Reports

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.

The Office of Inspector General will conduct an evaluation of SBA’s awards made to Highlight Technologies LLC to meet emerging needs related to impacts of COVID-19. Our project is part of a series of reviews of contracts SBA awarded to support CARES Act and other COVID-19 related legislation programs. Our objective is to determine if SBA issued the blanket purchase agreement and contract modifications in accordance with federal laws, regulations, and internal guidance.

The Office of Inspector General Audits Division will perform an evaluation of the Small Business Administration’s implementation of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Our objectives are to determine if SBA designed the program to (1) align with the American Rescue Plan Act requirements including whether designated groups were prioritized and (2) minimize the risk of financial loss.

The CARES and Continued Assistance Acts expanded states’ ability to provide unemployment insurance for many workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including for workers who were not ordinarily eligible for unemployment benefits, non traditional claimants. Our audit will determine if non traditional claimants received Unemployment Insurance benefits as intended under the CARES Act and the Continued Assistance Act. 

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee's (PRAC) Semiannual Report to Congress covering the period October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021.

Audit of ETA’s Oversight of UI Integrity for CARES Act Programs

The objective of this audit engagement is to determine if DOL ensured states had adequate controls to detect, prevent and recover UI improper payments under the Cares Act, and the Continued Assistance Act.

Inspection Notification: SBA’s Handling of Potentially Fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program Loans

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has appropriated over $3.5 trillion to address the public health and economic crises. Given the changing nature of the pandemic and the federal government’s response, we re-visited our original top management challenges to ensure that the PRAC is providing timely information to Congress and the new Administration about the response efforts. The following four challenges have been added: Preventing and Detecting Fraud against Government Programs; Informing and Protecting the Public from Pandemic-Related Fraud; Data...