Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress. FY 2007 - 2nd Half

摘要

I am pleased to provide the Semiannual Report to Congress for the Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for the 6-month period that ended September 30, 2007. This report summarizes the most significant OIG activities during the period by our three strategic goals for FY 2004 through FY 2007, as shown below. Safety, Security, and Public Health Our investigative work saw guilty pleas in two major dogfighting cases one involving a professional athlete as well as a substantial prison sentence for a man who poisoned his two young children. Our audit work determined that the Food Safety and Inspection Service needs to modernize its control processes for egg products processing inspections. Integrity of Benefits and Entitlements Programs Our audits disclosed the need to improve controls in several feeding programs, as well as areas of the farm, crop insurance, and rural development loan programs. Our investigations resulted in substantial sentencings and money recoveries for schemes to defraud the food stamp, farm, rural development, and market access programs. These cases included two instances of post-Hurricane Katrina food stamp fraud in which the individuals involved had claimed to live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast but actually lived elsewhere and had suffered no damage to their residences as a result of the hurricane. Management of Public Resources Our audit work found the need for further improvements in information technology security, accountability for actions taken on civil rights complaints, conservation easements, monitoring and oversight over funds provided to the 1994 Land-Grant Institutions, controls over insurance for rural housing borrowers, certain National Finance Center controls, and the Farm Service Agencys identification and reporting of improper payments in its highrisk program. Our inspection work found that better coordination was needed in the implementation of a departmental regulation on international activities and agreements. Our investigative work yielded a number of sentencings for bribery, embezzlement, setting wildfires, and counterfeiting. During this reporting period, we conducted successful investigations and audits that led to 952 arrests, 341 convictions, $19.7 million in recoveries and restitutions, 210 program improvement recommendations, and $79.6 million in financial recommendations. Among the program improvement recommendations, the Food and Nutrition Service agreed to finalize Federal food stamp regulations pertaining to disaster assistance, and Civil Rights agreed to develop a detailed formal plan to process equal employment opportunity complaints timely and effectively. These monetary and program improvement results would not have been possible without the strong commitment on the part of former Secretary Johanns, Acting Secretary Conner, and the Congress to improve USDA programs and operations. Their continuing interest, support, and trust are vital to our success.