[Excerpt] After being confirmed by the United States Senate, I assumed the position of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on November 4, 2013. I am honored to lead the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and to work to improve DOL programs and operations. It is thus my privilege to submit this Semiannual Report to the Congress, which highlights the most significant activities and accomplishments of this office for the six-month period ending September 30, 2013. During this reporting period, the OIG issued 30 audit and other reports that, among other things, recommended that $440.4 million in funds be put to better use. The OIG also questioned approximately $8.4 million in costs relating to DOL programs. Significant findings reported herein include the following: Significant budget overruns in the Job Corps program, which ultimately resulted in the temporary freezing of student enrollment, were caused by a lack of managerial oversight by Employment and Training Administration senior leadership. Additional guidance and oversight to employee benefit plans holding as much as $1 trillion in hard-to-value alternative investments are needed to protect retiree assets. Job Corps contracts totaling $353 million were awarded on a sole-source basis when they should have been competed to ensure best value to the government. The Mine Safety and Health Administration did not fully comply with federal laws and regulations and did not implement adequate internal controls while planning and organizing its biennial Mine Rescue Training Contests. The OIG’s investigative work also yielded impressive results, with a total of 257 indictments, 293 convictions, and $36.8 million in monetary accomplishments. Results highlighted in this report include that the following: The founder and former president of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers in Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 76 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $252,000 for stealing funds from the union’s pension plan. The former president of Massey Energy Company’s Green Valley Resource Group was sentenced in West Virginia to 42 months of incarceration for his role in conspiring to impede MSHA inspections and to violate mine safety and health laws. A Louisiana woman was sentenced to 57 months in prison for creating false identification documents and impersonating a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration trainer. A New Jersey man was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.6 million for his role in an Unemployment Insurance fraud scheme. I look forward to working with the Department and Congress to ensure the effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity of DOL programs and operations, and to combat labor racketeering in all its forms.