID-19 Funding Even Though They Terminated Some Enrollees' Coverage for Unallowable or Potentially Unallowable Reasons

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

Ineffective Controls Over COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Leave the Program Susceptible to Waste and Abuse

Telehealth During 2020 Helped Ensure End-Stage Renal Disease Patients Received Care, But Limited Information Related to Telehealth Was Documented

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

Although IHS Allocated COVID-19 Testing Funds To Meet Community Needs, It Did Not Ensure That the Funds Were Always Used in Accordance With Federal Requirements

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