Reports & Testimonies
GAO’s reports and testimonies give Congress, federal agencies, and the public timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can improve government operations and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Most Recent Reports
241 - 260 of 58113 Reports
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Homeland Security Grants: DHS Implemented National Priority Areas but Could Better Document and Communicate Changes
The Department of Homeland Security provides funds to help state and local governments prepare for terrorist threats. The Homeland Security Grant Program requires grantees to spend 30% of their funds on "National Priority Areas"—designated threat categories like cybersecurity. Almost all the areas have minimum spending requirements. To respond to emergent risks, DHS has changed these priorities over time—e.g., adding an election security area in FY...
VA Health Care: Office of Rural Health Efforts and Recommendations for Improvement
Access to health care is critical for veterans, particularly for the more than 8 million veterans that live in rural areas. The Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health funds research and initiatives aimed at improving the health of veterans living in rural areas. We testified about our prior work on the office's efforts. We found that while it supports many research projects, it doesn't...
Legislative Branch: Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of Legal Counsel [Reissued with revisions on Jan. 9, 2024]
Oversight of the executive branch is one of Congress's main responsibilities. In recent years, Congress has explored ways to modernize its operations in this area, including regulatory oversight and congressional legal representation for working with the executive branch. To help, we researched Congress's options. It can create new regulatory or legal offices, oversight processes, or regulatory requirements—or change existing ones. Each of these options comes...
Vehicle Safety: Opportunities to Improve Repair Rates for Recalled Vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration oversees vehicle recalls when a defect creates an unreasonable safety risk. Manufacturers must notify vehicle owners of recalls and usually fix the problem for free. NHTSA monitors repair rates and enforces rules that manufacturers must follow for the hundreds of safety recalls issued each year. Like NHTSA, we found that certain factors influence vehicle recall repair rates, such as...
Federal Real Property: Improved Data and Access Needed for Employees with Disabilities Using Secure Facilities
Federal employees use secure facilities—known as "SCIFs"—to work with classified information. But some SCIFs aren't accessible for employees with disabilities—e.g., some doors are too heavy to open, or doorways are too narrow for wheelchairs. While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has taken some steps to address access issues, it can do more. For example, it should improve its guidance on SCIFs...
Cybersecurity: OMB Should Improve Information Security Performance Metrics
We reviewed how 23 civilian federal agencies implemented the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014. Their implementation continued to be mostly ineffective. For example, inspectors general found that only 8 of 23 agencies had effective security programs in FY 2022. Agency officials identified practices—such as commitment from leadership—that could make the security programs more effective. Agencies and IGs also suggested FISMA metrics need to...
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Deferred Maintenance: Agencies Generally Followed Leading Practices in Selections but Faced Challenges
Buildings, roads, and other structures on the federal government's public lands require billions of dollars to maintain each year. Agencies may defer maintenance projects to future years when funds are unavailable. In 2020, Congress established a fund to address deferred maintenance in fiscal years 2021-2025. The money—as much as $1.9 billion annually—is divided among 5 eligible agencies at 70% for the National Park Service, 15%...
Army Corps of Engineers: Better Alignment with Key Practices Would Improve Management of Real Estate Administrative Fees
The Army Corps of Engineers manages the real estate at its infrastructure projects nationwide that businesses, state governments, and others can work with the Corps to use. For example, a business can lease land on a lake to run a marina. Users pay fees to the Corps to cover the costs of reviewing real estate use proposals and oversight—but some users have raised concerns about...
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Federal Reserve Lending Programs: Status of Monitoring and Main Street Lending Program
In response to COVID-19, the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors authorized 13 emergency lending programs to help provide credit to certain parts of the economy, including businesses and employers. The Main Street Lending Program targeted small and mid-sized businesses and nonprofits. Since the program ended in January 2021, borrowers have generally made scheduled payments on-time. As of August 2023, about 64% of program loans—roughly...
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VA Health Care: The Medically Underserved Facilities Initiative
The Department of Veteran Affairs provides health care services to more than six million veterans, but many live in areas with limited access to care. In FY 2019, VA began designating facilities as "underserved" if the facility couldn't meet demands for care. These facilities identified ways to improve access, such as increasing telehealth. Officials at these facilities shared mixed responses about VA's efforts. Some said...
