Skip to main content

Department of State

Jump To:

Open Recommendations (123 total)

Ukraine: Status of Foreign Assistance

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Director of the Office of Foreign Assistance and the Comptroller implement improvements to financial systems of record to separately, more systematically, and comprehensively track the allocation, obligation, and disbursement of foreign assistance funding provided in response to the crisis in Ukraine, to include base funds allocated to areas outside of Ukraine and exclude supplemental funds that were not allocated in response to the Ukraine crisis. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

International Military Students: DOD and State Should Assess Vetting Implementation and Strengthen Information Sharing

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor—in collaboration with the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—clarify roles and responsibilities for sharing information on issues related to international military students. This should include roles and responsibilities for policy updates, data sharing, and analysis. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Sexual Harassment: Actions Needed to Improve Prevention Training for Federal Civilian Employees

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should implement the department's plan to evaluate its required sexual harassment prevention training to identify needed improvements. The evaluation should also include an assessment of training content and implementation to determine whether revisions are needed to better align with management practices to enhance the effectiveness of sexual harassment prevention training. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

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

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the agency consistently tracks software licenses that are currently in use for its widely used licenses by, at a minimum, developing and implementing procedures for tracking license usage. (Recommendation 9)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

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

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the agency consistently 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 develop and implement procedures for comparing the inventories of licenses in use to purchase records. (Recommendation 10)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Artificial Intelligence: Agencies Have Begun Implementation but Need to Complete Key Requirements

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the department updates its AI use case inventory to include all the required information, at minimum, and takes steps to ensure that the data in the inventory aligns with provided instructions. (Recommendation 23)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Mental Health Services: State Should Collect Ongoing Feedback to Ensure Overseas Employees' Needs Are Being Met

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of Medical Services' Chief Medical Officer collects ongoing feedback from overseas recipients of all State mental health services to determine whether these services are meeting their needs. (Recommendation 1)
Open
State concurred with the recommendation.

Human Rights: Agency Actions Needed to Address Harassment of Dissidents and Other Tactics of Transnational Repression in the U.S.

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretaries for Political-Military Affairs and Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor include steps to coordinate with and collect information on transnational repression from other agencies, such as the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, in its new transnational repression-related tools and guidance to align the arms transfer decisions-making process with the 2023 Conventional Arms Transfer Policy. (Recommendation 3)
Open
In its written comments on the report, State concurred with this recommendation and said it will take steps to implement it. GAO will continue to monitor State's actions in response to this recommendation.

Human Rights: Agency Actions Needed to Address Harassment of Dissidents and Other Tactics of Transnational Repression in the U.S.

Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretaries for Political-Military Affairs and Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor include steps to coordinate with and collect information on TNR from other agencies, such as the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, in its new procedures specific to Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act. (Recommendation 4)
Open
In its written comments on the report, State concurred with this recommendation and said it will take steps to implement it. GAO will continue to monitor State's actions in response to this recommendation.