FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

800 North Capitol Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20573 

Inspector General

 May 11, 2022 

 Submitted Electronically

The Honorable Lt. Cdr. Gary C. Peters, 

 Chairman

Committee on Homeland Security and 

 Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

724 Hart Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney,

 Chairwoman 

Committee on Oversight and Reform 

United States House of Representatives 

2157 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515 

The Honorable Robert J. Portman, 

 Ranking Member 

Committee on Homeland Security and 

 Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

448 Russell Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Patrick Leahy, 

 Chairman 

Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate 

437 Russell Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Richard Shelby, 

 Ranking Member 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

304 Russell Senate Office Building 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable James Comer, 

 Ranking Member 

Committee on Oversight and Reform 

United States House of Representatives 

2410 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515 

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, 

 Chairwoman 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

2413 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515 

The Honorable Kay Granger, 

 Ranking Member 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

1026 Longworth House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515 
2

The Honorable Shalanda Young, Director 

Office of Management and Budget 

725 17th Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20503

The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro 

Comptroller General of the United States 

U.S. Government Accountability Office 

441 G Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20548

SUBJECT: Improper Payments Compliance Report for Fiscal Year 2021

Results in Brief

This report communicates the results of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Office 

of Inspector General’s (OIG) annual review of the FMC’s compliance with reporting and 

performance requirements regarding improper payments. For fiscal year (FY) 2021, the OIG 

concluded the FMC complied with all the requirements that are applicable to the agency for 

improper payment reporting. According to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, 

compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) means that the agency met 

the following six requirements, as appropriate:

Requirements for PIIA Compliance Did the Agency 

Comply?

1a Published payment integrity information with the annual financial 

statement

Yes

1b Posted the annual financial statement and accompanying materials on 

the agency website

Yes

2a Conducted improper payment (IP) risk assessments for each program 

with annual outlays greater than $10,000,000 at least once in the last 

three years

Yes

2b Adequately concluded whether the program is likely to make IPs and 

unknown payments (UPs) above or below the statutory threshold

Yes

3 Published IP and UP estimates for programs susceptible to significant 

IPs in the accompanying materials to the annual financial statement

N/A1

4 Published corrective action plans for which an estimate above the 

statutory threshold was published in the accompanying materials to the 

annual financial statement 

N/A1

5a Published IP and UP reduction targets for which an estimate above the 

statutory threshold was published in the accompanying materials to the 

annual financial statement

N/A1

5b Has demonstrated improvements to payment integrity or a tolerable IP 

and UP rate

N/A1

5c Has developed a plan to meet the IP and UP reduction target N/A1

1 Requirement is not applicable because the FMC determined in its triennial risk assessment for 2020 that the 

agency’s programs are not susceptible to significant improper payments. FMC’s next required risk assessment is FY

2023.
3

6 Reported an IP and UP estimate of less than 1% for each program for 

which an estimate was published in the accompanying materials to the 

annual financial statement

N/A1

Background

The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA) (Public Law 111-

204) amended the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and required agencies to 

identify and review all programs and activities they administer that may be susceptible to 

significant improper payments based on guidance provided by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). In addition, section 3 of IPERA required inspectors general to review each 

agency’s improper payment reporting and issue an annual report. On March 2, 2020, the Payment 

Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) (Public Law 116-117) repealed IPERA (and other laws) 

but set forth similar improper payment reporting requirements, including an annual compliance 

report by inspectors general. The OIG completed this annual review based on guidance contained 

in OMB Circular A-123, Appendix C, Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement (M-21-

19, March 2021); OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements (August 10, 2021); 

OMB Payment Integrity Question and Answer Platform; and the Council of the Inspectors General 

on Integrity and Efficiency, Guidance for Payment Integrity Information Act Compliance 

Reviews, October 26, 2021. 

The purpose of IPIA, as amended, and the related requirements, are to improve the federal 

government’s efforts to reduce and recover improper payments. An improper payment is any 

payment that should not have been made or that was made in an incorrect amount. Incorrect 

amounts are overpayments or underpayments that are made to eligible recipients. An improper 

payment also includes any payment that was made to an ineligible recipient or for an ineligible 

good or service, or payments for goods or services not received (except for such payments 

authorized by law). In addition, when an agency's review is unable to discern whether a payment 

was proper because of insufficient or lack of documentation, this payment must also be considered 

an improper payment.

Each agency inspector general is required to review improper payment reporting in their 

agency’s annual Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) or Agency Financial Report 

(AFR) and any accompanying materials to determine if the agency is in compliance with PIIA. 

The OIG reviewed the agency’s Improper Payments Information Act section of FMC’s FY 2021

PAR posted on the agency’s website for compliance with PIIA, as well as, the FMC’s 

PaymentAccuracy.gov Data Call submission. 

Conclusion

The OIG concluded the FMC is compliant for FY 2021. Specifically, the FMC is compliant 

with requirements 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b. Requirements 3 through 6 are not applicable to the agency. 

The OIG is required to report these results to the Commission; the Senate Committee on Homeland 

1 Requirement is not applicable because the FMC determined in its triennial risk assessment for 2020 that the 

agency’s programs are not susceptible to significant improper payments. FMC’s next required risk assessment is FY 

2023.
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Security and Governmental Affairs; the Senate Committee on Appropriations; the House of 

Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform; the House Committee on Appropriations; 

the Comptroller General; and OMB. 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Parker Skaats (pskaats@fmc.gov) 

or myself (jhatfield@fmc.gov), or call (202) 523-5863. Thank you. 

Sincerely,

Jon Hatfield

Inspector General