Reports
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Environmental Protection Agency OIG
EPA Should Consistently Track Coronavirus Pandemic-Related Grant Flexibilities and Implement Plan for Electronic Grant File Storage
The EPA Office of Grants and Debarment does not know the full extent to which program offices and regions have implemented grant flexibilities and exceptions permitted by the Office of Management and Budget due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Office of Grants and Debarment tracked grants that received flexibilities through its issued class waivers and regulatory exceptions but did not track grants that received flexibilities and exceptions approved by program offices and regions. The lack of agencywide tracking of grant flexibilities and exceptions hindered the Agency’s ability to assess how...
Small Business Administration OIG
SBA’s Oversight of the Grant Recipient’s Implementation of the CARES Act Resource Partners Training Portal
We evaluated the SBA’s handling of the grant to train small businesses on federal resources available in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorized funds up to $25 million for SBA to administer a grant to an association or associations representing resource partner centers to establish a single centralized hub for COVID-19 information. We found SBA did not ensure the grant recipient developed and implemented an effective marketing and outreach strategy to ensure the hub successfully achieved the...
Department of Homeland Security OIG
CISA Should Validate Priority Telecommunications Services Performance Data
The objective of this review was to determine whether DHS effectively supported operable and interoperable emergency communications for Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government officials and critical infrastructure operators during the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Environmental Protection Agency OIG
Authorized State Hazardous Waste Program Inspections and Operations Were Impacted During Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic impacted Resource Conservation and Recovery Act state program operations and resulted in fewer inspections.
Small Business Administration OIG
COVID-19 EIDL Program Recipients on the Department of Treasury's Do Not Pay List
We produced this Management Advisory to notify Small Business Administration (SBA) officials of serious concerns about potential improper payments in SBA’s Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Our review of Treasury’s analysis of processed COVID-19 EIDL and emergency EIDL grants from March to November 2020 revealed that SBA’s lack of adequate pre-award controls during this period of review led to 75,180 COVID-19 EIDLs totaling over $3.1 billion and 117,135 emergency EIDL grants totaling over $550 million being disbursed to potentially ineligible...
Department of Homeland Security OIG
Continued Reliance on Manual Processing Slowed USCIS’ Benefits Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The objective was to determine the effectiveness of USCIS’ technology systems to provide timely and accurate electronic processing of immigration and naturalization benefit requests while field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers were closed or operating on a reduced workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Small Business Administration OIG
SBA Emergency EIDL Grants to Sole Proprietors and Independent Contractors
The Office of Inspector General examined Emergency EIDL grants to sole proprietors and independent contractors from March 29, 2020, until the funds were exhausted just 14 weeks later on July 10. We set out to determine whether the agency complied with its internal policy that set Emergency EIDL grants at $1,000 per employee up to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act mandated maximum amount of $10,000. Using SBA’s data, we found SBA provided $4.5 billion more in Emergency EIDL grants to sole proprietors and independent contractors than they were entitled to receive...
Environmental Protection Agency OIG
Pandemic Highlights Need for Additional Tribal Drinking Water Assistance and Oversight in EPA Regions 9 and 10
The coronavirus pandemic negatively impacted the oversight and assistance that Regions 9 and 10 provide to the tribal drinking water systems under their purview, as well as the capacity of these systems to provide safe drinking water. The pandemic also underscored the limitations of both EPA resources and tribal drinking water system resiliency. As a result, tribal drinking water systems may be unable to operate safely and comply with drinking water regulations. Access to safe and clean water is critical at all times, but even more so during pandemic situations.
Department of Homeland Security OIG
Lessons Learned from FEMA’s Initial Response to COVID-19
The objective was to determine how effectively FEMA supported and coordinated Federal efforts to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We determined that FEMA did not have reliable data to inform allocation decisions and ensure accurate adjudication of resource requests, it did not have a process to allocate the limited supply of PPE, and FEMA’s strategic documents did not clearly outline roles and responsibilities to lead the Federal response. We made three recommendations that FEMA improve the reliability of WebEOC, formally...