Reports

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Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: MSHA Did Not Complete or Accurately Report Mandatory Inspections

Audit | 10/17/2023

1 - Closed

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health report transparently each year on the number of idle mine visits (E28) and attempted inspections (E27) used to eliminate mandatory inspections each fiscal year.

10 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health revise business rules used in MSHA reports for the mandatory inspections program to align with the Mine Act and MSHA policy, or update MSHA policy accordingly and consider raising the number of E28 idle mine visits and E27 denial of entry attempts used in MSHA reports to eliminate an inspection requirement.

11 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health improve the design and execution of MSHA’s internal control system for the mandatory inspections program to align with the GAO Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, specifically by identifying key risks through a programmatic risk assessment and collecting MSHA workforce concerns to verify or improve the integrity of the program.

2 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health update MSHA policies to: (1) define a schedule for verifying mine statuses; (2) specify when visual verifications (e.g., E28 idle mine visits) are necessary; (3) limit deviations from the mine status criteria to defined exceptional situations; (4) define how “primary mine type” changes apply during calculation of inspection requirements; (5) define timeliness metrics for certification of E01 inspections; (6) require mandatory inspections start and end in the same fiscal year; and (7) define how to calculate the mandatory inspection completion rate annually.

3 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health redesign monitoring processes to check Part 50 data reporting for mines on a quarterly basis, and verify timely certification of mandatory inspections and accuracy of activity codes and inspection dates.

4 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health update supporting tools based on revisions to the mine status criteria.

5 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health develop a process to verify if: (1) mines in “temporarily idle” status for extended periods need a change to “abandoned” status and (2) mines with underground openings are being timely sealed when their “primary mine type” is not listed as “underground.”

6 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health verify all underground coal mines in abandoned status for more than 90 days are either sealed (and its status updated in MSHA’s system), in the process of sealing and are issued a violation for non-compliance with the regulation, or has a remark in MSHA’s system indicating why it will not be sealed. This may include verifying the mine was identified for future reclamation in the Abandoned Mine Lands program inventory.

7 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health communicate to staff on: (1) the current version of mine status criteria, (2) MSHA reports and tools available for the mandatory inspection program, and (3) leadership’s expectations on districts correcting activity codes and when Part 50 data should be available to districts (including follow-up and violations for operators not reporting timely).

8 - Closed

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Add a system control to verify the “primary mine type” field is populated.

9 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health update policy or procedures to: (1) clearly define when an inspection starts and ends and (2) ensure the inspection dates for an E01 mandatory inspection include any inspection work done on other events (e.g., E16 spot inspection) to make the E01 inspection an “entire mine” inspection adhering to requirements in the Mine Act.

Department of Health & Human Services OIG

HRSA Made COVID-19 Uninsured Program Payments to Providers on Behalf of Individuals Who Had Health Insurance Coverage and for Services Unrelated to COVID-19

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 7/13/2023

Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG

FHA Borrowers Did Not Always Properly Receive COVID-19 Forbearances From Their Loan Servicers

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), completed an audit to determine whether FHA-insured borrowers properly received the COVID-19-related forbearance. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, 2020, provided a mortgage payment forbearance option for all borrowers who suffered a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 national emergency.We found that at least one-third of the nearly 335,000 borrowers who were delinquent on their FHA-insured loans and not on forbearance in November...

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.

Department of the Treasury OIG

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PANDEMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS: Audit of Air Carrier Worker Support Certifications - Flight Group Corporation (Redacted)

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Education OIG

Tennessee Department of Education’s Administration and Oversight of Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools Grant Funds

Congress provided $5.5 billion for the Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) program. The purpose of the EANS programs, authorized under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) and American Rescue Plan (ARP), is to provide services or assistance to eligible nonpublic schools to address educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 emergency. Our audit sought to determine whether the Tennessee Department of Education (Tennessee) designed and implemented (1) application processes that adequately assessed nonpublic schools’ eligibility for EANS...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 11/19/2024

2.1 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to review its policies and procedures for drawing down Department grant funds to pay for corresponding grant expenditures and determine whether any updates are necessary to ensure funds drawn down from one grant (for example, CRRSA EANS) are not being used to pay for expenditures under another grant (for example, ARP EANS).

