Reports & Testimonies

The Census Bureau has started planning for the 2030 Census. The Bureau is planning to make several changes from previous decennial censuses. For example, it plans to start using machine learning to help build the nation’s list of addresses. It also plans to increase the use of administrative records to count people who don’t respond to the census. These and other changes could greatly reduce...

Without an honorable discharge, military veterans may have trouble getting jobs and accessing valuable educational and medical benefits. If veterans believe there was an error or injustice in the process, they can apply to have a DOD board consider whether to upgrade their discharge. The boards have guidance on how to consider cases in which a veteran may have a mental health condition or experienced...

The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General seeks to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. In 2021 the OIG established a new division to audit how many DOE facilities contractors spend federal money. DOE committed to spend more than $36 billion in 2023 for facilities contracts. Funds for these contracts are at risk because the contractor is allowed to withdraw funds without first submitting an...

The Department of Defense relies on a global network of over 200,000 suppliers to produce weapons, as well as noncombat goods like batteries and manufacturing equipment. DOD sees certain foreign suppliers as a national security risk because, for example, they could cut off access to critical materials. DOD has made progress gathering supplier information and improving supply chain transparency. However, its efforts are uncoordinated and...

A 2021 law provided $551 billion to the Department of Transportation for about 100 grant programs. Most of the funds will go to state and local governments and others to build things like roads and bridges. DOT and awardees must sign grant agreements before DOT can commit the funds. If this doesn’t happen before a program’s deadline, funds can become unavailable. Awardees told us they...

Shippers use the U.S. air cargo network to transport critical goods like life-saving medicines, electronics, and fresh produce. However, air cargo stakeholders reported that infrastructure challenges, like crowded aircraft parking areas, slowed operations and posed safety risks. The Department of Transportation is responsible for ensuring that air cargo moves safely and efficiently. But we found that DOT hasn’t communicated with air cargo stakeholders to identify...

Retired service members can work for foreign governments under certain conditions. The military services and State Department assess applications for employment, but lawmakers have expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest and national security risks. From 2019 to 2023, about 95% of these applications were approved. But interviews we conducted with U.S. officials and others indicated people were confused about whether they need to apply...

The National Nuclear Security Administration pays contractors billions of dollars annually to run 8 sites where the agency maintains and modernizes U.S. nuclear weapons, among other things. Congress has had difficulty understanding the total cost of NNSA’s weapons programs because the contractors track and report costs in different ways. Without this information, Congress can't make informed budgetary decisions or provide effective oversight. The Department of...

The number of electric vehicles on the nation’s roads has grown. But wider adoption of the vehicles may be slowed because there aren’t enough chargers available across the country. Some federal programs aim to increase the number of chargers. For example, the government created a new Joint Office to help the Departments of Energy and Transportation collaborate and get federal funding to states and others...

Treasury awarded billions of dollars to state and local governments to help cover COVID-19 costs. But thousands of those recipients missed deadlines for reporting how they spent funds. And over 1,000 of them never submitted a report. Treasury issued notices and reached out via newsletters, webinars, and more. But reporting was still inconsistent. Treasury can recoup money from recipients that don’t comply with reporting requirements...

The 2007-2009 financial crisis led some to question the adequacy of the Bankruptcy Code for reorganizing or liquidating large, complex financial institutions. Reforms passed after the crisis require us to report periodically on this issue. This is our sixth report on this topic. The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation now review banks’ bankruptcy plans to identify weaknesses and provide feedback. In recent years...

According to the Defense Department, its medical facilities have been chronically understaffed in recent years. Military medical staffing declined by about 16% from FYs 2015-23. Facility management has transitioned from the military departments to the Defense Health Agency. This produced a complex management structure and exacerbated staffing challenges. To address the challenges, in 2024, the agency and the departments improved management with a collaborative approach...

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002 to improve the reliability of public company financial reporting and auditing. But complying with the law can be expensive. Later amendments sought to reduce such costs for smaller companies, including by exempting them from certain requirements. Information on compliance costs can be hard to isolate from broader costs. But generally, compliance costs were higher for larger companies and...

IRS has struggled to improve how taxpayers experience IRS services. The Inflation Reduction Act provided funding to improve IRS operations, including these services. We found that IRS was implementing a strategy to improve taxpayer services that included more than 150 projects. Such projects were intended to improve live assistance, online services, and more. But IRS hadn’t decided how to assess whether these projects improved the...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture helped build almost 12,000 watershed dams throughout the U.S. These dams control flooding and prevent damage to communities. However, age-related deterioration and other factors have raised concerns about their safety. USDA monitors how project sponsors (typically local governments) operate and maintain the dams. It also funds dam rehabilitation. We found USDA’s approach has been inconsistent and key information on dams—such...

The Federal Employees Health Benefit program is the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the country. It provides benefits to more than 8 million federal employees and others at a total cost of about $70 billion in 2024. The Office of Personnel Management administers the FEHB program and is responsible for fraud risk management. OPM has taken steps to combat fraud, such as conducting fraud...