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As of May 21, 2024, there are 5113 open recommendations that still need to be addressed. 411 of these are priority recommendations, those that we believe warrant priority attention. Learn more about our priority designation on our Recommendations page.

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181 - 200 of 5113 Recommendations, including 411 Priority Recommendations

Justice40: Additional Efforts Needed to Improve Tribal Applicants' Access to Federal Programs Under Environmental Justice Initiative

GAO-24-106511
Anna Maria Ortiz
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency The Administrator of EPA should ensure that program offices consult with federally recognized Tribes and conduct outreach to eligible Indigenous communities to ensure meaningful involvement when determining benefits for Justice40 covered programs in accordance with EOP guidance and determine how to incorporate the input into future Justice40 implementation efforts. (Recommendation 7)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should ensure that program offices consult with federally recognized Tribes and conduct outreach to eligible Indigenous communities to ensure meaningful involvement when determining benefits for Justice40 covered programs in accordance with EOP guidance and determine how to incorporate the input into future Justice40 implementation efforts. (Recommendation 8)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the USDA should ensure that program offices consult with federally recognized Tribes and conduct outreach to eligible Indigenous communities to ensure meaningful involvement when determining benefits for Justice40 covered programs in accordance with EOP guidance and determine how to incorporate the input into future Justice40 implementation efforts. (Recommendation 9)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Broadband Deployment: Agencies Should Take Steps to Better Meet Deadline for Processing Permits

GAO-24-106157
Andrew Von Ah
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should develop controls to ensure BLM data are sufficiently accurate and complete to track processing times for all communications use applications. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Forest Service The Chief of the Forest Service should develop controls to ensure Forest Service data are sufficiently accurate and complete to track processing times for all communications use applications. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should continue to analyze the factors that contribute to delays in processing communications use applications as they occur and take actions to address those factors. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Forest Service The Chief of the Forest Service should continue to analyze the factors that contribute to delays in processing communications use applications as they occur, as well as the efficacy of the actions the agency has taken to address those factors, and take additional actions as necessary. (Recommendation 4)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should establish a method to alert staff to communications use applications at risk of exceeding the 270-day deadline. (Recommendation 5)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Forest Service The Chief of the Forest Service should establish a method to alert staff to communications use applications at risk of exceeding the 270-day deadline. (Recommendation 6)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

IRS Direct File: Actions Needed during Pilot to Improve Information on Costs and Benefits

GAO-24-107236
James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure that relevant officials apply best practices to estimate and document the full costs of developing and operating a Direct File system. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure that relevant officials estimate and document the potential benefits of a Direct File system. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should use the cost and benefit data collected during the pilot along with other relevant considerations to inform future decisions about the Direct File system. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Coast Guard: Aircraft Fleet and Aviation Workforce Assessments Needed

GAO-24-106374
Heather Macleod
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
United States Coast Guard The Commandant of the Coast Guard should establish procedures requiring the Coast Guard to uniformly collect and maintain air station readiness data. (Recommendation 1)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation. In response to our report, it described steps Coast Guard is taking to implement this recommendation, such as updating its operational reporting manual. Coast Guard anticipates completing these steps by December 31, 2024.
United States Coast Guard The Commandant of the Coast Guard should establish a process to regularly evaluate Coast Guard-wide air station readiness data. (Recommendation 2)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation. In response to our report, it stated that Coast Guard created a risk dashboard that displays air station readiness data. Given that the Coast Guard is still in the process of establishing procedures to require the uniform collection of readiness data, we will continue to monitor Coast Guard's progress addressing this recommendation.
United States Coast Guard The Commandant of the Coast Guard should assess the type of helicopters the Coast Guard requires to meet its mission demands, as part of an analysis of alternatives. (Recommendation 3)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation. In response to our report, DHS noted that, based on a 2020 RAND study, the Coast Guard had found it should move towards greater medium range helicopter recovery capacity, as those aircraft provide favorable cost solutions and increased capability. However, as we note in our report, the RAND study also supported the Coast Guard maintaining a mix of helicopter types. Specifically, the study identified a benefit to the Coast Guard having a fleet composed primarily of MH-60T helicopters along with sufficient short-range helicopters to complete certain
United States Coast Guard The Commandant of the Coast Guard should assess the number of helicopters the Coast Guard requires to meet its mission demands, as part of a fleet mix analysis. (Recommendation 4)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation. In response to our report, DHS noted that Coast Guard already determined that it requires a minimum of 127 helicopters. However, as noted in our report, the Coast Guard's determination is based on flight hours and did not consider, for example, how having a smaller fleet size would affect its ability to sustain surge operations. We maintain that Coast Guard can benefit from further analysis to determine the number of helicopters needed. We will continue monitoring Coast Guard's efforts to address this recommendation.
United States Coast Guard The Commandant of the Coast Guard should assess and determine the aviation workforce levels it requires to meet its mission needs. (Recommendation 5)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation. In response to our report, DHS noted that Coast Guard will begin the process to determine the aviation workforce needed for all air stations in May 2024. We will continue monitoring Coast Guard's efforts to address this recommendation.

College Athletics: Education Should Improve Its Title IX Enforcement Efforts

GAO-24-105994
Melissa Emrey-Arras
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Office for Civil Rights regularly analyzes available Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act data and expands its use of the data for oversight activities, consistent with available resources. (Recommendation 1)
Open

Education agreed with this recommendation and stated that it will continue reviewing EADA data in support of enforcement activities, as appropriate, dependent on available staff and other resources. Education provided an example in which it recently relied on EADA data to resolve a case. We agree that EADA data can be helpful in resolving specific cases. However, the intent of our recommendation is for Education to periodically analyze EADA data for more proactive and broader oversight activities, such as the examples we provide in our report. We continue to believe that Education should
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Office for Civil Rights establishes agency timeliness goals for reviewing monitoring reports and for responding to colleges during monitoring of Title IX athletics cases. (Recommendation 2)
Open

Education neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation, stating that it has already implemented it. Specifically, Education cited a provision in its performance plans for investigative staff that staff should routinely determine compliance with respect to submitted monitoring reports within 90 days of receipt, on average. We acknowledge Education's performance standards for investigative staff, but these are not the same as having overall agency timeliness goals and performance. To implement this recommendation, Education should establish overall agency timeliness goals for reviewing
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Office for Civil Rights requires staff to consistently record due dates in the case management system for responding to colleges' monitoring reports in Title IX athletics cases. Management should use information from the case management system to evaluate response times against established timeliness goals. (Recommendation 3)
Open

Education agreed with this recommendation and said that it would routinely record due dates in the case management system for responding to colleges' Title IX athletics monitoring reports. In addition, Education stated it will also periodically review information from the case management system to evaluate response time frames, as appropriate. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.
Note: the list of open recommendations for the last report may continue on the next page.

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