In This Section
Inspectors General Findings
Each federal agency has an Inspector General (IG) responsible for overseeing how federal funds are spent and for working with the agency to minimize fraud, waste, and abuse. IGs for agencies who received Recovery Act funds are reviewing their stimulus spending to ensure Recovery-related projects meet legal and administrative requirements. The IGs are also reviewing their agencies administrative practices to ensure that effective controls are in place for managing Recovery funds. Reports of IG findings are below.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 33 items.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009The Recovery Act provides an estimated $87 billion in additional funding to the states through 2010 to protect and maintain their Medicaid programs in the current economic downturn. In its second audit of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Recovery Act funding, the HHS Office of Inspector General found that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services correctly calculated temporary increases in Medicaid's Federal medical assistance percentages for the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2009 (i.e., October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009), and awarded approximately $15.2 billion in additional funding to the states.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviewed prior audits and observed that the EPA's Recovery-funding to recipients with known weaknesses or open recommendations could increase the risks of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The OIG advised that the EPA should verify whether or not fund recipients have corrected weaknesses identified in previous reports before awarding new funds.
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Monday, July 6, 2009Qualified contracting officers are important to ensuring that the Small Business Administration (SBA) gets the best value for goods and services purchased with its Recovery Act funds. In a report issued by the agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG), it was noted that SBA gave contracting officers authority to make purchases on the agency's behalf without ensuring that they met required education, training, and experience. The OIG recommended that SBA establish better controls over the certification program and the process for authorizing contracting officers to buy goods and services.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009The Social Security Administration was allotted $90 million by the Recovery Act to cover the administrative costs of processing the $250 one-time payments to 53 million Social Security recipients. When looking at the process the SSA had in place to identify and report the costs specifically connected to the distribution of the Recovery Act funds, the agency's Inspector General found that the Agency was able to identify and track Recovery administrative costs separately from regular appropriations. The IG also found that the SSA had submitted the required weekly reports detailing the costs in a timely manner.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) reviewed the agency's control over the distribution of $173 million in Recovery Act funds for direct farm-operating loans. USDA's Farm Services Agency makes these loans directly to farmers and ranchers who cannot obtain commercial credit from banks or other financial institutions. The OIG evaluated the process for determining borrower eligibility and the requirements for how the loans are used, and recommended that the agency strengthen both.
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