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 44 items.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009EPA received approximately $72 billion in Recovery Act funding for programs and projects, such as cleaning up superfund sites and helping local communities with water quality and wastewater infrastructure needs. The agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) looked at how EPA planned to calculate its Fiscal Year 2009 "grant accruals," which represent grantee costs incurred but not yet billed. The OIG noted that EPA planned to combine Recovery-related grants with traditional grants and use the same methodology to calculate the accruals for both. The OIG cautioned that this approach could distort the accrual amount, and recommended that EPA separate out the Recovery grants to obtain a more accurate accrual report.
Read More.
Friday, August 7, 2009New London, CT, will receive more than $381,000 in Recovery Act assistance for its Capital Fund program that renovates and modernizes public housing developments. Because the city has had trouble managing this program in the past, HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated New London's ability to administer the Recovery funds connected to this program.
Read More.
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.
Read More.
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.
Read More.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009The Recovery Act calls for the Treasury Department to provide grants in lieu of tax credits to qualified developers placing in service certain types of facilities or equipment for the production of renewable energy, such as solar and wind. The Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) audited the agency's ability to implement the new program and meet the Recovery Act's requirements. In its report, the OIG noted Treasury's progress but identified several weaknesses that the agency must address.
Read More.
