WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. OIG-A-2024-002) on Dec. 14, 2023, entitled "Company is Meeting Hiring Goals but Has Opportunities to Improve Hiring Efficiency." Here are excerpts: * * * Memorandum To: Robert Grasty, Executive Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer From: Jim Morrison, Assistant Inspector General, Audits In November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (TNSrep) -- The Commerce Inspector General issued the following report (No. OIG-24-008-A) on Dec. 21, 2023, entitled "USPTO Must Improve Acquisition Planning to Ensure Efficient and Competitive Procurements." Here are excerpts: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR: Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office FROM: Frederick J. Meny, Jr., Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation SUBJECT: USPT  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following memorandum on Dec. 6, 2023, regarding the audit of the Army's management of undefinitized contract actions awarded to provide Ukraine assistance: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION AND SUSTAINMENT AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SUBJECT: Audit of the Army's Management of Undefinitized Contract Actions Awarded to Provide Ukraine Assistance (Project No. D2024-D000AX-0037.000) The pur  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following memorandum on Dec. 13, 2023, regarding the audit of lowest price technically acceptable contracts: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITON AND SUSTAINMENT UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS COMMANDER, U.S. CYBER COMMAND COMMANDER, U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND COMMANDER, U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following memorandum on Dec. 18, 2023, regarding the evaluation of accountability controls for seaports of debarkation in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION AND SUSTAINMENT UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY COMMANDER, U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND COMMANDER, U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND DIRECTOR, JOINT STAFF AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY AUDIT  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following memorandum on Dec. 11, 2023 regarding fiscal 2024 review of compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PRIVACY, CIVIL LIBERTIES, AND TRANSPARENCY COMMANDER, U.S. CYBER COMMAND DIRECTOR, JOINT STAFF DIRECTOR, DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTME  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following memorandum on Dec. 14, 2023, regarding the review of selected transactions to test management controls and identify fraud, waste and abuse within programs: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF UNDER SECRETARIES OF DEFENSE CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DIRECTOR OF COST ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAM EVALUATION   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following memorandum on Dec. 11, 2023, regarding the summary of oversight reports on security assistance to Ukraine to inform possible efforts to support Israel and other future foreign assistance efforts: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE SUBJECT: Summary of Oversight Report  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following report on Dec. 20, 2023 entitled "Fiscal 2023 Agency Financial Report." Here are excerpts: * * * I am pleased to present the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Agency Financial Report (AFR). The report provides information on the DoD OIG's financial performance, an overview of our operations, and information on how we used taxpayer dollars to execute our mission in accordan  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following report on Dec. 20, 2023, entitled "Fiscal 2024 Oversight Plan." Here are excerpts: * * * I am pleased to present the FY 2024 Oversight Plan for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG). This oversight plan describes the DoD OIG's ongoing and planned audits and evaluations in support of our focus areas, and also reflects their alignment with the issues identified in the DoD OIG's FY 2024 assessment  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 -- The U.S. Defense Finance and Accounting Service issued the following high-value contract information through the Pentagon on Dec. 21, 2023. ERNST AND YOUNG LLP, New York, New York, was awarded a labor-hour contract option for audit services for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General audits of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) financial statements. The modification is for a maximum face value of $21,948,613 and brings the total cumulative value of the existi  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. A-09-21-03009) on Dec. 13, 2023, entitled "Medicare Generally Paid Acute-Care Hospitals for Inpatient Stays for Medicare Enrollees Diagnosed With COVID-19 in Accordance With Federal Requirements" filed under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Here are excerpts: * * * Report in Brief Why OIG Did This Audit The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act increased   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General issued the following report (No. A-07-23-01213) on Dec. 14, 2023, entitled "Toolkit: To Help Decrease Improper Payments in Medicare Advantage Through the Identification of High-Risk Diagnosis Codes" filed under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Here are excerpts: * * * What Is the Toolkit? This toolkit offers Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations information that will enable them to replicate Office of Inspe  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General posted the following advisory opinion (No. 23-09) on Dec. 18, 2023: * * * Favorable opinion regarding the use of a "preferred hospital" network as part of Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance ("Medigap") policies, whereby an insurance company would contract with a preferred hospital organization to provide discounts on the otherwise-applicable Medicare inpatient deductibles for its policyholders and, in turn, would provid  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General posted the following advisory opinion (No. 23-10) on Dec. 20, 2023: * * * Favorable opinion regarding the use of a "preferred hospital" network as part of Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance ("Medigap") policies, whereby an insurance company would contract with a preferred hospital organization to provide discounts on the otherwise-applicable Medicare inpatient deductibles for its policyholders and, in turn, would provid  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General posted the following advisory opinion (No. 23-11) on Dec. 27, 2023: * * * Favorable opinion regarding the proposed subsidization of certain Medicare cost-sharing obligations in the context of a clinical trial. * * * [We redact certain identifying information and certain potentially privileged, confidential, or proprietary information, unless otherwise approved by the requestor(s).] Issued: December 21, 2023 [Address bl  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (TNSrep) -- The Homeland Security Inspector General issued the following report (No. OIG-24-08) on Dec. 18, 2023, entitled "Coast Guard National Maritime Center's Oversight of Merchant Mariner Training and Examinations." Here are excerpts: * * * HIGHLIGHTS Why We Did This Evaluation We conducted this review to determine if the Coast Guard complied with the standards and regulations for the audit and approval of training for merchant mariners. We also assessed the examina  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces issued the following testimony by Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, director for the F-35 Lightning II Program at the U.S. Air Force, involving a hearing on Dec. 12, 2023, entitled "F-35 Acquisition Program Update": * * * Chairman Wittman, Ranking Member Norcross, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on F-35 development and production plans and prog  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions issued the following written testimony by Roger King, senior labor and employment counsel at the HR Policy Association, involving a hearing on Dec. 13, 2023, entitled "Protecting Workers and Small Businesses from Biden's Attack on Worker Free Choice and Economic Growth": * * * Chair Good, Ranking Member DeSaulnier, and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: BALTIMORE - An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore field office; U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Washington, D.C. division; U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) National Capital region; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore field division; the Anne Arun  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (TNSrep) -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General issued the following report (No. 2024-FW-0002) on Dec. 15, 2023, entitled "CPD Could Improve the Timing of the Delivery of Disaster Recovery Funding." Here are excerpts: * * * To: Tennille S. Parker, Director, Office of Disaster Recovery, DGR From: Kilah S. White, Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Office of Inspector General, GA Subject: CPD Could Improve the Timing of Delivery of Disaster  more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Dec. 30 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana issued the following news release: Temitope S. Adeboye, 32, of Indianapolis has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and other false identity documents offenses. In 2020, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"). The CARES Act provided for the  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Interior Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 2022-CR-038) on Dec. 14, 2023, entitled "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grants Awarded to the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, From July 1, 2019, Through June 30, 2021, Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program." Here are excerpts: * * * Memorandum To: Martha Williams, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service From: Amy R. Billings, Director, Centra  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Interior Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 2023-ER-002) on Dec. 20, 2023, entitled "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grants Awarded to the State of Tennessee, Wildlife Resources Agency, From July 1, 2020, Through June 30, 2022, Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program." Here are excerpts: * * * Memorandum To: Martha Williams, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service From: Jessica Brower, Director, Contract and Grants Division Sub  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure urging public clarification that critically and chronically ill Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries will have the same access to L  more

