Department of Homeland Security

Office of Inspector General 

Review of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's 


Recovery Act Plan
 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
 

OIG-10-57 February 2010 
Office ofInspector General

u.s. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

Homeland

Security

MEMORANDUM FOR: The Honorable Elaine C. Duke

Und~r Secretary for Management

FROM: KlChard L. SKinner

Inspector General

SUBJECT: Final Letter Report: Review ofthe U.S. Department of

Homeland Security's Recovery Act Plan (OIG-IO-57)

Attached for your information is our report, Review ofthe U.s. Department ofHomeland

Security's Recovery Act Plan. The department did not provide comments on a draft of

this report for inclusion in the final report. The report does not contain recommendations.

The Department of Homeland Security generally developed a practical and

comprehensive plan to provide transparency and oversight of Recovery Act funds. DHS

implemented transparency and oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with Office

of Management and Budget Guidance.

Consistent with our responsibility under the Inspector General Act, we are providing

copies of our report to appropriate congressional committees with oversight and

appropriation responsibility over the Department of Homeland Security. We will post the

report on our website for public dissemination.

Should you have any questions, please call me, or your staff may contact Anne L.

Richards, Assistant Inspector General for Audits, at (202) 254-4100.

FEB 18 2010

~~~
Background 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5 (Recovery Act) 

was enacted on February 17, 2009, injecting $787 billion in federal funds into the 

economy to preserve and stimulate economic growth in the United States. The Recovery 

Act made supplemental appropriations to federal departments and agencies for 

infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed 

and disabled veterans, and state and local stabilization. The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) received approximately $2.8 billion for equipment, construction, 

infrastructure improvement, and emergency management grants. 

The Recovery Act called for unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability and 

included provisions for the establishment of a website (Recovery.gov) that would allow 

the public to monitor the progress of the stimulus package. The Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) required each agency to develop formal plans to ensure 

accountability and transparency of Recovery Act funds. OMB also provided 

government-wide requirements and guidelines to manage Recovery Act activities through 

Memorandum M-09-15, Updated Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009, dated April 3, 2009 (OMB Guidance). DHS issued its 

Recovery Act plan on May 15, 2009. We conducted this review to determine whether 

DHS developed a practical and comprehensive plan to ensure transparency and oversight 

of Recovery Act funds and complied with OMB Guidance. 

Results of Review 

DHS generally developed a practical and comprehensive plan to provide transparency 

and oversight of Recovery Act funds. DHS implemented transparency and oversight 

mechanisms to ensure compliance with OMB Guidance; however, at the time of our 

review, DHS was still in the process of assessing its controls to ensure the validity of the 

data reported to Recovery.gov. We address issues related to data quality in a separate 

report, Process Used by the Department of Homeland Security to Monitor Reporting by 

Recipients of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Funds, OIG-10-08, 

October 2009. 

DHS Developed a Practical and Comprehensive Recovery Act Plan 

DHS generally developed a practical and comprehensive plan to manage and oversee the 

spending of the Recovery Act funds. DHS’ plan summarized the broad Recovery Act 

goals and detailed how the specific component plans met the objectives of the Recovery 

Act as required by OMB. DHS also integrated prudent management principles into its 

Recovery Act plan. For example, the plan described the accountability mechanisms 

senior managers use to regularly review and assess the performance of the programs 

receiving Recovery Act funds. The plan also identified areas of risk and the strategies 

that DHS implemented to mitigate the risks. 

1
 
Transparency of Recovery Act Funds and Activities 

DHS met its transparency requirements by providing a summary of obligations (total 

dollars made available) and outlays (total dollars paid out), milestones achieved, and 

major planned actions for its Recovery Act funds. DHS reported this information weekly 

to OMB for submission to Recovery.gov. In addition, DHS created its own website 

(dhs.gov/recovery) to further increase transparency by providing information such as: 

An explanation of the implementation of the Recovery Act, 

An overview of DHS programs affected by the Recovery Act, 

Component plans and weekly reports, and 

Links directing vendors to information regarding opportunities and awards. 

Oversight of Recovery Act Funds 

DHS met its oversight obligations by implementing a multilayered approach to oversee 

