Semiannual Report to Congress

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

May 2018

Federal Election Commission - Office of Inspector General

1050 First Street, N.E., Suite 1010, Washington, D.C. 20463




FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20463

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has had 

another productive six months. The Audit of the FEC’s Fiscal Year 2017 Financial 

Statement and the Audit of the FEC’s Compliance under the Digital Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) were both completed and reports issued. The 

DATA Act audit was especially challenging due to the short time frame for completion, 

but the OIG audit staff met the report’s statutory deadline. The semiannual Review of 

Outstanding Recommendations was also completed. Three investigations were closed 

during this reporting period, as well. 

The past six months has brought more change to the OIG. Dorothy Maddox-Holland, 

the Special Assistant to the Inspector General, retired after 24 years of outstanding 

service to the OIG. Dorothy was instrumental in helping to build the OIG up over the 

years, and her institutional knowledge was invaluable. She was always a pleasure to 

work with and her presence in the office will be greatly missed.

The FEC also moved its headquarters from the Penn Quarter area to a new building in 

the NoMa district of Washington, DC. The OIG office moved in mid-March 2018, and 

all OIG personnel now have offices in the same suite. Overall, the transition has proceeded well thus far. 

The OIG staff has continued to perform admirably. Their dedication to their work and 

involvement in the Federal IG community is exemplary. 

Deputy Inspector General

Federal Election Commission

April 6, 2018

A Message from the Deputy Inspector General

OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

J. Cameron Thurber
v

April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

v

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Executive Summary 1

OIG Audit Activity 3

OIG Audit Follow-up Activity 6

OIG Hotline Information 7

OIG Investigative Information 8

Additional OIG Activity 10

Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Activity 11

OIG Contacts 12

List of Training, Meetings and Conferences Attended by OIG Staff 13

Reporting Requirements 15

Table I – Questioned Costs 17

Table II – Funds Put To Better Use 18

Table III – Summary Of Audit And Inspection Reports With 19

Corrective Actions Outstanding For More Than Six Months

Table IV – Summary of Investigative Reports 20

Appendix A: Peer Review Results 21

Appendix B: Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018 22

Appendix C: The Federal Election Commission 35

 Office of the Inspector General

Table of Contents
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Executive Summary

responsibilities under the DATA Act by assessing the: 

(1) completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of 

financial and payment data submitted for publication 

on USASpending.gov; and (2) the FEC’s implementation and use of Government-wide financial data 

standards established by the Office of Management 

and Budget and the Department of Treasury. This 

engagement was conducted as a performance audit 

in accordance with Generally Accepted Government 

Auditing Standards, and the Inspectors General 

Guide to Compliance under the DATA Act. The scope 

of this audit was the FEC’s FY 2017 second quarter 

financial and payment data submitted for publication 

on USASpending.gov.

Based on audit work performed, the OIG concluded 

that the FEC did, in general, properly implement and 

make proper use of the Government-wide financial 

data standards. In addition, we identified several 

significant findings that have impacted our ability to 

give reasonable assurance over the completeness, 

accuracy, and quality of the data submitted for Files 

C and D1. We made four recommendations related to 

corrective actions that are within the FEC’s control to 

help improve the accuracy and completeness of data 

submitted. We did not make recommendations that 

would require corrective actions by other agencies 

involved in the process. The report was issued on 

November 8, 2017, which was the mandated reporting deadline.

During this semiannual period, the OIG has continued to make progress on the Audit of Contract 

Management and Oversight. The IG’s Chief 

Investigator forwarded non-sensitive information from 

several closed contract related hotline complaints 

that did not rise to an investigation level to the auditors for possible inclusion and follow-up in the audit. 

The OIG worked with the Finance Office to obtain all 

the applicable payment information for the selected 

sample of contracts. The OIG is in the process of 

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended 

(IG Act), states that the Inspector General (IG) is responsible for: conducting audits and investigations; 

recommending policies and procedures that promote 

economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of agency resources and programs; and preventing fraud, waste, 

abuse, and mismanagement. The IG Act also requires 

the IG to keep the Federal Election Commission 

(Commission or FEC) and Congress fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies in 

the Commission’s operations and the need for corrective action.

This semiannual report includes the major accomplishments of the FEC Office of Inspector General 

(OIG), as well as relevant information regarding 

additional OIG activities. The executive summary 

highlights the most significant completed activities of 

the OIG. Additional details pertaining to each activity 

(e.g., audits, hotline, and investigations) can be found 

in subsequent sections of this report. The honesty, 

integrity, and diligent work of our entire IG staff make 

the accomplishments of the OIG possible.

The Audit of the FEC’s FY 2017 Financial Statements

was completed this reporting period. Final testing by 

the contract auditor, Leon Snead & Company, PC 

(LSC), began at the start of this semiannual reporting period. At the conclusion of final testing, LSC provided the OIG with a final report containing 3 findings 

and 11 audit recommendations. One of the findings 

was identified as a significant deficiency in internal 

controls regarding the agency’s information security 

program, which resulted in LSC reopening an audit 

recommendation that was previously closed in FY 

2014.

The Audit of FEC’s Compliance under the Digital 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA 

Act) was completed during this reporting period. The 

primary purpose of this audit was to satisfy the OIG’s 
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Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

reviewing all the data that has been submitted from 

the Procurement and Finance offices to continue our 

review of the complete contract documentation for 

each sample selected. 

The OIG exercised the last option year of our contract with LSC to perform the Audit of the FEC’s FY 

2018 Financial Statements audit. The preliminary 

planning phase of the audit started in February 2018. 

The audit entrance conference is scheduled for April 

17, 2018 and LSC is scheduled to begin audit work on 

site May 8, 2018.

The OIG’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations

as of March 2018 was completed during this reporting period. The OIG semiannually provides the 

Commission with the status of outstanding recommendations. For this reporting period, we reviewed 

seven audit and inspection reports that contained a 

combined total of 55 outstanding recommendations. 

The OIG was able to close the last outstanding recommendation that was included in the Audit of the 

Commission’s Property Management Controls (OIG09-02) based on management’s acceptance of the 

risk, and the audit was closed (see Audit follow-up 

Activity section, page 6).

