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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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Search reports, investigative results, and agency plansShowing 11 - 20 of 45 results
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...
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...
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...
Tennessee Valley Authority OIG

Remote Application and Desktop Virtualization Client

The Office of the Inspector General audited the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) use of remote application and desktop virtualization client due to the risks of (1) potential system intrusion through misconfigurations and (2) continued elevated remote users during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found the configuration management control for TVA’s remote application desktop virtualization client was ineffective. However, we determined compensating access controls were in place to mitigate the risk to an overall acceptable level.
Department of Transportation OIG

DOT's Tracking of Aviation Imports and Potential Impacts of Disruptions

What We Looked At The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the importance of developing and maintaining resilient supply chains in essential industries. Citing the significance of the aviation industry to the Nation's economy, the Ranking Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Subcommittee on Aviation asked us to assess how the Department of Transportation (DOT) tracks the amount of critical aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) imports. They also asked for the amount of critical aviation parts that are manufactured in and...
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery

Independent Review of 4003(b) Loan Recipient’s Validation Memo – Caribbean Sun Airlines, Inc.

Independent Review of 4003(b) Loan Recipient’s Validation Memo – Caribbean Sun Airlines, Inc.
Department of Transportation OIG

FTA Can Enhance Its Controls To Mitigate COVID-19 Relief Funding Risks

What We Looked At Since March 2020, Congress has provided $69.5 billion in supplemental funding to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to help transit systems in the United States mitigate the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As of August 1, 2022, FTA had obligated over $63 billion and expended over $46 billion. In addition to increased funding, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES), Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA), and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Acts permitted changes in how recipients use FTA funds...
Small Business Administration OIG

SBA's Guaranty Purchases for Paycheck Protection Program Loans

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this management advisory to express concerns regarding the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) decision to end collections on purchased Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans with an outstanding balance of $100,000 or less. In anticipation of a significant number of delinquent PPP loans that lenders will submit for guaranty purchase, we began reviewing SBA’s process for approving PPP guaranty purchases. During our review, we identified concerns with SBA’s decision to end collections on these loans and found that expedited management...
Small Business Administration OIG

Follow-up Inspection of SBA’s Internal Controls to Prevent COVID-19 EIDLs to Ineligible Applicants

This report presents the results of our follow-up inspection to assess the effectiveness of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) enhanced internal controls to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to ineligible applicants. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act prohibited the agency from requiring tax return transcripts to prove eligibility. Congress eliminated this restriction 9 months later with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. We found SBA did not implement the tax transcript requirement in a timely...