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Dec. 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued the following news release on Dec. 27, 2023: A resident of Blandburg, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 25 months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release on her conviction for violating federal narcotics laws related to a nine-month Title III wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around the counties of Jefferson, Clearfield, and  more

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Dec. 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued the following news release on Dec. 27, 2023: A resident of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release on her convictions for violating federal narcotics and firearms laws related to a nine-month Title III wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around the counties of Jeffer  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 23-137-R24) on Dec. 15, 2023, entitled "Processing and Delivery of Veterans Affairs Medicine." Here are excerpts: * * * Background The U.S. Postal Service provides a critical service to the American public by delivering essential items such as prescription medications and medical supplies. U.S. Veterans depend on this critical service for reliable and timely delivery of their medications.   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 -- The Defense Inspector General issued the following report (Report No. DODIG-2024-039) on Dec. 14, 2023, entitled "Quality Control Review of the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Defense Contract Audit Agency FY 2022 Single Audit of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc." Here are excerpts: * * * To: Assurance Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Branch Manager, New England Branch Office SUBJECT: Quality Control Review of the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Defense Contra  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., introduced the "Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act" on Dec. 4, 2023. The text of the bill was released on Dec. 27. H.R. 6570. A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to reform certain authorities and to provide greater transparency and oversight; to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., introduced the "Accountability for NYCHA Act" on Dec. 1, 2023. The text of the bill was released on Dec. 27. H.R. 6550. A bill to require the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide a report to the Congress on the non-compliance of the New York City Housing Authority, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Financial Services. * * * SECTION 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the "Accountability  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 -- Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced the "Disaster Learning and Life Saving Act" on Nov. 15, 2023. The text of the bill was released on Dec. 26. S. 3338. A bill to provide for a National Disaster Safety Board; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. * * * SECTION 1. Short title; table of contents. (a) Short title.--This Act may be cited as the "Disaster Learning and Life Saving Act of 2023"  more

LAREDO, Texas, Dec. 30 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas issued the following news release: A 36-year-old Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer previously charged with bribery and drug trafficking has now also been indicted for illegally smuggling four undocumented aliens into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Emanuel Celedon remains in custody and is set to make his initial appearance on the new charges before U.S. Magistr  more

HOUSTON, Texas, Dec. 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas issued the following news release: A Missouri City couple has been indicted for orchestrating a fraudulent financing and refinancing mortgage loan scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Noreen Khan aka Noreen Khan-Mayberry, 50, and her husband Christopher Mayberry, 51, surrendered to federal authorities this morning. They are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistra  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (TNSrep) -- The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration issued the following audit report (No. 2024-100-010) on Nov. 29, 2023, entitled "Improvements Are Needed to Ensure Effective and Timely Processing of Post-Appointment Arrest Notifications." Here are excerpts: * * * Highlights Why TIGTA Did This Audit Many IRS employees have access to the personal information of taxpayers or other sensitive information. As a basic obligation of public trust, each employee   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (TNSrep) -- The Veterans Affairs Inspector General issued the following oversight report (No. 22-02739-210) on Dec. 13, 2023, entitled "Significant Deficiencies Found in VA's Denver Logistics Center Inventory Management Operations and Systems." Here are excerpts: * * * Executive Summary VA's Denver Logistics Center (DLC) provides supply chain management and logistics services for VA. Specifically, the DLC obtains and distributes goods for the Veterans Health Administratio  more