OIG HOTLINE AND INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION

During this semiannual reporting period, five new hotline complaints were opened and two hotline complaints were closed. The OIG has fourteen open hotline complaints. No new investigations were opened 

during this reporting period, and three investigations 

were closed. For detailed information pertaining to 

hotline complaints and investigations, see the sections titled OIG Hotline Information (starting on 

page 7) or OIG Investigative Information (starting 

on page 8).
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Audit of the FEC’s FY 2017 Financial 

Statements

Assignment Number: OIG-17-01

Status: Completed

Report Location: https://transition.fec.gov/fecig/

documents/FY2017FinancialStatementAuditReport.

pdf

LSC began final testing at the start of this semiannual 

reporting period. At the conclusion of final testing, 

LSC provided the OIG with a final report containing 

3 findings and 11 audit recommendations. One of 

the findings was identified as a significant deficiency 

in internal controls regarding the agency’s information security program. This finding resulted in LSC 

reopening an audit recommendation that was previously closed in FY 2014 due to issues regarding management’s formal adoption of information technology 

(IT) security best practices. 

Although the FEC is legally exempt from the Federal 

Information Security Management Act, in FY 2014, 

management agreed to implement the recommendation to formally adopt IT security best practices for 

the federal government, and even contracted services to assist with National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) implementation. This recommendation would provide a more robust security 

program for the agency that is aligned with the agency’s business processes and applicable risk levels. 

However, during this year’s audit, we learned that the 

there was no longer a consensus from management 

regarding the adoption of best practices, specifically the agency has yet to formally adopt the NIST 

Information Security Best Practices and other applicable government-wide IT security requirements as 

a standard policy for the agency; therefore, the audit 

recommendation was reopened. Despite the reopening of the audit recommendation, and based on the 

audited information as a whole, LSC determined that 

the FEC’s financial statements were presented fairly 

and in accordance with applicable standards, resulting in an unmodified opinion on the agency’s 2017 

financial statements.

Audit of the FEC’s Compliance under the Digital 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 

Assignment Number: OIG-17-05

Status: Complete 

Report Location: https://transition.fec.gov/fecig/

documents/FEC-OIG-Required-Review-Under-theData-Act-OIG-17-05-November-2017.pdf

The Audit of FEC’s compliance under the Digital 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA 

Act)1 was completed during this reporting period. The 

primary purpose of this audit was to satisfy the OIG’s 

responsibilities under the DATA Act by assessing the: 

(1) completeness, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of 

financial and payment data submitted for publication 

on USASpending.gov; and (2) the FEC’s implementation and use of Government-wide financial data 

standards established by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Treasury 

(The Treasury). This engagement was conducted as 

a performance audit in accordance with Generally 

Accepted Government Auditing Standards, and the 

Inspectors General Guide to Compliance under the 

DATA Act which was updated and released in July 

2017.

1 The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014

requires the establishment of government-wide standards for 

information on spending by Federal agencies, and all agencies 

must begin reporting spending data in compliance with the DATA 

Act. According to OMB’s Management Procedures Memorandum 

No. 2016-03, data reported by Federal agencies in fiscal year 2017 

second quarter would be displayed on USAspending.gov by May 

2017.

OIG Audit Activity
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The scope of this audit was the FEC’s FY 2017 second quarter financial and payment data submitted 

for publication on USASpending.gov, and included 

applicable procedures, certifications, documentation, 

and controls used to achieve this process. 

The main objectives were to:

• Assess the FEC’s internal controls in place 

over the financial and payment data reported 

to USASpending.gov per OMB Circular A-123; 

• Assess the FEC’s internal controls in place 

over data management, collection, reporting, and processes used to report financial 

and payment data under the DATA Act;

• Assess the general and application controls pertaining to the procurement and 

financial systems from which the data 

elements were derived and linked; and

• Perform testing of FY 2017 second quarter 

financial and payment data submitted by the 

FEC for publication on USASpending.gov.

Based on audit work performed, the OIG concluded 

that the FEC did, in general, properly implement and 

make proper use of the Government-wide financial 

data standards. We were able to give reasonable 

assurance that the internal controls over the FEC’s 

sourced systems are adequate. We also determined 

that Files A and B are complete, accurate, and of 

quality. However, none of the data files were submitted for publication or available for viewing on 

USASpending by the due date,2 and the FEC did not 

implement adequate controls or processes to ensure 

data submitted to the Treasury Broker was complete, 

timely, accurate, and of quality. 

In addition, we identified several significant findings 

that have impacted our ability to give reasonable 

assurance over the completeness, accuracy, and 

2 The OIG acknowledges that the FEC uses a Financial Shared 

Service Provider (FSSP), which is the United States Department 

of Agriculture (USDA), for financial reporting and is dependent on 

the FSSP to submit Files A through C on the FEC’s behalf. The 

OIG was not able to confirm or corroborate the root cause of the 

delays. Both the USDA and the FEC requested an extension from 

the OMB/Treasury, but the OIG did not receive confirmation if the 

requests were approved.

quality of the data submitted for Files C and D1, some 

of which were due to issues with the agency’s FSSP. 

The OIG made four recommendations related to 

corrective actions that are within the FEC’s control 

to help improve the accuracy and completeness of 

data submitted. We did not make recommendations 

that would require corrective actions by other agencies. Adequate resources should be assigned to the 

FEC’s DATA Act program to ensure corrective actions 

to fully implement the requirements of the DATA Act 

are achieved. The report was issued on November 

8, 2017, which was the mandated reporting deadline. 

Audit of Contract Management and Oversight

Assignment Number: OIG-16-02

Status: In Progress

During this semiannual period, the OIG has continued to make progress on the Audit of Contract 

Management and Oversight (Contract Management 

audit). In addition to reviewing contract files, the IG’s 

Chief Investigator forwarded non-sensitive information from several closed contract-related hotline 

complaints that did not rise to an investigation level 

to the auditors for possible inclusion and follow-up in 

the Contract Management audit. The OIG auditors 

reviewed the information, determined what information, if any, could be reviewed as part of the audit, 

and requested the applicable contract documentation 

from the Contracting Officer for review. 

In addition, based on the FEC’s hiring of a new 

Contracting Officer after the start of the OIG’s audit, 

the auditors adjusted the previous sample selection 

to include contracts that were initiated by the current Contracting Officer to get a better understanding of the processes that occurred under previous 

Contracting Officer’s purview in comparison to the 

current processes in place. 

