Reports
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Small Business Administration OIG
SBA’s Handling of Potentially Fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program Loans
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the Small Business Administration (SBA) did not have an organizational structure with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and processes to manage and handle potentially fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans across the program.
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...
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...
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...
U.S. Postal Service OIG
U.S. Postal Service Protection Against External Cyberattacks
Our objective was to determine if the Postal Service has an effective security posture to protect its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure from external cyberattacks and prevent unauthorized access to restricted data.
U.S. Postal Service OIG
COVID-19 Leave Administration
Our objective was to assess the Postal Service’s management of its employees’ use of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Although the FFCRA expired on December 31, 2020, the Postal Service continued to allow liberal leave usage for employees who had a sickness related to COVID‑19. On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law. This Act is similar to the FFCRA in that it created a new type of leave. Effective March 12, 2021, and continuing through September 30, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act provides...
Small Business Administration OIG
Evaluation of SBA’s Award Procedures for the CARES Act Entrepreneurial Development Cooperative Agreements
This report found that SBA awarded the CARES Act entrepreneurial development cooperative agreements and grants in accordance with applicable federal laws, regulations, and guidance. We found program officials established performance goals and identified performance indicators. To more effectively ensure performance goals are achieved as intended, SBA should clearly define the performance goals and set performance targets. We recommended that SBA enforce standard operating procedures requiring defined performance goals and include performance targets in all future SBDC and WBC cooperative...
U.S. Postal Service OIG
Impact of Pandemic on Postal Service Finances
From March through September 2020, the Postal Service separated pandemic-related expenses from daily operating expenses to determine the financial impact. These pandemic-related expenses included supplies, services, transportation expenses, and sick and annual leave expenses, among others. Some expenses, such as supplies and services, were directly tracked while others, like transportation expenses, were estimated. Our objective was to assess the impact of the pandemic on Postal Service finances.
Small Business Administration OIG
Duplicate Loans Made Under the Paycheck Protection Program
SBA OIG reviewed PPP regulations and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, in addition to guidance published in SBA’s PPP Interim Final Rules and PPP Frequently Asked Questions. We determined SBA did not always have sufficient controls in place to detect and prevent duplicate PPP loans. As a result, lenders made more than one PPP loan disbursement to 4,260 borrowers with the same tax identification number and borrowers with the same business name and address. These disbursements totaled about $692 million for PPP loans approved from April 3 through August 9, 2020. We...
U.S. Postal Service OIG
Service Performance of Election and Political Mail During the November 2020 General Election
Our objective was to evaluate the U.S. Postal Service’s service performance of Election and Political Mail during the November 2020 general election. We also evaluated the handling of mail for the Georgia Senate runoff election held on January 5, 2021. The Postal Service prioritized processing of Election Mail during the 2020 general election, significantly improving timeliness over the 2018 mid-term election even with significantly increased volumes of Election Mail in the mailstream. Although timeliness was slightly below goals, proper handling and timely delivery of all Election Mail...