Reports

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Native American Programs’ (ONAP) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act to identify drawdown levels for its block grant programs and assessed information ONAP made publicly available. As of October 4, 2022, grantees had drawn $231.6 million of the $300 million in CARES Act block grant funds and $135.8 million of the $735 million in ARP Act block grant funds. A total of $19.1 million of the appropriated funds was not authorized for access to grantees because...

In coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, we conducted an audit to identify potential fraud schemes that could affect HUD’s pandemic funds. We reviewed the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA), Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), HOME Investment Partnerships, and Public Housing Operating Fund programs to identify the fraud risks and potential fraud schemes that they face while delivering services to the public. Our objective was to...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act program. Our audit objective was to determine what challenges grantees faced in using program funds for activities that prepare for, prevent, or respond to the coronavirus and its impact. We used a survey questionnaire to gather feedback and insight directly from 1,047 program grantees. As of July 30, 2022, grantees had drawn more than $1.79 billion, or 36 percent, of the $4.99 billion in program funds. We performed this audit to...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (ESG-CV) program. Our audit objective was to determine what challenges ESG-CV grant recipients faced in implementing the program and using grant funds. We used a survey questionnaire to gather feedback and insight directly from the 362 recipients of ESG-CV grants. At the time we initiated this audit in July 2021, ESG-CV grant recipients had spent $563,178,336 of available $3.96 billion grant funds. We performed this audit to assist...

We conducted a limited review of nursing home owners to identify their operational challenges and needs of nursing homes in responding to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Our objective was to determine the biggest challenges operators of Section 232 nursing home facilities face related to the COVID-19 pandemic and whether nursing homes are prepared to meet their future financial obligations. Most of the owners who responded to our survey indicated that nursing homes experienced financial and operational challenges during the pandemic. These challenges included staffing...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) transitioning of offices from mandatory to maximum telework during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, based on a request from Representative Gerald Connolly, to review whether HUD was employing best practices and existing guidance when deciding whether or when to require Federal employees to return to their offices. Transitioning an office to maximum telework allowed HUD employees to voluntarily return to an office. We focused our audit on whether HUD complied with its internal Resuming Normal Operations...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), completed an audit to determine whether FHA-insured borrowers properly received the COVID-19-related forbearance. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, 2020, provided a mortgage payment forbearance option for all borrowers who suffered a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 national emergency. We found that at least one-third of the nearly 335,000 borrowers who were delinquent on their FHA-insured loans and not on forbearance in November...

This audit assessed the Peace Corps' internal controls over the budget, obligation, and disbursement of CARES Act funds, including compliance with the law and other implementing guidance. We concluded that the Peace Corps complied with necessary provisions of the law and other relevant policies and did not issue any recommendations with this report.

We conducted a limited review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supplemental public housing operating funds (supplemental funds). Our objective was to assess public housing agencies’ (PHA) experiences and challenges and HUD’s efforts in providing guidance related to the administration of the supplemental operating funds under the CARES Act. We found that the PHA survey respondents generally cited positive experiences and no major challenges related to the administration of supplemental funds under the...

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act made available $5 billion in supplemental CDBG funding for grants to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic (CDBG-CV grants). Because of similarities, we reviewed 132 CDBG-DR program audits and evaluations issued from May 2002 to March 2020 to summarize the common CDBG-DR program weaknesses and risks for CPD to consider to help its CDBG-CV grantees effectively and efficiently manage their CDBG-CV program operations. We found that grantees had common areas of weaknesses and risks in the...