The OIG also worked with the Finance Office to obtain all the applicable payment information for the selected sample of contracts. The OIG is in the process 

of reviewing all the data that has been submitted from 

the Procurement and Finance offices to continue our 

review of the complete contract documentation for 

each sample selected. 
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Audit of the FEC’s FY 2018 Financial Statements

Assignment Number: OIG-18-01

Status: In progress

The OIG exercised the last option year of our contract with LSC to perform the Audit of the FEC’s FY 

2018 Financial Statements. The preliminary planning phase of the audit started in February 2018. 

During this phase, the OIG and LSC agreed on an 

audit timeline, status meetings dates, and provided 

management with the list of requested documents 

for the entire audit. In addition, on March 12, 2018, 

LSC issued the Commission Chair, Vice Chair, and 

the Acting Chief Financial Officer with the 2018 Audit 

Engagement Letter to sign and confirm their understanding of the purpose of the audit. 

The audit entrance conference is scheduled for April 

17, 2018, and LSC is scheduled to begin audit work 

on site May 8, 2018.
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Office of Inspector General’s Review of 

Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018

Assignment Number: OIG-18-02

Status: In Progress 

The OIG provides the Commission with a semiannual 

report of outstanding recommendations that contains 

details of the follow-up work conducted by the OIG 

and the status of the outstanding OIG audit and inspection recommendations. For this reporting period, 

we are reviewing the following 7 audits and inspections, containing a combined total of 55 outstanding 

recommendations: 

• Audit of the Commission’s Property 

Management Controls;

• 2010 Follow-up Audit of Privacy 

and Data Protection;

• 2010 Follow-up Audit of Procurement 

and Contract Management;

• Inspection of the FEC’s Disaster Recovery 

Plan and Continuity of Operations Plans; 

• Audit of the FEC’s Office of Human Resources;

• Inspection of the FEC’s Compliance 

with FMFIA/OMB A-123; and

• Audit of the FEC Telework Programs.

Due to the FEC’s headquarters moving its location 

during the months of February and March, the OIG 

extended the review period for management from 

February 2018 to March 2018. Therefore, the results 

of this review will be finalized in April 2018. Another 

review of outstanding recommendations will be completed and reported during the next semiannual reporting period.

OIG Audit Follow-up Activity
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

OIG Hotline Information

The OIG Hotline exists to enable FEC employees, 

FEC contractors, and the public to have direct and 

confidential contact with the OIG. All allegations and 

referrals of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, 

and misconduct involving FEC employees, contractors, programs, operations, property, or funds received through any means are termed “hotline complaints” per OIG policy. Once a hotline complaint has 

been received, a preliminary inquiry is conducted to 

determine whether the hotline complaint will have an 

investigation initiated, referred to management or another agency, or closed with no further action taken.

The OIG considers many factors when evaluating whether to open an investigation based on a 

hotline complaint, and acknowledges that every 

hotline complaint received by the OIG will not be 

investigated, and in many cases a complaint does 

not merit an investigation. OIG policy requires that 

hotline complaints be evaluated on certain criteria, 

including the merits of an allegation, the availability 

of evidence, and the existing priorities, commitments, 

and resources of the OIG. Under this policy, hotline 

complaints are classified as either high or low priority 

complaints. High priority complaints are investigated 

and low priority complaints are either closed with no 

action or referred to the appropriate FEC official for 

possible further review. Often, a hotline complaint will 

be closed because a preliminary inquiry found the 

allegations to be unsubstantiated, there is a lack of 

information to proceed, or the issue giving rise to the 

allegation has been otherwise resolved. Hotline evaluation decisions are made by the Chief Investigator, 

with concurrence from the IG.

The OIG frequently receives reports and allegations 

which are misdirected complaints that should have 

been routed to the Office of Complaints and Legal 

Administration within the Office of General Counsel 

(OGC), are outside the jurisdiction of the OIG or 

the FEC, or are facially unsubstantiated, meritless 

or invalid. In cases of misdirected complaints, a response is sent to the individual referring him or her 

to the proper office or other agency. In some limited 

instances where a misdirected communication does 

not concern a campaign finance violation but falls 

under the purview of another FEC component or 

government agency the inquiry may be redirected 

and sent to the appropriate office or agency directly 

from the OIG. Reviewing and, where appropriate, 

responding to these reports and allegations when 

aggregated can entail a significant amount of staff 

time and effort, despite the fact that they are not valid 

hotline complaints. In order to capture and document 

these hotline contacts, the OIG created a category 

for “hotline inquiries” that do not meet the criteria for 

hotline complaints.

During this reporting period, 5 new hotline complaints 

were opened and 2 hotline complaints were closed; 

14 hotline complaints remain open.
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OIG Investigative Information

OIG investigations seek out facts related to allegations of wrongdoing. OIG investigations may address 

administrative, civil, and criminal violations of laws, 

regulations, and policies. The subject of an OIG 

investigation can be any agency employee, an FEC 

contractor, consultant, or a person or entity involved 

in alleged wrongdoing affecting FEC programs and 

operations. 

As discussed in OIG Hotline Information, all hotline 

complaints are evaluated to determine if they warrant an investigation. If an investigation is opened, 

the hotline complaint is closed and merged into the 

investigative file. OIG investigations involve a detailed examination or inquiry into issues brought to 

our attention by various sources, and may include 

interviews of relevant witnesses and subjects, document reviews, and computer forensic examinations. 

At the conclusion of an OIG investigation, the OIG 

prepares a report that sets forth the allegations and 

an objective description of the facts developed during 

the investigation. 

During this reporting period no new investigations 

were opened, three investigations were closed, and 

five investigations remain open. The closed investigations include:

Ethics Review of Commissioner

The OIG investigated whether a Commissioner 

or the Commissioner’s staff violated ethical 

standards or FEC policies. The investigation 

revealed the Commissioner released two statements on February 10 and 17, 2017, requesting 

President Donald Trump to release information 

regarding his allegations of voter fraud. The OIG 

investigation was based on the ethical standards 

outlined in federal regulations 5 C.F.R. Part 2635. 

Based interviews, research, and information obtained by the OIG, the OIG found no evidence of 

ethical misconduct by the Commissioner or the 

Commissioner’s staff.

