Reports

The Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery is evaluating funds that were allocated to the Federal Reserve System’s Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), which had 319 lenders and 1,830 borrowers participating in loans totaling more than $17 billion. The objectives of the audit are to 1) assess the process used by banks to issue loans under the MSLP program; 2) evaluate the process used by the Federal Reserve’s Special Purpose Vehicle to purchase the loans;  3) determine vulnerabilities based on a risk-based analysis; and 4) identify specific areas that warrant further audit work.
 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act designated $10 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support continuing operations at U.S. airports following the sharp decline in passenger traffic and other airport business due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. By the end of fiscal year 2020, FAA had obligated approximately $9.4 billion in formula grants to airports for such purposes as capital expenditures, operating expenses (including payroll and utilities), and debt payments. We are initiating this audit because the act also provided $5 million to OIG for conducting oversight of DOT projects and activities supported by CARES Act funds. Our objective is to assess whether FAA’s policies and procedures for awarding and overseeing CARES Act grants are sufficient to protect taxpayer interests.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery is assessing the Department of the Treasury's Direct Loan Program, which provided approximately $2.7 billion through 35 loans to passenger air carriers and related businesses, cargo air carriers, and businesses critical to maintaining national security. The objectives of the audit are to 1) determine if the processes to approve loans followed requirements under Section 4003(b) of the CARES Act and other appropriate regulations and guidance and 2) evaluate Treasury’s Direct Loan Program loan portfolio management process and determine whether it follows best practices established by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or other appropriate authority. As part of this effort, SIGPR is partnering with the Department of Defense OIG in reviewing the loans that were issued in the interest of national security. 
 

The OIG is conducting a survey of inmates in BOP-managed federal prisons regarding BOP's COVID-19 pandemic response.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has initiated a review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) use of home confinement as a tool to mitigate the effect of the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the federal prison population.  The review will assess the BOP’s process for implementing the use of home confinement as authorized under the CARES Act, the process for its consideration of the eligibility criteria outlined in the Attorney General’s March 26 and April 3, 2020 memoranda, and the process by which BOP headquarters evaluated wardens’ recommendations that inmates who did not meet the Attorney General’s criteria be placed in home confinement.  The review will also select particular cases for examination to determine whether there were irregularities in the BOP’s processes.  If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review.  The OIG is undertaking this review in response to requests from Members of Congress, and issues the OIG identified during the series of remote inspections it has conducted regarding the BOP’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This audit will look at the quality of data reported in selected President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programs to determine if weaknesses exist that may lead to inaccurate results reporting. The objectives of this audit are to assess the extent to which USAID has: (1) designed and implemented internal controls over collecting, verifying, and reporting PEPFAR data; and (2) identified and mitigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its internal controls over PEPFAR data quality.  

As required by section 8L of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the Inspectors General for the Department of Defense, Department of State, and USAID work together to report quarterly to Congress on every overseas contingency operation’s progress and corresponding oversight activities.  Starting in the second quarter of fiscal year 2020, these quarterly reports include reporting on the COVID-19 outbreaks in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and the Philippines, as well as the U.S. government response to them.

We plan to begin this audit in May 2020. The objective of this audit is to assess DoD’s implementation of section 3610 as authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, including whether contracting officers properly authorized and reimbursed contractor costs. We may revise the objective as the audit proceeds, and will also consider suggestions from management for additional or revised objectives.

The OIG plans to initiate a project to research and identify topics for potential audits and evaluations related to the EPA's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One objective of this audit is to evaluate elements within the System Security Plans to determine whether they provide details to allow the EPA to make decisions to secure its network during the COVID-19 pandemic.