USDA Management Challenges for Pandemic-Related Responsibilities (Office of Inspector General, June 2020)

Summary

"USDA Management Challenges for Pandemic-Related Responsibilities," a June 2020 document of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General, with a message from Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong. The message says the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee asked all OIGs whose host agencies are involved in pandemic response to identify their top pandemic challenges, and that this document discusses the seven challenges identified in the OIG's September 2019 report in the context of USDA pandemic-response activities. It states that since that report, Congress has provided over $35.8 billion to USDA for pandemic relief activities. It discusses accountability and oversight of programs, information technology, program performance measures, controls over improper payments and financial management, outreach efforts, and food safety inspections.

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Document type: Usda Management Challenges Pandemic Responsibilities
Case: Usda Management Challenges Pandemic Responsibilities

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“USDA Management Challenges for Pandemic-Related Responsibilities (Office of Inspector General, June 2020).” Original at usdaoig.oversight.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/usda-management-challenges-pandemic-responsibilities/, SHA-256 34b01688ab6559315997fdb0664f4e1b655e730d395286bf09a77b1fdafdd218.

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United States Department of Agriculture

USDA Management Challenges for
Pandemic-Related Responsibilities

June 2020 OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Message from the

INSPECTOR GENERAL
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) provides oversight to U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) programs and operations to help ensure that USDA is able to
provide the best possible service to the public and American agriculture. We focus
our efforts to advance the value, safety and security, and integrity of USDA
programs. In providing such oversight, we make recommendations to address
agency programs and core management functions that may be vulnerable to waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Annually, we issue a report on the top
management challenges facing USDA; our most recent such report was issued in
September 2019 prior to the widespread appearance of COVID-19 in the United
States.

As part of the Government’s response to the pandemic, the Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee asked all OIGs whose host agencies are involved in
pandemic response to identify the top pandemic challenges facing their agencies.
This document does so by discussing the seven challenges (previously identified in
our September 2019 report) in the context of current and future USDA pandemic-
response activities. Our focus is proactive and intended to assist USDA in
preventing potential waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.

We would like to express our appreciation to the Secretary and the Deputy
Secretary for their support of our mission and their commitment to excellence
across USDA. We look forward to working with the Department and its agencies to
further address these challenges.

Phyllis K. Fong
Inspector General

cc: Subcabinet Officials, Agency Administrators
USDA Top Management Challenges for
Pandemic-Related Responsibilities

OIG issues an annual report on the top management challenges facing USDA. Our
most recent report, based on completed OIG work, lists seven challenges that have
broad application to USDA programs. 1 Since the issuance of OIG’s report, Congress
has provided over $35.8 billion to USDA for pandemic relief activities. 2 OIG plans
to provide appropriate audit and investigative oversight for these funds. 3 As a
proactive measure, this document frames the seven management challenges
previously reported in the context of current and future USDA pandemic response
activities, with a focus on preventing potential waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement.

• USDA Needs to Improve Accountability and Oversight of its Programs

As one of the Federal Government’s largest departments, USDA faces the
challenge of managing a wide range of programs. To implement relief
efforts, USDA plans to use a combination of new and existing programs to
distribute COVID-19 funding and must ensure proper oversight of the
programs. USDA’s publicly reported data on COVID-19 funds will be
based, in part, on the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014
(DATA Act) reporting model. 4 In November 2019, we reported that
USDA’s DATA Act submission was not complete and contained records
that were not accurate, timely, or of good quality. 5 USDA should closely
monitor the implementation of COVID-19 funding and programs to
comply with the DATA Act.

• Information Technology Needs Continuous Improvement

Like other Departments, USDA faces threats to its information technology (IT)
security from adversarial nations, hostile non-state actors, and criminals seeking
to exploit vulnerabilities. As Federal agencies rely more on data stored using IT,
the risk of a security breach increases. USDA will need to ensure that the IT
systems the Department uses to distribute the COVID-19 relief funds are
adequately secured.

