Reports

Department of Transportation OIG

FTA’s Oversight of Its Region 9 Recipients Is Insufficient To Confirm Compliance With CARES Act Funding Requirements

What We Looked At Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received $25 billion to help the Nation’s public transit agencies mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. FTA obligated over $4.4 billion of this funding to recipients within FTA’s Region 9, which contains the 4th, 10th, and 11th highest FTA CARES Act fund recipients nationwide. Although the Agency expanded its oversight of COVID-19 relief funding recipients, we previously found risks associated with these activities and FTA’s oversight of contract and grant expenditures...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 5/21/2024

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

The IRS Continues to Reduce Backlog Inventories in the Tax Processing Centers

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/18/2024

Department of Transportation OIG

FAA Did Not Fully Follow Its Processes When Awarding and Administering CARES Act-Funded Airport Development Grants and Contracts

What We Looked At The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with $10 billion in funding, including about $525 million for airport development expenses. FAA distributed these funds through its Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which requires grant recipients to comply with various Federal procurement requirements, including Buy American Preferences. Previous Office of Inspector General (OIG) audits identified weaknesses in FAA’s processes for awarding and administering AIP grants and its oversight of CARES Act funds. Given...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 2/21/2024

1 - Open

Revise procedures for reviewing and approving grant application packages to add steps to verify that the applications are complete and accurate.

2 - Open

Assess the CARES Act-funded airport development grants identified in this report that did not meet award requirements and recover the $27 million or identify the rationale for acceptance of these costs.

4 - Open

Strengthen internal controls to verify that all reimbursement requests comply with FAA’s two-tier manual review process for CARES Act funds. This may include requiring Delphi controls are correctly established and maintained.

5 - Open

Assess the 35 invoices—comprising $18.7 million in questioned costs—that did not receive sufficient review under the CARES Act guidance and seek recovery of any portion that is determined to be improper and/or unallowable or provide justification for approving the payments.

6 - Open

Require FAA field offices to collect, review, and maintain required price and cost analyses before making grant awards. Implementation of this recommendation could result in funds put to better use of $10.6 million.

7 - Open

Revise the Agency’s policies for collecting, reviewing, and approving Buy American Preferences waivers to require the waiver requests to be timely, complete, and accurate, and define the “extraordinary circumstances” that would allow grant recipients to deviate from Buy American requirements. Implementation of this recommendation could result in funds put to better use of $49.6 million.

8 - Open

After revising Buy American policies, develop and implement Buy American Preferences waiver training for field offices.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation OIG

DOJ Press Release: Pennsylvania Man Admits $4.8 Million Cares Act Loan Fraud Scheme

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Action Is Being Taken to Address the System Limitation That Contributed to the Destruction of Tax Year 2019 Paper‑Filed Information Returns

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation OIG

Management Alert: Deceased Participants in the Central States’ Special Financial Assistance Calculation

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Inspection / Evaluation | 11/01/2023

Tennessee Valley Authority OIG

Pandemic Recovery Credit

On August 20, 2020, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created the Pandemic Relief Credit (PRC) to provide a measure of relief to local power companies (LPCs), industries, businesses, and people of TVA’s seven state service region. Relief was provided in the form of a 2.5 percent credit to LPC and directly served customers’ demand and nonfuel energy charges. In August 2021, TVA extended the 2.5 percent credit through fiscal year (FY) 2022. TVA subsequently extended the 2.5 percent credit through FY 2023. Through July 2023, TVA had issued...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 10/19/2023

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...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Processing of Recovery Rebate Credit Claims During the 2022 Filing Season

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 8/24/2023

1 - Closed

On March 14, 2022, we notified the Director, Submission Processing, Wage and Investment Division, of our concerns regarding the accuracy of COVID Tax Tip 2022-29 regarding Internal Revenue Code §§ 6428B(f) and 6428B(h). Specifically, the guidance states incorrectly that taxpayers can claim the RRC for a shared dependent even if the IRS has already made an advance payment for the dependent. We recommended that the IRS revise the Tax Tip and related Frequently Asked Questions, etc., to state that taxpayers who share qualifying dependents are required to reduce the amount of the RRC claimed by the advance payment issued to either parent on behalf of the dependent.

2 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should review the 274,865 individuals identified where the IRS issued an RRC to potentially ineligible dependents and nonresidents and take the actions needed to recover payments that are determined to be erroneous.

3 - Closed

Continue to periodically issue information on the availability of the RRC and how to claim it through Frequently Asked Questions on IRS.gov, communications with tax return preparers, annual unclaimed refund announcements, etc. until the statutory period for taxpayers to file a Tax Year 2020 and 2021 tax return to claim the RRC has expired.

4 - Closed

Send a letter to the nearly 3 million individuals we identified where the tax return data show the individual is potentially eligible for the RRC encouraging the individuals to amend their Tax Year 2021 return and claim the credit if eligible. The letter should clearly state the eligibility requirements for claiming the RRC in simple terms and direct the individuals to additional resources if needed to assist them in determining whether they are eligible.

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.

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Reports

FTA’s Oversight of Its Region 9 Recipients Is Insufficient To Confirm Compliance With CARES Act Funding Requirements

The IRS Continues to Reduce Backlog Inventories in the Tax Processing Centers

FAA Did Not Fully Follow Its Processes When Awarding and Administering CARES Act-Funded Airport Development Grants and Contracts

DOJ Press Release: Pennsylvania Man Admits $4.8 Million Cares Act Loan Fraud Scheme

Action Is Being Taken to Address the System Limitation That Contributed to the Destruction of Tax Year 2019 Paper‑Filed Information Returns

Management Alert: Deceased Participants in the Central States’ Special Financial Assistance Calculation

Pandemic Recovery Credit

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

Processing of Recovery Rebate Credit Claims During the 2022 Filing Season

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

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