Parking Subsidy Misuse

The OIG opened an investigation regarding parking subsidy misuse. The FEC leased parking 

spaces from LAZ parking at a cost of $80,172 per 

year in order to provide subsidized parking permits to FEC’s Senior Leaders and certain staff 

depending on need. The review period of the 

investigation was from October 1, 2015 through 

June 30, 2016. The OIG investigation revealed 

FEC did not conduct a needs assessment for subsidized parking as required by the Government 

Accountability Office. Additionally, the FEC’s 

parking subsidy exceeded the allowable Internal 

Revenue Service (IRS) 2016 monthly limit of $255 

by $31.90 per person. The investigation revealed 

FEC did not report the amount over the limit as 

wages to the parking beneficiaries, resulting in a 

total of $4,584 that was not reported to the IRS 

in salaries. FEC parking records also revealed 

one employee used the union subsidized parking 

pass without authority, resulting in the employee 

receiving $2,495 of unauthorized free parking. 

In addition, the OIG found that four employees 

received both temporary parking passes and 

transit benefits in violation of FEC Directive 54, 

resulting in the excess expenditure of $3,005 of 

transit benefits. The report was provided to the 

Commission and agency management.

Visa Gift Card Purchases and Distributions

The OIG investigated whether there was misuse 

regarding the purchase and distribution of Visa 

gift cards as on-the spot rewards for FEC employees. The OIG found no criminal violations 

regarding the distribution and use of Visa gift 
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

cards. However, the OIG found administrative issues regarding the purchasing, distribution, and 

oversight of the Visa gift cards. The OIG found 

the FEC did not establish a bona fide need for 

the fiscal years of purchase, as required by 31 

U.S.C. § 1502(a), prior to purchasing a total of 

$92,546.70 of Visa gift cards from the one year 

appropriations in Fiscal Years (FY) 2011, 2012, 

2014 and 2015. The Office of Chief Financial 

Officer did not conduct oversight of Visa gift 

card distribution during the time period in question, and as a result, some Visa gift cards were 

inappropriately converted to merchant gift cards 

and others were not all distributed by the end of 

the fiscal year, resulting in waste of funds. The 

FEC notified the OIG that it did not use FY 2018 

funds to purchase Visa gift cards, and there are 

no plans to purchase gift cards in the future. 

The report was provided to the Commission and 

agency management.
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Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

Besides conducting audits, inspections, and investigations, the OIG performs and is involved in an array of additional projects and activities. As required 

by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended 

(IG Act), legislation compiled by the Commission’s 

Congressional Affairs office that may affect agency 

programs and operations is reviewed by the OIG. 

The IG Act states that the Inspector General is responsible for: 1) conducting and supervising audits 

and investigations relating to the FEC’s programs and 

operations; 2) detecting and preventing fraud, waste, 

and abuse of agency programs and operations while 

providing leadership and coordination; 3) recommending policies designed to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the establishment; and 

4) keeping the Commission and Congress fully and 

currently informed about problems and deficiencies 

in FEC agency programs and operations, and the 

need for corrective action. 

The Inspector General also reviews and provides 

comments, when appropriate, on legislation provided 

by the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and 

Efficiency (CIGIE) Legislative Committee. In addition, 

the Inspector General routinely reads all Commission 

agenda items. 

Listed below are examples of the OIG’s additional 

activities: 

The Council of Inspectors General on Integrity 

and Efficiency Purchase Card Project

Assignment Number: OIG-17-04

Status: In Progress

The CIGIE Information Technology (IT) Committee’s 

mission is to facilitate effective IT audits, evaluations, and investigations by OIGs, and to provide a 

Additional OIG Activity

vehicle to express the OIG community’s perspective 

on Government-wide IT operations.

The OIG volunteered to participate in the CIGIE 

IT Committee’s Government-wide purchase card 

(P-Card) project, which was initiated during the prior 

reporting period. The main objective of this project is 

to analyze P-Card data to determine risks associated 

with purchase card transactions. 

The OIG has reviewed the agency’s P-Card process 

and completed testing of FEC’s P-Card transactions 

using the standard algorithms and applicable methodologies established by the CIGIE IT Committee 

P-Card team. The FEC OIG is in the process of 

compiling, certifying, and submitting its results to 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture OIG, which has 

agreed to compile the results and publish a consolidated report for the CIGIE IT Committee. The FEC 

OIG is also planning to issue a Management Letter 

to formally communicate the results of this review to 

FEC Management. We expect the consolidated report and Management Letter to be issued during the 

next reporting cycle. 
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency

Deputy Inspector General J. Cameron Thurber, attended CIGIE meetings, as well as meetings of the 

Professional Development Committee and Small/

Unique OIGs. He also served on panels for the 

CIGIE-American University New and Experienced 

Leaders Courses. In January of 2018, he instructed 

CIGIE’s IG Authorities training course.
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OIG contacts run the gamut, from citizens expressing their views or trying to reach the right FEC component to 

graduate students doing research. Contacts requesting information concerning where to submit a complaint or 

concern are directed to the appropriate FEC component or other agency. Other citizen contacts are handled and 

responded to as appropriate for the circumstances.

The table below is a reflection of the total contacts received by the OIG for the past six months – October 1, 2017 

through March 31, 2018. These contacts were made through various sources such as telephone calls, emails, 

faxes, U.S. mail, and personal visits to the OIG. Those forwarded for action were referred to another FEC component and/or appropriate outside source

Total

Contacts

OIG

Action

No Action

Necessary

Forwarded 

for Action

3,095 39 3,050 6

OIG Contacts
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

The chart listed below depicts training, meetings, programs, seminars, and/or conferences attended by the 

Inspector General and/or the OIG staff for the period October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018:

MEETINGS:

List of Training, Meetings

and Conferences

Host / Sponsor Topic / Subject

Council of Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) 

2017 GAO Coordination Meeting

CIGIE Annual Awards Ceremony

CIGIE DAWG Quarterly Meeting

CIGIE ERM Working Group

CIGIE Purchase Card Teleconference

FAEC Meetings

Leadership Development Subcommittee Meetings

Monthly Meetings

Next Data Act Analytics Community of Practice (CoP)

Professional Development Committee Meetings

Quarterly Small / Unique IG Quarterly Meetings

Council of Counsels to the Inspectors General Monthly Meetings

Small OIG Working Group Meeting

Government Accountability Office DATA Act Working Group Joint Meetings

Federal Election Commission

Bi-weekly Directors’ Meetings with IG, 

Acting GC, SD & Acting CFO

Finance Committee Meetings

Lease Renewal Team Meetings

New Employee Orientations

Administrative Liaison Groups Meetings
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HOST / SPONSOR TOPIC / SUBJECT