2.2 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to ensure that Tennessee officials responsible for making, reviewing, and approving G5 drawdowns receive sufficient training on Federal rules and regulations and State policies and procedures related to drawing down funds from G5 and documenting the process correctly.

2.3 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to ensure full implementation of procedures that will identify, locate, and track assets purchased with EANS funds at nonpublic schools and verify that those assets were still being used for purposes related to COVID-19 or for allowable purposes under another Federal education program in which the nonpublic school participates. If assets purchased with EANS funds are no longer being used for purposes related to COVID-19 or for allowable purposes under another Federal education program in which the nonpublic school participates, retrieve them for use in other allowable activities or dispose of them in accordance with State laws and procedures. If assets purchased with EANS funds cannot be identified and located, determine any liabilities owed to the Department and return funds if required.

2.4 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to retroactively obtain prior written approval from the Department for the three equipment expenditures or return the approximately $123,000 expended for those equipment purchases and perform a review of the remaining equipment expenditures to determine whether there are additional purchases that require prior written approval. Tennessee should also incorporate into its grants management policies and procedures a step to determine for any Department grants whether it is required to obtain prior approval from the Department for certain expenditures, or whether Tennessee can provide prior approval for subrecipients.

Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG

The New York City Department of Social Services Should Enhance Its Fraud Risk Management Practices for its ESG CARES Act Funding

We audited New York City (NYC) Department of Social Services (DSS) with the objective of evaluating DSS’ fraud risk management practices for its Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (ESG CARES Act) funded activities and assessed the maturity of its efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud. Fraud within activities funded by the ESG CARES Act can lead to significant financial losses, reputational damage to the grantee and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), breach of fiduciary duty, and most importantly, loss of...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Homeland Security OIG

DHS Needs to Enhance Its COVID-19 Response at the Southwest Border

The objective of this review was to determine to what extent the Department of Homeland Security has implemented COVID-19 measures for migrants at the southwest border. We reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not conduct COVID-19 testing for migrants who enter CBP custody and is not required to do so. Instead, CBP relies on local public health systems to test symptomatic individuals. According to CBP officials, as a frontline law enforcement agency, it does not have the necessary resources to conduct such testing. For migrants that are transferred or released from CBP...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/21/2021

Department of the Treasury OIG

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PANDEMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS: Audit of Air Carrier Worker Support Certifications - Prosegur Services Group, Inc. (Redacted)

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG

Servicers Followed the COVID-19 Foreclosure Moratorium Requirements but Could Have Better Communicated the Requirements to Borrowers

Servicers followed the COVID-19 pandemic foreclosure moratorium requirements. However, they could have better communicated the moratorium requirements to delinquent borrowers who were subject to foreclosure proceedings. This situation occurred because HUD did not require servicers to notify borrowers directly about the foreclosure moratorium and that occupancy would pause the foreclosure process. Borrowers who were not informed about the moratorium or impacts of vacancy could have abandoned their homes, not realizing that remaining in the home would have afforded them additional time to...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

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Submitting Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

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Agency Reviewed

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Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

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Reports

COVID-19: MSHA Did Not Complete or Accurately Report Mandatory Inspections

HRSA Made COVID-19 Uninsured Program Payments to Providers on Behalf of Individuals Who Had Health Insurance Coverage and for Services Unrelated to COVID-19

FHA Borrowers Did Not Always Properly Receive COVID-19 Forbearances From Their Loan Servicers

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

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PANDEMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS: Audit of Air Carrier Worker Support Certifications - Flight Group Corporation (Redacted)

Tennessee Department of Education’s Administration and Oversight of Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools Grant Funds

The New York City Department of Social Services Should Enhance Its Fraud Risk Management Practices for its ESG CARES Act Funding

DHS Needs to Enhance Its COVID-19 Response at the Southwest Border

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PANDEMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS: Audit of Air Carrier Worker Support Certifications - Prosegur Services Group, Inc. (Redacted)

Servicers Followed the COVID-19 Foreclosure Moratorium Requirements but Could Have Better Communicated the Requirements to Borrowers

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