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Correspondence

Date

Letter to Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings on OIG’s Open Audit Recommendations

Requested By
Requested by Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings
Project ID
CC2015005
File Attachment

On March 11, 2015, we issued a letter to Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding the status of our open audit recommendations. Specifically, the Chairman and Ranking Member requested: (1) the number of open recommendations, their cumulative estimated cost savings, and additional details on open recommendations that could result in cost savings; (2) our three most important or urgent open recommendations, their status, and estimated cost savings; (3) a summary of all closed investigations, evaluations, and audits that were not disclosed to the public since January 1, 2014; and (4) a description of any information access issues.

As of March 1, 2015, we identified 626 open recommendations, which were included in 211 audit reports issued between July 18, 2007, and February 25, 2015. Of these, 41 recommendations (from 33 reports) carry an estimated monetary benefit or cost savings totaling over $1.1 billion.  We identified our three most important open recommendations based on their impact on safety, economy, or efficiency; documented vulnerabilities; and the ability of the Department to effect change in these programs or areas. We selected one recommendation from each of these reports: FAA Faces Significant Barriers To Safely Integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems Into the National Airspace System; Quality Control Review of Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2013, DOT; and Process Improvements Are Needed for Identifying and Addressing Vehicle Safety Defects.