Federal Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) saved the government an estimated $53 billion through investigations in fiscal year 2020, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) reported in its annual report to Congress and the President.
The IGs saved $19.7 billion through investigative receivables and recoveries, while the bulk of the total figure – $33.3 billion – came from potential savings as a result of audit recommendations, the report says.
“Together, the work of the OIG community resulted in significant improvements to the economy and efficiency of programs government-wide, with potential savings totaling approximately $53 billion,” the report says. “With the OIG community’s aggregate FY (Fiscal Year) 2020 budget of approximately $3.1 billion, these potential savings represent an approximate $17 return on every dollar invested in the OIGs.”
The report also touts the success of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), which CIGIE formed immediately after the passage of the CARES Act to aid in overseeing how the COVID-19 relief funds were doled out. With multiple relief bills passed since then, PRAC keeps its site updated with its work in COVID-19 relief oversight.
Altogether, the OIG community issued over 3,000 audits, investigations, and reports; closed 13,958 investigations; and processed over 400,000 complaints. Those resulted in more than 4,000 indictments and criminal information, 1,200 successful civil actions, 4,000 suspensions or debarments, and 3,600 personnel actions.
