Update on Task Force on the Prevention of Waste, Fraud and Abuse

The Task Force on the Prevention of Waste, Fraud and Abuse held the first of three planned meetings on May 1-2.

Task force members heard presentations from representatives of the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the assistant inspector general for audits of the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Inspector General, the head of special investigations for the SLD’s Program Integrity Assurance staff, and a senior auditor from the internal audit staff of USAC. They described, in general terms, the kinds of situations that have raised concerns in the areas of waste, fraud and abuse. They also provided general information about auditing and other enforcement activities.

The 14 task force members then shared their own different perspectives on the potential for waste, fraud and abuse in the program. By the end of their first meeting, they identified these topics as broad, shared areas of concern that should be the focus of future discussions:

• Lack of clarity in program rules and requirements;
• Rules and processes that may inadvertently encourage waste;
• Shortcomings in applicants’ competitive bidding processes;
• Need for review and clarification of “eligible” services;
• Lack of accountability and consequences for program violations;
• Funding models and their impact on waste, fraud and abuse;
• Maximizing the deployment of SLD resources;
• Required standards for applicant documentation of program compliance.

Persons who wish to discuss these issues or other concerns related to waste, fraud and abuse can contact a member of the task force by e-mail. The List of Task Force Members posted on this web site contains an active e-mail link from each member’s name.

The task force currently plans two more meetings in late May and late June before preparing a series of recommendations to USAC and the FCC.