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

2017 ACFE Law Enforcement and Government 

 Anti-Fraud Summit

Forensic Analytics & Employee Fraud with Dr. Mark Nigrini

Interviewing Essentials and Mindset of a Fraudster

Principles of Fraud Examination

Council of the Inspectors General 

on Integrity and Efficiency

IG Authorities

Periodic Refresher Training

Planning, Organizing, and Writing Effective Reports

Whistleblower Reprisal Investigations (Overview)

Federal Election Commission GSA SmartPay Purchase Card Training

Sexual Harassment Prevention for FederalEmployees

Institute of Internal Auditors Risk Based Auditing

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Center for Leadership Development

TeamMate TeamMate Conference

U.S. Department of Justice FOIA for Attorneys and Access Professionals

TRAINING/CONFERENCES/PRESENTATIONS:
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Reporting Requirements

IG ACT DESCRIPTION PAGE

Section 4(a)(2) Review of Legislation 10

Section 5(a)(1) Significant Problems, Abuses, and Deficiencies None

Section 5(a)(2) Recommendations with Respect to Significant Problems, Abuses,

and Deficiencies None

Section 5(a)(3) Recommendations Included in Previous Reports on Which 

Corrective Action Has Not Been Completed (Table III) 19

Section 5(a)(4) Matters Referred to Prosecuting Authorities None

Section 5(a)(5) Summary of Instances Where Information was Refused None

Section 5(a)(7) Summary of Significant Reports 8

Section 5(a)(8) Questioned and Unsupported Costs (Table I) 17

Section 5(a)(9) Recommendations that Funds be put to Better Use (Table II) 18

Section 5(a)(10)(A) Summary of Audit Reports issued before the start of the Reporting 

Period for which no Management Decision has been made N/A

Section 5(a)(10)(B) Summary of Audit Reports Issued Before the start of the Reporting 

Period for which No Management Comment was Returned Within 

60 Days

N/A

Section 5(a)(10)(C) Summary of Audit Reports Issued Before the 

Start of the Reporting Period for which There Are 

Outstanding Unimplemented Recommendations

22; App. B

Section 5(a)(11) Significant Revised Management Decisions None

Section 5(a)(12) Management Decisions with which the 

Inspector General is in Disagreement None

Section 5(a)(14) Peer Review Recommendations 21; App. A

Reporting requirements required by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended by the Inspector 

General Act Amendments of 1988 are listed below:
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IG ACT DESCRIPTION PAGE

Section 5(a)(17), (18) Investigative Reports Table and Metrics (Table IV) 20

Section 5(a)(19) Investigations Involving a Senior Government 

Employee with Substantiated Misconduct None

Section 5(a)(20) Instances of Whistleblower Retaliation None

Section 5(a)(21) Attempts by the Agency to Interfere with OIG Independence None

Section 5(a)(22) Undisclosed Inspections, Evaluations, Audits, and Investigations None
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

17

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

NUMBER QUESTIONED 

COSTS

UNSUPPORTED 

COSTS

A. For which no management decision has been 

made by commencement of the reporting period

0 0 0

B. Which were issued during the reporting period 0 0 0

Sub-Totals (A&B) 0 0 0

C. For which a management decision was 

made during the reporting period

0 0 0

(i) Dollar value of disallowed costs 0 0 0

(ii) Dollar value of costs not disallowed 0 0 0

D. For which no management decision has been 

made by the end of the reporting period

0 0 0

E. Reports for which no management decision 

was made within six months of issuance

0 0 0

Table I

Inspector General issued reports with questioned costs (dollar value in thousands)
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Number

Dollar Value

(In Thousands)

A. For which no management decision has been made by the 

commencement of the reporting period

0 0

B. Which were issued during the reporting period 0 0

C. For which a management decision was made during the 

reporting period

0 0

(i) dollar value of recommendations were agreed to by 

management

0 0

based on proposed management action 0 0

based on proposed legislative action 0 0

(ii) dollar value of recommendations that 

were not agreed to by management

0 0

D. For which no management decision has been 

made by the end of the reporting period

0 0

E. Reports for which no management decision 

was made within six months of issuance

0 0

Table II

Inspector general issued reports with recommendations that funds be put to better use
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

RECOMMENDATIONS

Cost Savings Report Title Report 

Number

Issue

Date Number Closed Open

Audit of the Commission’s 

Property Management Controls OIG-09-02 03/10 36 363 0 0

2010 Follow-up Audit 

of Procurement and 

Contract Management

OIG-10-02 06/11 29 28 1 0

2010 Follow-up Audit of 

Privacy and Data Protection OIG-10-03 03/11 45 20 25 0

Inspection of the Federal 

Election Commission’s Disaster 

Recovery Plan and Continuity 

of Operations Plans

OIG-12-06 01/13 30 214 9 0

Audit of the Federal Election 

Commission’s Office of 

Human Resources

OIG-12-05 07/13 26 21 5 0

Inspection of FEC’s Compliance 

with FMFIA/ OMB Circular A-123

OIG-14-01 06/14 8 3 5 0

Audit of the FEC’s 

Telework Programs

OIG-15-03 06/16 11 2 9 0

Table III

Summary of audit and inspection reports with corrective actions outstanding for more 

than six months

Cumulative Total of Outstanding Recommendations: 54

Total Cost Savings: 0

3

 The final outstanding recommendation was closed based on management accepting the risks of not implementing the

 OIG’s recommendation.