the spending of Recovery Act funds and ensure compliance with OMB Guidance. This 

approach included program reviews to provide oversight of obligations and outlays for 

each program receiving Recovery Act funds. The program reviews included an overview 

of each project receiving Recovery Act funds, the program structure chart, contract 

strategy or type, cost and schedule, staffing, post-award oversight, and risks or issues. 

The reviews also assessed major management challenges facing DHS in relation to the 

Recovery Act funds. 

DHS developed an Internet reporting tool, the Electronic Program Management Office 

(ePMO) system, to record and track the components’ Recovery Act obligations and 

outlays. Components enter information manually into the ePMO system, which 

generates weekly reports for DHS management, component senior accountable officials, 

and budget points of contact. DHS management performs a broad-level review of the 

obligations and outlays listed in the weekly reports before submitting this information to 

Recovery.gov. 

As part of the multilayered approach to oversight of Recovery Act funds, DHS 

management participates in the following meetings: 

Daily internal management meetings 

Weekly meetings with the Vice President of the United States 

Weekly teleconferences with other federal agencies 

Weekly meetings and briefings with DHS management, component senior 

accountable officials, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

Weekly meetings with component leads 

Biweekly meetings with OMB 

2
 
Data Validation Controls 

At the time of our review, DHS was still in the process of assessing its controls to ensure 

the validity of the data reported to Recovery.gov. DHS was evaluating its controls over 

transparency and oversight to create a detailed design and operating assessment. DHS 

intended to use the completed design and operating assessment to help establish data 

validation controls. We address issues related to data quality in a separate report, Process 

Used by the Department of Homeland Security to Monitor Reporting by Recipients of 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Funds, OIG-10-08, October 2009. 

Management Comments 

The department did not provide written comments on a draft of this report. We discussed 

this report with agency officials and where appropriate incorporated their verbal 

comments. 

3
 
Appendix A 

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology 

Our objective was to determine whether DHS developed a 

practical and comprehensive plan to provide oversight and ensure 

transparency for the expenditure of Recovery Act funds according 

to OMB guidance and prudent management principles. 

To accomplish our objective, we: 

Reviewed OMB Memorandum M-09-15, Updated 

Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009, April 3, 2009 to determine guidance 

applicable to agency-wide Recovery Act plans; 

Reviewed DHS’ Recovery Act Plan, Creating Jobs While 

Making America Safer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Recovery Act Plan, dated May 15, 2009, to determine whether 

the plan is practical and comprehensive and in compliance with 

OMB Memorandum M-09-15; 

Reviewed component programs for compliance with OMB 

Memorandum M-09-15; and 

Interviewed senior accountable officials, as well as officials 

representing the Offices of the Chief Information Officer, 

Financial Operations, Procurement, and the program 

management offices. 

We performed fieldwork at DHS facilities in the Washington, DC 

area. We conducted our review between April and August 2009 

under the authority of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended.

We appreciate the cooperation by DHS management and staff in 

providing the information and access necessary to accomplish this 

review. 

4
 
 

 

 

Appendix B 

Major Contributors to this Report 

Linda Howard, Director 

 Sean Pettersen, Audit Manager 

 Brian Blaha, Auditor 

 Lindsey Cabral, Auditor 

Thomas J. Bobrowski, Program Analyst 

Lisa Vonder Haar, Desk Officer 

5
 
Appendix C 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff for Operations 

Chief of Staff for Policy 

Deputy Chiefs of Staff 

General Counsel 

Executive Secretary 

Director, GAO/OIG Liaison Office 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Public Affairs 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Legislative Affairs 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as 

appropriate 

6
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To obtain additional copies of this report, please call the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at (202) 254-4100, 

fax your request to (202) 254-4305, or visit the OIG web site at www.dhs.gov/oig. 

OIG HOTLINE 

To report alleged fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement, or any other kind of criminal or noncriminal 

misconduct relative to department programs or operations: 

• Call our Hotline at 1-800-323-8603; 

• Fax the complaint directly to us at (202) 254-4292; 

• Email us at DHSOIGHOTLINE@dhs.gov; or 

• Write to us at: 

DHS Office of Inspector General/MAIL STOP 2600, 

Attention: Office of Investigations - Hotline, 

245 Murray Drive, SW, Building 410, 

Washington, DC 20528. 

The OIG seeks to protect the identity of each writer and caller.