Small Business Administration: Procedures for Reporting on Veteran-Owned Businesses Need Improvement
Many veterans face challenges with raising capital to start small businesses—such as establishing credit and developing business relationships if they move to a new area after military service. The Small Business Administration must give special consideration to veterans for its lending programs. But the agency hasn't developed policies and procedures to do so. For example, SBA committed to processing applications for veteran-owned businesses promptly. However...
Medical Device Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Update Agreement to Ensure Effective Coordination
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities that threaten medical devices aren't commonly exploited but still pose risks to hospital networks—and patients, according to a federal study. The Food and Drug Administration has primary responsibility for medical device cybersecurity. FDA formally collaborates with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on security guidance for device manufacturers, public alerts about current vulnerabilities, and more. However, the agencies' formal agreement is 5 years...
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Defense Health Care: DOD Assessment Needed to Ensure TRICARE Behavioral Health Coverage Goals Are Being Met
DOD's Defense Health Agency manages TRICARE—a healthcare program for active duty service members, their eligible family members, and military retirees. In 2016, DHA set goals to improve TRICARE's behavioral health coverage for mental health and substance use disorders. DHA added coverage for new services and eliminated certain coverage limits, such as the maximum number of treatment sessions. Over the last 7 years, however, DHA hasn't...
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Pandemic Risk: Federal Insurance Approaches Would Entail Costs to Taxpayers and Businesses Might Not Participate
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses used "business interruption coverage" to recoup losses, but insurers generally didn't pay pandemic-related claims. Many insurers have since added virus exclusions or removed previously available virus coverage. We looked at whether the government could make pandemic insurance available to businesses. But the government would assume most or all risk. And it would be difficult to provide easily available and...
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GAO Agile Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Adoption and Implementation [Reissued with revisions on Dec. 15, 2023]
Agile is an approach to software development in which software is developed incrementally and is continuously evaluated for functionality, quality, and customer satisfaction. Agile can reduce the risks of funding a program that fails or produces outdated technology. This updated guide presents federal auditors and others with best practices to assess the adoption and use of Agile processes in federal agencies and elsewhere. The federal...
Farm Credit System: Policy Considerations for a Potential Grant Program for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
Minorities and women may have trouble getting loans to buy and run farms. According to lending industry representatives, these socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers are more likely to operate smaller, lower-revenue farms; have weaker credit histories; or lack clear title to their agricultural land. The Farm Credit System provides low-cost credit to farmers and ranchers. Establishing a grant program for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers...
U.S. Postal Service: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Workforce Diversity Efforts
The U.S. Postal Service's workforce has become more diverse in recent years, but it's had challenges ensuring its leadership reflects the diversity of its workers. White employees are still more likely to be promoted to some management positions than non-White employees. And managers from historically disadvantaged groups are generally paid less than their White counterparts. USPS's executives have made commitments to supporting diversity, and USPS...
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Small Business Contracting: SBA Could Improve Oversight of Individual Waiver Requests to the Nonmanufacturer Rule
The federal government aims to award 23% of its contracts to small businesses, including manufacturers. If no small manufacturer exists for a product, agencies can request a waiver from the Small Business Administration to allow any sized manufacturer to supply the product instead. Recent SBA data indicated that agencies submitted about 670 waiver requests, roughly 80% of which SBA approved. But its waiver data is...
Grants Management: HHS Has Taken Steps to Modernize Government-wide Grants Management
Health and Human Services is the largest grantmaking agency in the federal government and oversees grants management tools used by other agencies. It has been streamlining grants management processes through the following programs: Relnvent Grants Management, an effort to improve grants administration within HHS via 7 initiatives, such as a grants management training and certification program Recipient Data Insights, a tool that helps agencies access...
Artificial Intelligence: Actions Needed to Improve DOD's Workforce Management
The Department of Defense has invested billions of dollars to integrate artificial intelligence into its operations. This includes analyzing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data, and operating deadly autonomous weapon systems. We found, however, that DOD can't fully identify who is part of its AI workforce or which positions require personnel with AI skills. As a result, DOD can't effectively assess the state of its AI...