4

 Includes a number adjustment to correct an inadvertent miscalculation from prior report.
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Number

Total Number of Investigative Reports Issued 3

Total Number of Persons Referred to 

DOJ for Criminal Prosecution 0

Total Number of Persons Referred to 

State and Local Prosecuting Authorities 

for Criminal Prosecution

0

Total Number of Indictments and Criminal 

Information Resulting from Any Prior 

Referral to Prosecuting Authorities

0

Table IV

Summary of Investigative Reports

Metrics Used for Developing Data for Table IV:

The Total Number of Investigative Reports Issued reflects the number of all Reports of Investigation (ROI) issued 

to FEC management, the Department of Justice, or State and local prosecuting authorities during the reporting 

period;

The Total Number of Persons Referred to DOJ for Criminal Prosecution and Total Number of Persons Referred 

to State and Local Prosecuting Authorities for Criminal Prosecution reflects the total number of presentations 

of individuals for criminal prosecution made by the FEC OIG to the respective criminal prosecuting authorities 

during the reporting period;

The Total Number of Indictments and Criminal Informations Resulting from Any Prior Referral to Prosecuting 

Authorities includes all indictments and informations issued during the reporting period by Federal, State, or local 

criminal prosecuting authorities based upon any referral by the FEC OIG, whether the referral was made during 

this reporting period or a prior reporting period.
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Appendix A

PEER REVIEW RESULTS

In accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010

(Section 989C of P.L. 111-203), which amended 

Section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, OIGs 

are required to include in their semiannual reports to 

Congress the results of peer reviews of their offices, 

as well as outstanding and not fully implemented recommendations from peer reviews the OIG received 

from another OIG, and outstanding and not fully 

implemented recommendations the OIG made in any 

peer review it performed for another OIG.

The last audit peer review of the FEC OIG was conducted by the Farm Credit Administration OIG and 

the report was issued on February 15, 2017. The 

FEC OIG received a pass rating and there are no 

outstanding recommendations. Peer Review of the 

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) OIG’s Audit 

Program.
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Appendix B
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April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

23

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Office of Inspector General’s

Review of

Outstanding Recommendations as of

March2018

 Summary of Review

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) semiannually provides to the Commission a report on the 

status of outstanding recommendations. The OIG provides these status reports as of February and 

August of each year. For this reporting period, we extended our review period to the month of 

March due to the extensive move of the agency’s headquarters that started in February of this 

year. 

We continued our review of the previous seven audits and inspections with outstanding 

recommendations as of August 2017. Collectively, these 7 audits and inspections had 55

outstanding recommendations that required follow-up for this review period of September 2017 

to March 2018. Based on the results of the follow-up review, the OIG was only able to close 1

of the 55 outstanding recommendations, which was based on management’s acceptance of risk.

OIG Concerns

The overarching concern of the OIG is the lack of governance accountability for ensuring that

management enforces the required internal control to assure outstanding recommendations that 

are intended to improve agency programs and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse are timely and 

sufficiently implemented. This management control is mandated by the Office of Management 

and Budget’s (OMB) Circulars A-123 and A-50, and also is required by the Federal Election 

Commission’s (FEC) own policy, Commission Directive 50: Audit Follow-up. Governance must 

hold management accountable for promptly addressing outstanding recommendations to 

decrease the agency’s risk exposure, effectively manage resources, and ensure cost control. Per 

OMB’s Circular A-123, deficiencies reported “...through internal review or by an external audit, 

should be evaluated and corrected. A systematic process should be in place for addressing 

deficiencies.”
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Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018 2 | Page

Table Summary of Results

The table below summarizes the progress made by FEC management since the OIG’s last 

reporting period and the total outstanding recommendations as of March 2018.

OIG Audits/Inspection

Total Outstanding 

Recommendations 

as of August 2017

Total Closed Total Open as of 

March 20181

Audit of the Commission’s 

Property Management Controls -

8 years outstanding

1 12 0

2010 Follow-up Audit of Privacy 

and Data Protection

7 years outstanding 

25 0 25

2010 Follow-up Audit of 

Procurement and Contract 

Management

6 years outstanding

1 0 1

Inspection of the FEC’s

Disaster Recovery Plan and

Continuity of Operations Plans

5 years outstanding

9 0 9

Audit of the FEC’s Office of 

Human Resources 

4 years outstanding

5 0 5

Inspection of FEC’s Compliance 

with FMFIA/OMB A-123 

3 years outstanding

5 0 5

Audit of the FEC Telework 

Programs 

1 year outstanding

9 0 9

Total Outstanding Recommendations 54

 1 Column numbers may include recommendations that management has disagreed with or has not adequately 

implemented, and the OIG concludes that these recommendations are still open.

2 The remaining recommendation was closed due to the Chief Information Officer accepting the risk of not 

implementing the OIG’s recommendation.
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Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 20183| Page

Audit Follow-up Meetings/Communications

Closed Audits/Inspections

3

A. Audit of the Commission’s Property Management Controls

The remaining outstanding recommendation for the Audit of the Commission’s Property 

Management Controls (Property Audit) is related to the Office of the Chief Information 

Officer’s (OCIO) inventory records for cellular devices. The OIG has followed up on 

this recommendation since the release of the report in March of 2010, and each follow-up

review has noted several issues with OCIO’s inventory records. In our August 2017 

report, the OIG expressed to the Commission our concerns regarding the risks to agency 

assets based on OCIO’s current inventory processes. Specifically, we stated that the 

failure to adequately record assets causes the agency to have incomplete inventory 

records and greatly exposes the agency to potential theft without detection from 

management, as having inadequate inventory records prevents proper safeguarding of the 

physical asset.

Having reviewed the OCIO’s inventory records and 

processes for the past eight years and reporting on the same 

weaknesses during each review with no major 

improvements or agreements from management to revise its 

processes, on March 12, 2018 the OIG issueda

Management Risk Acceptance Memorandum to the 

Commission and the Chief Information Officer (CIO). The 

memorandum requested that the CIO confirm that the OCIO accepts the risk of not 

implementing the OIG’s recommendation, andthe CIO signed to accept the risk. See the 

Management Risk Acceptance Memorandum and signed letter by the OCIO as an attachment to this report. Therefore, the Property Audit has been closed out by the OIG.

However, the recommendation may be re-opened upon receipt of any new information to 

improve the FEC’s processes in this area.

 3 An audit or inspection is closed when the OIG determines that all applicable recommendations have been 

adequately addressed and/or management has determined that it will accept the risks of not implementing the OIG’s 

recommendation. 

The Chief Information 

Officer has accepted 

the risk of inadequate 

agency inventory 

records for agency 

issued cellular devices
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Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 20184| Page

Open Audits/Inspections

B. 2010 Follow-up Audit of Privacy and Data Protection

For the 2010 Follow-up Audit of Privacy and Data Protection (Privacy Audit), the OIG’s 

Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of August 2017 report identified 25 open 

recommendations. For this review period, the Privacy Team 

noted that “Although OGC is working with OCIO on 

completing these outstanding recommendations, we do not 

currently have anything to update. However, we are in the 

process of hiring an attorney whose responsibilities will be 

entirely devoted to FOIA and the Privacy Act. We believe that 

with that position established and filled, the Agency will be able 

to move rapidly towards completion.” As the Privacy Team had 

no updates for this follow-up period, the 25 recommendations 

remain outstanding. 

