Administration
Two Louisiana women, former jail deputies, were sentenced today to over a year in prison and six months in prison respectively for their roles in covering up a civil rights violation arising out of an inmate’s death at the St. Bernard Parish Prison (SBPP).
House of Representatives Vote on a Libyan Interim Government of National Unity
Press Statement
Russian claims about al Qaeda - can we trust them?
Vice President Harris Swears In Marcia Fudge as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Congress Passed President Biden's American Rescue Plan
Lab analyst sentenced for falsifying test results
A former environmental laboratory analyst was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Pamela A. Barker to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine for falsifying laboratory test results.
Information Technology Company Owner and Former NSA Contractor Facing Federal Indictment for Submitting False Claims for Hours Worked on a Government Contract
Baltimore, Maryland -A federal grand jury has indicted Jacky Lynn Mccomber, formerly Jacky Lynn Kimmel age 48, of Elkridge, Maryland, on the federal charges of submitting false claims and making false statements, in connection with the hours she claimed to have worked on a federal contract. Mccomber is the CEO and owner of lnfoTeK, an information technology (IT) services corporation. At her initial appearance and arraignment today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Mccomber pleaded not guilty and U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. DiGirol
The 10th Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake
Press Statement
Condolences to the Victims of the Explosions in Equatorial Guinea
Press Statement
Border Patrol Seizes Over $1.4M Worth of Drugs in Rio Grande Valley, Texas
EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol agents seized more than 1,800 pounds of marijuana in a span of four days.On Saturday, March 6, 2021, agents assigned to the Fort Brown Border Patrol Station responded to suspected...
State Department Terrorist Designations of ISIS Affiliates and Leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique
Media Note
Opening Remarks by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Remarks
Promoting Accountability and Responding to Violence against Protestors in Burma
Press Statement
President Biden Hosts an Event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck
03/10/21: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Roberta Jacobson
Agriculture Specialists Intercept Tanzanian Wasps and Mantids in Memphis
On Tuesday, March 2, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agriculture Specialists in Memphis, TN were inspecting a shipment from Tanzania in route to Oregon when they found live insects. The one-piece shipment, which was an old cardboard light...
Department of Defense: Actions Needed to Improve Accounting of Intradepartmental Transactions
What GAO Found
The Department of Defense (DOD) has a long-standing material weakness related to intradepartmental transactions. Intradepartmental transactions occur when trading partners within the same department engage in business activities—such as the Department of the Army as a seller and the Department of the Navy as a buyer within DOD. As part of the standard process of preparing department-wide financial statements, intradepartmental transaction amounts are eliminated to avoid overstating accounts for DOD. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, DOD eliminated approximately $451 billion of net intradepartmental activity. Auditors continue to report a material weakness related to DOD's processes for recording and reconciling intradepartmental transaction amounts that are necessary to eliminate the transactions and prepare reliable consolidated financial statements.
DOD has identified implementation of the Government Invoicing (G-Invoicing) system as its long-term solution to account for and support its intradepartmental activities. In fiscal year 2020, DOD issued a policy requiring all DOD components to use G-Invoicing's General Terms and Conditions (GT&C) functionality for initiating and approving GT&C agreements—a necessary step for using subsequent G-Invoicing functionalities (see figure). GAO found the use of this functionality varied among selected DOD components because of issues such as inconsistency in DOD policies and numerous changes to G-Invoicing system specifications. If DOD components do not implement the GT&C functionality, there is an increased risk of delay in full implementation of G-Invoicing to help remediate the intradepartmental eliminations material weakness.
General Terms and Conditions Agreement Process in Government Invoicing
Although DOD has identified G-Invoicing as its long-term solution, GAO found that DOD has not implemented an overall department-wide strategy to address its intradepartmental eliminations material weakness in the short term. Further, GAO found that while DOD issued a department-wide policy in May 2019 with new requirements for reconciling intradepartmental transactions, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and selected DOD components have not updated their policies or implemented several of the new requirements. Without a short-term strategy that includes identifying the causes of issues and consistently implementing department-wide policies across DOD, DOD's efforts to resolve differences in intradepartmental transaction amounts—including its efforts in the long term—will likely be inefficient and ineffective.
Why GAO Did This Study
Since 1995, GAO has designated DOD financial management as high risk because of pervasive weaknesses in its financial management systems, controls, and reporting. DOD's long-standing intradepartmental eliminations material weakness reflects DOD's inability to adequately record and reconcile its intradepartmental transactions, and has affected DOD's ability to prepare auditable financial statements.
GAO was asked to evaluate DOD's process for performing intradepartmental eliminations. This report examines the extent to which DOD has (1) identified and taken steps to address issues related to intradepartmental eliminations and (2) established and implemented policies and procedures related to intradepartmental eliminations.
GAO interviewed DOD officials about intradepartmental eliminations processes and reviewed DOD policies and procedures to identify the extent to which procedures have been implemented to record and reconcile intradepartmental transactions.
Canine Alerts to Fentanyl Pills Hidden in Sealed Medicine Bottles
YUMA, Ariz. – A Yuma Sector Border Patrol canine alerted to vitamin and antibiotic medicine bottles that contained fentanyl pills at the Interstate 8 immigration checkpoint Tuesday morning.Yuma Border Patrol agents seized $24,000in fentanyl pills...
Secretary Blinken and NSA Sullivan’s Meeting with PRC Counterparts
Press Statement
CBP Announces February 2021 Operational Update
WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today released operational statistics for February 2021, which can be viewed here.February marked the start of processing for migrants with active cases under the Migrant Protection Protocols (...