Based upon a complaint, we reviewed two Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreements as part of a joint assignment with our Office of Investigation and Office of Legal Counsel. Our objective was to determine whether the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA) when it obtained the services of two people through IPA agreements. During the review, we identified potential ADA violations with one of the agreements. Specifically, HUD incorrectly used more than $620,000 in Office of Public and Indian Housing and Office of Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner personnel compensation funds to pay the salary of a senior advisor to the HUD Secretary. Additionally, HUD paid more than the agreement allowed and made payments without an agreement in place. HUD did not have procedures in place to prevent these potential ADA violations.
We recommended that HUD take appropriate actions to investigate, resolve, and report the potential ADA violations. Further, HUD should implement controls to prevent future occurrences.