C. 2010 Follow-up Audit of Procurement and Contract Management

The 2010 Follow-up Audit of Procurement and Contract Management was issued in June 

2011. The OIG’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of February 2017 report 

identified only one open recommendation related to the updated Directive 66, which is 

the overarching agency-widepolicy for procurement and acquisitions.This one 

recommendation is still open for this follow-up review period.

D. Inspection of the FEC’s Disaster Recovery Plan and Continuity of Operations Plans

The Inspection of the FEC’s Disaster Recovery Plan and Continuity of Operations Plans

(COOP Inspection) report was released in January 2013. The OIG’s Review of 

Outstanding Recommendations as of August 2017 report identified nine outstanding 

recommendations. The Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer of Operations provided 

a status update for the outstanding recommendations. The OIG reviewed the information 

provided and conducted some sample testing. The results are as 

follows:

Sample Verification

As the FEC has made the determination to leverage the agency’s 

Telework Program for executing the agency’s COOP, the OIG 

selected 32 people from the OCIO’s COOP listing of Key 

Personnel to verify if these individuals would be capable of 

complying with their designated COOP role based on the 

There has been no 

progress from the 

Privacy Team on

outstanding 

recommendations 

since February 2015.

A critical 

management level 

position has not 

been properly 

equipped to 

perform COOP duties
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October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018 5 | Page

Telework Program.

Out of the 32 selected, the OIG received a response from 16 people. Verification was 

performed on the 16 responses the OIG received, and the following was noted:

• 6 of the 16 Key Personnel, including a critical management level position, have

not been provided an agency tablet necessary to perform their COOP duties; and

• 1 of the 16 Key Personnel listed was issued a tablet but has not been approved for 

telework; therefore, the ability of this person being able to work from home to 

carry out COOP responsibilities has not been properly verified (see second bullet 

point in next section). 

COOP Training Review 

The OIG reviewed the planned annual COOP training and noted the following:

• The FEC does not have an annual testing exercise scheduled for the COOP plan to 

ensure Key Personnel are aware and capable of carrying out their duties.

• The FEC’s plan to use unscheduled telework during instances of inclement 

weather to support periodic testing of the COOP plan is insufficient:

o The scenario to support testing would not be an unplanned event.

o Unscheduled telework is optional rather than mandatory for all COOP Key 

Personnel based on OPM guidance during inclement weather.

o All COOP Key Personnel do not participate in the FEC’s telework 

program.

o The Crisis Management Team is not required to test the call-tree process 

during unscheduled telework, which should include staff, contractors, and 

vendors, to ensure the appropriate personnel can be reached via the correct 

contact information on record.

o COOP devices are not always used or mandatory when exercising the 

option of unscheduled telework to ensure proper network connection and 

functionality.

o Assessment Reports are not developed or reviewed to ensure the agency’s 

current COOP process is adequate.

It has been reported to the Commission for almost 14 years that the agency is operating 

without an approved and tested contingency plan to ensure that in the event of a local or 

agency specific disaster, the Commission would have the ability to continue normal business 

operations within a reasonable timeframe. Based on the OIG’s above reviews and many of 

the outstanding recommendations being extended due to further actions needed from 

management, the nine recommendations remain open. 
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Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018 6 | Page

E. Audit of the FEC’s Office of Human Resources 

The Audit of the Federal Election Commission’s Office of Human Resources (OHR

Audit) report was issued in July 2013. The OIG’s Review of Outstanding 

Recommendations as of August 2017 report identified five open recommendations for the 

OHR audit report. The OIG sent an email to the Director of OHR in January 2018 

inquiring about the status of the five outstanding audit recommendations as well as to 

discuss any additional corrective actions since the last follow-up review was conducted in 

August 2017. The OIG did not receive any updates. Therefore, the five outstanding 

recommendations will remain open for this follow-up period. 

F. Inspection of FEC’s Compliance with FMFIA/OMB Circular A-123

The Inspection of FEC’s Compliance with FMFIA/OMB Circular A-123 (A-123

Inspection) was released in June 2014. The OIG’s Review of Outstanding 

Recommendations as of August 2017 report identified five open recommendations for the 

A-123 Inspection report. Since the August 2017 follow-up review period, the Office of 

the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), in cooperation with the FEC A-123 Task Force and 

the Senior Management Council (SMC), drafted the FEC’s initial risk profile which is a 

new requirement related to A-123. The OIG notes that other OMB requirements related 

to submitting Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Fraud Reduction plans by June 4,

2017, were postponed and a new date has not yet been issued. The OIG will be unable to 

close the remaining five recommendations until the FEC fully implements ERM and 

fraud risk assessments into the internal control reporting process, and the OIG can verify 

that the new processes are operating effectively. Therefore, the five outstanding 

recommendations remain open for this follow-up review period.

G. Audit of the FEC’s Telework Programs

The Audit of the FEC’s Telework Programs (Telework Audit) was released in June 2016.

The OIG’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of August 2017 report identified 

nine open recommendations for the Telework Audit report. The OIG contacted the 

Telework Management Official and was informed there are no additional updates to 

report at this time. Therefore, the nine outstanding recommendations remain open for this 

follow-up review period.
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Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018 7 | Page

Background

As required by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the OIG is responsible

for conducting audits of the FEC’s programs and operations. In addition to conducting 

and supervising audits, the OIG also has the responsibility to conduct audit follow-ups

to ensure that management has effectively implemented OIG recommendations. Audit

follow-up, including the timely implementation of audit recommendations by FEC

management, is required by Office of Management and Budget Circular A-50, Audit 

Follow-up, as revised, and FEC Directive 50: Audit Follow-up.

At the conclusion of each OIG audit and inspection, it is management’s responsibility to 

develop a corrective action plan (CAP). The CAP identifies the plan management has

developed to address the OIG’s findings and recommendations. The CAP should detail the

following:

1. assignment of Audit Follow-up Official, who is responsible for overseeing the

corrective action;

2. OIG finding(s);

3. OIG recommendation(s);

4. detailed corrective action to implement the OIG’s recommendation(s);

5. FEC staff person with responsibility to implement each task; and

6. expected completion dates.

