Develop and execute a detailed plan and timeline for both testing and reporting estimates of improper payments in the PIH-TBRA and PBRA programs in compliance with Federal law and OMB guidance.

Status

As of January 30, 2026, HUD has not provided a management decision, detailed plan, or timeline as to how HUD will respond to the recommendation.  When OIG inquired on the status of this recommendation, HUD reported it had completed work in this area that was reflected in its fiscal year 2025 Annual Financial Report (AFR). However, based on what HUD reported it is unclear if it addressed our recommendation. OIG recently initiated the annual Payment Integrity Information Act (PIIA) audit which reviews HUD’s payment integrity information to determine HUD’s compliance. During this audit OIG will also determine the status of HUD’s efforts in terms of this recommendation.

Analysis

For HUD to close this recommendation, it must finish testing the full life cycle of payments in these programs and publicly report estimates of the improper payments in them. Merely producing a plan with future action target dates is not sufficient to meet the spirit of this recommendation.

PBRA and PIH-TBRA are the two largest program expenditures in HUD's portfolio, totaling $55.6 billion in FY 25, or 62.5 percent of HUD's total expenditures. HUD has been challenged with developing a compliant sampling methodology that can test the full payment cycle, and, that can be executed within the required timeframes. To fully address this recommendation, the sampling methodology should test the full payment cycle, and the associated sample testing and statistical estimation must be completed in time to be included in the Annual Financial Report.
Implementation of this recommendation will result in HUD better-safeguarding taxpayer dollars and decrease improper payments.

Update its policies and procedures for tracking expenditures related to slow-spending grantees, including steps for assisting the grantees to expedite spending (including the grantee’s steps or actions to address slow spending), identifying the reasons for the delays with the grant, and documenting the outcome of its efforts.

Corrective Action Taken

CPD updated guidance addressing grantee slow spending through technical assistance, including actions grant managers can take when grantee expenditures do not appear to be “on pace” to meet the expenditure deadlines, and demonstrated it is providing technical assistance to grantees during monitoring. CPD also issued an additional Standard Monitoring Findings and Corrective Actions Guide for its staff to promote a consistent framework for crafting monitoring findings and the corrective actions needed to resolve identified deficiencies and prevent future occurrences. This new resource provides general guidance and examples for presenting Finding components in monitoring reports for fourteen topics including, “Failure to Meet Timeliness of Expenditures Requirements.

Develop and issue a departmentwide policy that notes that radon is a radioactive substance and outlines HUD's requirements to test for and mitigate excessive radon levels in accordance with 24 CFR 50.3(i)(1) and 58.5(i)(2)(i).

Corrective Action Taken

None Given.