https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-135T

GAO-19-135T: Published: Oct 3, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 3, 2018.

Forty railroads, including Amtrak, commuter, and freight railroads, are required to implement positive train control (PTC)—a communications-based system designed to slow or stop a train that is not being operated safely. Although the deadline for PTC implementation is December 31, 2018, railroads that meet certain criteria may receive a maximum 2-year extension. We testified that, as of June 30...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-108R

GAO-19-108R: Published: Oct 3, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 3, 2018.

Facing declining budgets and aging information technology, in 2014 IRS officials began envisioning new approaches for interacting with taxpayers that they called the "Future State." They described the Future State as guiding principles—rather than a specific plan—to transform IRS. This vision included giving taxpayers more web-based options for communicating with IRS and dealing with taxes. F...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-134T

GAO-19-134T: Published: Oct 3, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 3, 2018.

Broadband provides high-speed Internet service, which can improve communications and drive economic growth. However, tribal lands have lower levels of broadband access than the rest of the nation. Congress has prioritized identifying unserved areas and targeting funds to increase broadband deployment, including on tribal lands. In this testimony, we found: this digital divide on tribal lands may...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-15

GAO-19-15: Published: Oct 3, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 3, 2018.

In 2016, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) centralized distribution of the disability compensation claims workload through the National Work Queue, which prioritizes and distributes claims to regional offices based on their capacity; however, there are gaps in VBA's guidance for processing claims with errors. Under the National Work Queue, multiple regional offices can work on a single cl...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-619

GAO-18-619: Published: Sep 21, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 1, 2018.

Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—will likely continue to be the major source of U.S. energy. The Department of Energy funds research and development (R&D) for innovative fossil fuel technologies. In the period we reviewed, the department provided $2.66 billion for 794 such projects. Among other things, we found: 42% of the funding ($1.12 billion) went to 9 later-stage demonstration pr...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-628

GAO-18-628: Published: Aug 30, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 1, 2018.

People who need long-term services to help with routine daily activities, such as bathing and eating, often prefer to remain in their homes and communities rather than receive care in nursing homes or other institutions. State Medicaid programs must cover nursing home care, but can choose to cover most home- and community-based care—and they’re increasingly opting to do so. States have faced...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-602

GAO-18-602: Published: Aug 31, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 1, 2018.

About 500,000 postal retirees receive retiree health benefits. The Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund pays most of the costs. The Postal Service has not made $38.2 billion in required payments to this fund through fiscal year 2017. If it makes no more payments, the Office of Personnel Management projects the fund will be depleted in fiscal year 2030. We highlighted several approaches to...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-634

GAO-18-634: Published: Aug 29, 2018. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 2018.

Has there been an increase in U.S. rural hospital closures? Yes. From 2013 to 2017, 64 rural hospitals closed, more than twice as many as during the previous 5-year period. What types of rural hospitals closed? Rural hospital closures disproportionately occurred in the South, among for-profit hospitals, and among Medicare Dependent Hospitals—small rural hospitals with Medicare beneficiaries a...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-682

GAO-18-682: Published: Sep 28, 2018. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 2018.

About 35% of Americans living on tribal lands lack access to broadband service. This can limit tribes' economic opportunity, education, public safety, and more. Tribes can partner with private broadband providers, regional consortiums, and others to increase access, but such partnerships are rare. Tribes can also apply for federal funding for broadband projects, but often have trouble meeting req...

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-638

GAO-18-638: Published: Sep 28, 2018. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 2018.

As e-commerce continues to grow, package delivery has become an increasingly important part of the U.S. Postal Service's revenues. USPS competes with private delivery companies for this business. To stay competitive, USPS tracks packages with barcode scans so it can offer customers accurate delivery estimates, real-time data, and more. USPS data show that almost all of these packages are scanned...