Once management drafts the CAP, the OIG then reviews the CAP and provides comments to 

management regarding the sufficiency of their planned corrective actions to address the OIG’s

findings. Management reviews the OIG’s comments, finalizes the CAP, and then provides the

final CAP to the Commission with a courtesy copy to the OIG.

FEC Directive 50 requires management to:

(3) Conduct regular meetings with the Inspector General throughout the year to followup on outstanding findings and recommendations, and include reports of these meetings 

in the written corrective action plan and semi-annual reports required to be presented to 

the Commission...;

In order to work effectively with FEC management in adhering to FEC Directive 50,

and to ensure continuous monitoring and adequate and timely audit resolution, the

OIG communicates with management at least semiannually to discuss the status of

outstanding OIG recommendations. If management has implemented any corrective

action(s), the OIG schedules a meeting with management to discuss the

implementation of the corrective action(s), and the OIG then reviews evidence of the 

corrective action (e.g., new/updated policies, procedures, and processes to improve

internal controls).
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Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

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Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

Office of Inspector General’s Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018 8 | Page

To provide management with timely feedback and the results of our review prior to 

management’s reporting deadlines to the Commission in May and November, the OIG 

reports on our review of outstanding recommendations as of February and August of each 

year. The semiannual meetings are also intended to assist the audit follow-up official in 

following provisions 4 through 6 of Directive 50, which are listed as follows:

(4) Respond in a timely manner to all audit reports;

(5) Engage in a good faith effort to resolve all disagreements; and

(6) Produce semi-annual reports that are submitted to the agency head.

The official status (open/closed) of OIG recommendations is determined by the OIG

once the OIG has verified that management has adequately implemented the corrective 

actions. The Inspector General can also make a decision to close recommendations or 

seek resolution from the Commission for recommendations where the OIG and 

management disagree. Lastly, the number of outstanding recommendations is also 

reported to the Commission and Congress in the OIG’s Semiannual Reports to Congress.
31

April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

31

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018
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Office of Inspector General 

Management Risk Acceptance Letter

2

 OCIO’s inventory listing not reflective of all staff who are issued devices.

The OIG is concerned that if management does not have adequate record keeping of 

agency devices, the agency is exposed to the risk of fraud. Agency devices can be easily 

removed from inventory and go undetected for long lengths of time, making the device 

difficult to track and/or recover because management’s inventory records are not 

complete or consistently kept up to date.

We have reviewed management’s inventory process and records for cellular devices for 

the past eight years with no major improvements or agreements from management to 

revise its process. Therefore, pursuant to the OIG’s recommendation resolution process, 

the OIG requests signed confirmation from the Chief Information Officer that 

management accepts the level of exposed risk to the agency in accordance with their 

current inventory process in order for the OIG to close the current outstanding 

recommendation, specifically noting that management accepts the risk. To confirm

management’s acceptance of the risk regarding this recommendation, please sign, date,

and return the attached document to the OIG by March 21, 2018.

Thank you,

Attachment
33

April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

33

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018
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Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

34

Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress

or toll free at 1-800-424-9530 (press 0; then dial 1015)

Fax us at 202-501-8134 or e-mail us at oig@fec.gov

Visit or write to us at 1050 First Street, N.E., Suite 1010, Washington DC 20463

Federal Election Commission

Office of Inspector General

Individuals including FEC and FEC contractor employees are encouraged to alert the OIG to fraud, waste, abuse, 

and mismanagement of agency programs and operations. Individuals who contact the OIG can remain anonymous. 

However, persons who report allegations are encouraged to provide their contact information in the event additional 

questions arise as the OIG evaluates the allegations. Allegations with limited details or merit may be held in 

abeyance until further specific details are reported or obtained. Pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended, the Inspector General will not disclose the identity of an individual who provides information without the 

consent of that individual, unless the Inspector General determines that such disclosure is unavoidable during the 

course of an investigation. To learn more about the OIG, visit our Website at: http://www.fec.gov/fecig/fecig.shtml 

Together we can make a difference.

Fraud Hotline

202-694-1015
35

April 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

35

October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

Appendix C

The Federal Election 

Commission

In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election 

Commission to administer and enforce the Federal 

Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. The 

duties of the FEC, an independent regulatory agency, 

are to disclose campaign finance information, enforce 

the provisions of the law, and oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.

The Commission consists of six members who are 

appointed by the President and confirmed by the 

Senate. Each member serves a six-year term, and 

two seats are subject to appointment every two years. 

By law, no more than three Commissioners can be 

members of the same political party, and at least four 

votes are required for any official Commission action. 

The Chairmanship of the Commission rotates among 

the members each year, with no member serving as 

Chairman more than once during his or her term.

Currently the FEC has four Commissioners and 

two vacancies – Caroline C. Hunter, Chair; Ellen L. 

Weintraub, Vice Chair; and Commissioners Matthew 

S. Petersen and Steven T. Walther.

Office of Inspector General

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 

states that the Inspector General is responsible for: 

1) conducting and supervising audits and investigations relating to the FEC’s programs and operations; 

2) detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse 

of agency programs and operations while providing 

leadership and coordination; 3) recommending policies designed to promote economy, efficiency, and 

effectiveness of the establishment; and 4) keeping 

the Commission and Congress fully and currently 

informed about problems and deficiencies in FEC 

agency programs and operations, and the need for 

corrective action
or toll free at 1-800-424-9530 (press 0; then dial 1015)

Fax us at 202-501-8134 or e-mail us at oig@fec.gov

Visit or write to us at 1050 First Street, N.E., Suite 1010, Washington DC 20463

Federal Election Commission

Office of Inspector General

Individuals including FEC and FEC contractor employees are encouraged to alert the OIG to fraud, waste, abuse, 

and mismanagement of agency programs and operations. Individuals who contact the OIG can remain anonymous. 

However, persons who report allegations are encouraged to provide their contact information in the event additional 

questions arise as the OIG evaluates the allegations. Allegations with limited details or merit may be held in 

abeyance until further specific details are reported or obtained. Pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended, the Inspector General will not disclose the identity of an individual who provides information without the 

consent of that individual, unless the Inspector General determines that such disclosure is unavoidable during the 

course of an investigation. To learn more about the OIG, visit our Website at: http://www.fec.gov/fecig/fecig.shtml 

Together we can make a difference.

Fraud Hotline

202-694-1015