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 41 items.
Thursday, August 6, 2009The General Services Administration (GSA) received $5.55 billion in Recovery Act funding to construct courthouses, federal buildings, and border stations, and to convert federal buildings to high-performance green buildings. In assessing GSA's ability to effectively manage these funds, the GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified several challenges that should be addressed. The agency needs to hire or contract a sufficient number of qualified personnel who buy goods and services on GSA's behalf. To manage construction projects and related purchases, the agency should establish a thorough planning and documentation process, as well as develop alternate funding avenues. In addition, the OIG reminded the agency of the minimum requirements for converting federal building to high-performance green buildings.
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Thursday, August 6, 2009The Recovery Act calls for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to award $1.1 billion in grants to airport operators for projects that improve airport safety, capacity, and security. When reviewing FAA's process for selecting and funding the projects, the agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that FAA selected some low-priority projects that have questionable economic merit—a key Recovery Act requirement. Also, in some cases, FAA awarded money to recipients with histories of grant-management problems, which raised doubts about their ability to administer effectively their Recovery funds. The OIG urged the FAA to revise its guidance on selecting Recovery-related airport improvement projects, and to ensure that funding is awarded only for the highest-priority projects with demonstrated economic merit. In addition, the OIG recommended that FAA provide stronger oversight of the entities receiving grant money.
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Friday, July 31, 2009Of the $500 million in Recovery Act funding the Social Security Administration (SSA) received to administer disability and retirement payments, up to $40 million can be used for an electronic medical records system to process disability claims. SSA's Office of Inspector reviewed the agency's spending plan for the electronic records system and found that the plan met the requirements established by the Recovery Act and the guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of Inspector General noted that the agency is planning to spend $24 million for contracts and projects related to electronic medical records technology by January, 2010 and recommended that once the $24 million is awarded, the agency reassess whether it could award additional contracts and, therefore, expend more of the $40 million allotted for this initiative.
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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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Wednesday, July 29, 2009Cincinnati has applied to HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program for $60 million in Recovery Act funds to purchase and renovate foreclosed or abandoned homes. To determine if Cincinnati could effectively administer this funding, HUD's Office of Inspector General looked at the city's management of non-Recovery grants and identified weaknesses that, if uncorrected, will also adversely impact the city's administration of Recovery Act funds. The Office of Inspector General recommended that Cincinnati hire or contract for a sufficient number of personnel to manage its Neighborhood Stabilization Program and provide HUD with documentation showing that the issues were resolved.
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