Reports

The PRAC’s objective was to review pandemic-related federal contracts and identify first-time contractors and contracts awarded without competitive bidding. We found that first-time federal contractors received $4.4 billion worth of pandemic contracts in Fiscal Year 2020 and that $128 million was deobligated from contracts with first-time federal contractors during the same period. Additionally, we identified the four most common flexibilities identified to justify limited competition were urgency, only one source, simplified acquisition procedures, and authorized by statute. Of these, we...

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law and included a division coined the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization Access Act of (EUISSA) 2020. The EUISSA authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to transfer emergency administrative grants (grants0 to states’ Unemployment Trust Fund for the amount of $1 billion to administer its Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. DOL to date has provided the $1 billion in grants to states to administer the UI program. This audit will determine if DOL provided adequate oversight of states’ use of emergency administrative grant funds authorized under the EUISSA 2020.

Federal agencies were allocated more than $5 trillion in pandemic response funding to be disbursed to the public and to state and local governments, where a state or local government could have received pandemic response funds from multiple federal programs to improve the overall pandemic response in their communities. Access to information about the total amount of funds received, the purpose of those funds, and the progress made toward achieving the program goals and objectives is not always centralized and can be difficult for the public to track down or may not even be available to the public. The PRAC will conduct impact case studies at 6 different locations and seek to identify the federal pandemic response funds provided to the 6 locations and the purpose of those funds, and to determine if the federal program spending aligned with the intended goals and objectives. The 6 locations identified for this project include: Springfield, Massachusetts; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Marion County, Georgia; Sheridan County, Nebraska; White Earth Indian Nation, Minnesota; and Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico.

Evaluation report on Treasury's effectiveness in shifting the Hardest Hit Fund to help homeowners suffering from unemployment a loss of income or other hardships related to the pandemic.

For our evaluation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, also known as NOAA Fisheries) plan for the implementation of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding, our objective was to determine whether NOAA complied with the requirements of the CARES Act. Specifically, we determined (1) what steps NOAA took in implementing the requirements for awarding funds, (2) challenges NOAA faced during implementation, and (3) NOAA’s current status in processing applications and award funds under the CARES Act...

This report examines the EPA’s activities to oversee mobile source compliance with clean air laws and regulations during the coronavirus pandemic. It highlights National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory’s efforts to minimize the potential for noncompliance during the pandemic and the importance of returning to full testing capacity to provide the most effective oversight.

A commissioned study by MITRE that identifies gaps in federal data sources and how we can close them to improve the quality of the information we provide to the public.