The Office of Inspector General (OIG) says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to make improper reimbursements through the Presidential Residence Protection Assistance (PRPA) grant program.
Congress appropriated $41 million in both FYs 2019 and 2020 in PRPA for FEMA to reimburse state and local law enforcement agencies for personnel costs incurred when performing protection activities directly associated with any non-governmental residence of the President. The PRPA grants included funding for protection activities at non-governmental residences located in New York City, New York; Palm Beach, Florida; and Bedminster, New Jersey.
But an OIG audit has found that FEMA did not ensure state and local law enforcement agencies accounted for and expended PRPA grant funds in accordance with Federal regulations and component guidelines. Specifically, in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate (GPD) reimbursed grantees $8.9 million for unallowable overtime fringe benefits and $10.2 million for protection activities not directly associated with the President’s nongovernmental residences. OIG said in its July 28 report that this occurred because GPD did not thoroughly review grantees’ fringe benefit rates before awarding the grants and did not have sufficient guidance in place to determine which fringe benefit categories were eligible for reimbursement. Guidance was published and distributed to FEMA regions and program offices on April 1, 2022 to address the shortcomings but OIG did not assess its effectiveness due to it ot being in place when GPD reviewed the PRPA grant applications.
OIG also found that GPD did not evaluate whether the costs incurred were directly related to protecting the President’s non-governmental residences. As a result, the watchdog concluded that FEMA did not ensure PRPA grants were used for their intended purpose. OIG reported that GPD reimbursed three grantees (New York Police Department – NYPD, New Jersey State Police – NJSP, and West Palm Beach Police Department – WPB PD) $10.2 million for protection activities not directly associated with a Presidential residence.
NYPD, for example, included personnel costs for activities conducted away from the President’s New York residence in its PRPA grant applications. These activities included protecting the President at fundraisers, a sporting event, a political rally, a visit to a relative in the hospital, and events during the United Nations General Assembly. NYPD listed these activities in its grant application certification letters to FEMA. Although the Secret Service requested these protection activities, OIG found these activities do not meet the eligibility criteria for reimbursement through the PRPA grant program.
OIG identified similar issues with NJSP’s PRPA grant applications, which included personnel costs for protection activities at locations other than the President’s New Jersey residence. Specifically, OIG determined neither the President nor his family were at the New Jersey residence on several claimed dates in September 2019 and January 2020. Instead, the claimed protection activities were associated with the Vice President’s visit to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the President’s campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, which is approximately 151 miles from the President’s New Jersey residence.
Finally, WPB PD included personnel costs for ineligible activities in its FY 2020 PRPA grant application. WPD PD officials confirmed the activities were performed in support of the President speaking at a conference held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, which is approximately five miles from the President’s Florida residence.
The audit found that GPD staff did not evaluate whether the activities were directly associated with a residence and instead only checked to see if the President was staying at a residence within the law enforcement agencies’ jurisdiction when the activities occurred.
OIG concluded that FEMA improperly reimbursed grantees $19.1 million for unallowable fringe benefits and ineligible protection activities for FYs 2019 and 2020.
Consequently, the watchdog is making three recommendations: that FEMA’s GPD disallow $167,690 in unallowable fringe benefit costs for FYs 2019 and 2020; disallow $10,196,840 in personnel costs for grantee activities not directly associated with designated non-governmental Presidential residences for FYs 2019 and 2020; and that the directorate establishes and implements controls to avoid reimbursing grantees for costs not directly associated with protecting designated non-governmental Presidential residences. FEMA agreed with all three recommendations and expects to fully implement them by June 28, 2024.
