Update HUD Handbook 1900.40, Do Not Pay policy, to clearly define the responsibilities for all parties and align it with current laws, processes, and procedures. This should include defining responsibilities for preaward and prepayment verification, and developing a process and governance structure to ensure that preaward and prepayment verification are consistently performed across HUD’s programs.

Status

HUD has until August 25, 2025 to provide its corrective action plan to OIG for review.

Analysis

Updating the HUD Handbook 1900.40 will define responsible parties for ensuring compliance with the Do Not Pay Initiative (DNP).    

The implementation of this recommendation will result in consistent use of DNP, allowing for instant verification of eligibility across the billions in payments that HUD processes.

Develop a standard operating procedure to ensure that the OCFO is 1) monitoring the DNP Computer Matching agreement to ensure continuity, 2) reporting accurately on its DNP matching, and 3) working with program offices to adjudicate any payments that are identified as potentially improper during the computer matching process.

Work with Multifamily Housing to investigate the 11 of 24 entities with expired SAM.gov registrations to determine if those entities should have received payments totaling $212,208,450 and perform the required follow-up actions once a determination is made.

Deobligate the 101 program obligations totaling $1,967,991.45 identified for deobligation during the fiscal year 2024 OOR that had not been deobligated as of February 28, 2025.

Collaborate with ONDCP to determine the necessary adjustments to the CoC reporting methodology that ensures HUD reports annual numeric targets and actuals to ONDCP by the required November 1 due date.

Collaborate with ONDCP to determine the necessary adjustments to the RHP reporting methodology that ensures HUD reports numeric targets to ONDCP by the required November 1 due date.

Develop and execute a written agreement with ONDCP on the reporting methodology for the CoC annual numeric targets and actuals that would meet future reporting requirements and comply with the Strategy and timeframe for implementation.

Develop and execute a written agreement with ONDCP on the use of reporting annual numeric targets for the RHP performance measures that would meet future reporting requirements and comply with the Strategy and timeframe for implementation.

Establish and implement formal policies and procedures that include (1) the ONDCP reporting process between HUD’s OCFO and CPD, (2) the process for reporting to ONDCP, (3) references to any written agreements between HUD and ONDCP, and (4) a requirement for periodic reviews of these written agreements to address any changes in administration, roles, responsibilities, reporting programs, reporting requirements, and reporting methodologies.

We recommend that HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development implement training on civil rights monitoring reviews. Additionally, CPD should ensure that training on civil rights monitoring reviews is regularly provided to CPD staff.

We recommend that HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development implement updated guidance and protocols for monitoring civil rights compliance and require CPD staff to incorporate civil rights monitoring into the risk analysis process.

We recommend that HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development develop guidance clarifying the use of the exhibit for on-site, hybrid, and remote monitoring to ensure a full review of grantees’ compliance with civil rights requirements, and incorporate this guidance into the training developed as a result of recommendation 1A.

Develop a policy or update the existing Grants Management Policy to include 1) the process and controls that HUD will use to hold the prime recipients accountable for FFATA compliance and 2) clearly defined roles and responsibilities between OCFO and the program offices to ensure that action is prioritized by the correct responsible parties regarding FFATA compliance.

Work with applicable program offices to develop training materials and tools, such as dashboards, to assist program offices in monitoring their grant portfolios for subaward reporting compliance.

We recommend that the Director of CPD’s Office of Disaster Recovery require active disaster recovery grantees to report in DRGR other sources of funding used for non-Federal match activities.

We recommend that the Director of CPD’s Office of Disaster Recovery develop and implement internal controls to ensure that grantees completely and accurately report non-Federal match activities in DRGR.

We recommend that HUD work with Connecticut and Shelby County to fully realize the program benefits by (1) assessing whether any of the current project activities need to be replaced with more viable project activities, thereby ensuring that any modifications to the project activities will lessen the susceptibility of rain and flood events; (2) assessing whether administrative funds have been properly allocated and charged to identify any possible cost savings; (3) determining whether enough administrative funds or other available funds exist to complete the administration of the grant project activities; and (4) developing and implementing a written plan of action that will assist with expediting the project activities that could reasonably be expected to be completed by the September 30, 2029, deadline.

We recommend that HUD conduct onsite or remote monitoring for the City of Minot and Tennessee, which have not had any monitoring since grant inception, to ensure that these grantees are on track to meet their program goals.

We recommend that HUD for grantees with delayed project activities (California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, New York City, Minot, and Shelby County), require each grantee to provide a detailed timeline with milestone dates of when projects should be completed and provide updates to ensure that grantees stay on schedule.

We recommend that HUD for its disaster-related program wide activities, revise the action plan and quarterly performance review checklists to a format that more specifically and directly addresses the subject program.