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Open Recommendations (84 total)

Tribal Food Security: Opportunities Exist to Address Challenges in Federal Nutrition Programs

GAO-24-106218
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that FNS improves the verification process for confirming that applicants are not dually participating in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, per program requirements, so applicants can be enrolled in a timely fashion. For example, FNS could identify ways to facilitate appropriate communication and information sharing among relevant entities. (Recommendation 3)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's progress to implement this recommendation.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that ERS includes available national-level American Indian/Alaska Native food security data in its flagship annual report on household food security. (Recommendation 1)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation. The agency noted that any inclusion of food security statistics for the American Indian/Alaska Native population would be dependent upon sample sizes and ensuring the statistics remain statistically reliable. Our report notes that USDA officials considered these estimates to be reliable at the national level and these estimates are already published on the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People website. We will monitor the agency's progress to implement this recommendation
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that FNS assesses the need for any additional flexibilities in its programs' administrative requirements that could further support tribal food security and any necessary adjustments to support existing flexibilities, and then implements those changes. (Recommendation 6)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's progress to address this recommendation.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that FNS studies the impact of the prohibition against dual participation in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including any obstacles to food security posed by the process for switching from one program to another, and shares the results of the study with Congress. (Recommendation 4)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation. The agency noted that any future study of the impact of the prohibition on dual participation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations would be subject to availability of appropriations. We continue to believe that it is important to examine the impact of this prohibition, and USDA could consider cost-effective ways to approach the study. We await further progress to address this recommendation.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that FNS systematically identifies gaps in outreach to tribal communities about FNS programs, determines how to best address those gaps, and takes appropriate steps. (Recommendation 5)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's progress to implement this recommendation.

Tribal Food Security: Opportunities Exist to Address Challenges in Federal Nutrition Programs

GAO-24-106218
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that FNS eliminates the use of visual observation as an allowable means to determine participant race and ethnicity for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. (Recommendation 2)
Open
USDA agreed with this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's progress to address this recommendation.

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

GAO-24-106511
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the USDA should ensure that program offices implementing Justice40 covered programs maintain records of related consultations with Tribes and consider—with tribal input—publicly sharing a high-level summary of consultation results, as appropriate, to improve tribal applicants' access to information about tribal input on federal programs and decrease the burden on Tribes and eligible Indigenous communities. (Recommendation 6)
Open
In written comments reproduced in our report, USDA stated that it anticipates taking steps in the coming months to implement our recommendations on improving tribal applicants' access to Justice40 covered programs. We will update the status of this recommendation when we receive additional information from the agency.
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
In written comments reproduced in our report, USDA stated that it anticipates taking steps in the coming months to implement our recommendations on improving tribal applicants' access to Justice40 covered programs. We will update the status of this recommendation when we receive additional information from the agency.

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

GAO-24-106511
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that program offices of USDA Justice40 covered programs document previously identified statutory and regulatory barriers to access for tribal applicants informing their implementation of the Justice40 Initiative. As a part of this process, the agency should—with input from Tribes—identify any additional changes necessary to address remaining statutory and regulatory barriers, recommending legislative changes where the agency determines appropriate. The agency should make a summary of the results of this process publicly available. (Recommendation 3)
Open
In written comments reproduced in our report, USDA stated that it anticipates taking steps in the coming months to implement our recommendations on improving tribal applicants' access to Justice40 covered programs. We will update the status of this recommendation when we receive additional information from the agency.

Federal Software Licenses: Agencies Need to Take Action to Achieve Additional Savings

GAO-24-105717
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the agency compares the inventories of software licenses that are currently in use with information on purchased licenses to identify opportunities to reduce costs and better inform investment decision making for its widely used licenses on a regular basis. At a minimum, it should consistently implement its procedures for comparing the inventories of licenses in use to purchase records. (Recommendation 2)
Open
The Department of Agriculture generally concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department statement that it is in the process of developing a new enterprise-wide process to consistently reconcile purchased licenses with active usage. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to fully implement this recommendation.
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