1 USDA Management Challenges, Sept. 2019.
2 The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116- 136, 134 Stat. 281 and

the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. No. 116-127, 134 Stat. 178, collectively
referred to as COVID-19 funding.
3 OIG COVID19 Oversight Plan, Apr. 2020.
4 Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, Pub. L. No. 113-101 (2014).
5 Audit Report 11601-0001-12, USDA’s Fiscal Year 2019, First Quarter DATA Act Submission,

Nov. 2019.

USDA OIG—TOP MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES FOR PANDEMIC-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES 1
• USDA Needs to Strengthen Program Performance and Performance
Measures

Designing, developing, and implementing programs that reliably achieve their
intended results has been a recurring challenge for the Department. OIG has
found that USDA agencies do not have adequate reviews or controls in place to
supply the metrics necessary to evaluate program performance. As USDA
implements its pandemic-related responsibilities, the Department should
concentrate its efforts to ensure programs operate as designed and provide
impactful outcomes.

• USDA Needs to Strengthen Controls Over Improper Payments and
Financial Management

USDA continues to be noncompliant with Federal requirements for improper
payments, particularly with respect to several high-risk programs (as designated
by OMB) that have received COVID-19 funds. Also, the Department needs to
address internal control deficiencies to resolve ongoing problems with financial
management and reporting. As the Department implements its pandemic-
related responsibilities, USDA should focus its efforts to minimize improper
payments.

• USDA Needs to Improve Outreach Efforts

The Secretary of Agriculture has stressed the importance of civil rights and
equitable treatment in the Department’s outreach efforts. Now more than ever,
in a time of heightened sensitivity and cultural awareness of discrimination and
sexual misconduct, USDA needs to make efforts to reach out to—and ensure
equal treatment of—minorities, women, and veterans as well as new and
beginning farmers and ranchers. Due to a history of public attention concerning
how USDA has treated members of socially-disadvantaged groups—including
both USDA employees and program recipients—the Department faces
challenges in earning those groups’ trust. As USDA implements relief efforts
related to the pandemic, it should ensure assistance is provided to all of those in
need, including socially-disadvantaged groups, to further build trust with those
groups.

• Food Safety Inspections Need Improved Controls

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for protecting the
public health by ensuring the safety of the Nation’s commercial supply of meat,
poultry, and processed egg products. FSIS is tasked with reducing
contamination and limiting illnesses through the regulation of agricultural food
products. OIG has found that the agency continues to face challenges, including

2 USDA OIG—TOP MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES FOR PANDEMIC-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES
gathering reliable data to help ensure safety verification tasks are completed,
effective, and consistent. The agency should compile reliable data to verify the
protection and safety of products inspected by FSIS. This challenge continues as
USDA and FSIS respond to the reported impact of the pandemic on FSIS
inspectors, employees at meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants, and
the food production supply chain.

• The Food and Nutrition Service Needs to Strengthen Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Management Controls

Although the Food and Nutrition Service has endeavored to improve
management controls for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), weaknesses continue to exist in controls over benefit distribution and
quality control processes. The potential exists for taxpayer-funded assistance
not to be delivered or used as intended. This challenge is heightened by the
large increase in funding provided to SNAP, as well as other USDA nutrition
programs, through COVID-19 funding. Given that USDA relies on States to
implement and deliver these programs, the Department needs to provide
effective oversight to the States to ensure that funding is used as intended.

USDA OIG—TOP MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES FOR PANDEMIC-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES 3
Learn more about USDA OIG
Visit our website: www.usda.gov/oig
Follow us on Twitter: @OIGUSDA

Report Suspected Wrongdoing in USDA Programs

OIG Hotline: www.usda.gov/oig/hotline.htm

Local / Washington, D.C. (202) 690-1622
Outside D.C. (800) 424-9121
TTY (Call Collect) (202) 690-1202

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In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made
(USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, USDA, its Agencies, offices, available in languages other than English.
employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs
are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program
sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program
age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to
assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To
activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed
apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the
program or incident. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington,
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Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for
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Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET
Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal All photographs on the front and back covers are from USDA’s Flickr site and are in
the public domain. They do not depict any particular audit or investigation.

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