Skip to main content

Lapse in Appropriations

Please note that a lapse in appropriations has caused GAO to shut down its operations. Therefore, GAO will not be able to publish reports or otherwise update this website until GAO resumes operations. In addition, the vast majority of GAO personnel are not permitted to work. Consequently, calls or emails to agency personnel may not be returned until GAO resumes operations. For details on how the bid protest process will be handled during the shutdown, please see the legal decisions page. For information related to the GAO Personnel Appeals Board (PAB), please see the PAB webpage.

Worker and Family Assistance

Jump To:

Recent Reports

View More Reports

Open Recommendations

Mine Safety: Commission That Reviews Legal Disputes Needs Improved Management Oversight
GAO-25-107171
Sep 25, 2025
Show
9 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission The Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission should ensure that the Commission establishes a process for managing the agency's performance—including defining goals, reliably measuring performance, and using performance information—that follows federal performance management guidance. The process should promote the participation of all senior leaders at the Commission and establish the Commission's goals and objectives in consultation with Congress and relevant stakeholders. The process should also provide the Commission the opportunity to identify the resources it needs to achieve its goals. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission The Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission should ensure that the Commission develops written policies for reviewing and monitoring how the Commission spends its appropriated funds to promote their effective use. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission The Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission should ensure that the Commission develops a strategic workforce plan that identifies the critical areas of expertise—such as human capital, finance, and legal compliance—needed to achieve the Commission's goals and creates a strategy to address identified resource gaps. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission The Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission should ensure that the Commission creates comprehensive hiring and promotion policies that are consistent with leading practices and legal requirements. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission The Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission should ensure that the Commission establishes a comprehensive enterprise risk management process to help the agency determine the most significant risks to achieving its goals and prioritize how to use its resources to address these risks. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission The Chair of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission should assign roles and responsibilities to ensure the Commission complies with relevant laws and regulations. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Adoption Tax Credit: IRS Needs a Comprehensive Educational Outreach Plan
GAO-25-107429
Aug 11, 2025
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should direct the Acting Chief of Communications and Liaison and the Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer to develop a comprehensive educational outreach plan for the adoption tax credit that aligns with our Leading Practices for Consumer Education Planning, including identifying key stakeholders and developing clear, consistent messaging. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Whistleblowers: VA Should Assess Data and Monitor Settlement Agreements to Better Ensure Protections
GAO-25-106780
Jul 31, 2025
Show
4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should ensure that OAWP consistently collects information on corrective actions VA takes on behalf of whistleblowers during the whistleblower retaliation investigation process. (Recommendation 1)
Open
VA agreed with this recommendation. OAWP plans to modify its tracking system and its standard operating procedures to collect and document any corrective actions taken for the whistleblower before a retaliation investigation is completed. Additionally, VA told us OAWP has drafted a revised directive that would require management to respond to non-disciplinary recommendations and other corrective actions, allowing OAWP to track all corrective actions. We await further progress on these efforts.
Office of Special Counsel The Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel should coordinate with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that VA whistleblower retaliation settlement agreements that arise from cases filed with OSC are accurately tracked. (Recommendation 2)
Open
OSC disagreed with this recommendation. OSC stated that exchanging settlement information with VA would place an administrative burden on its small staff, without clear benefit to the agency's effectiveness in addressing whistleblower retaliation. OSC also noted that it is not a data collection or data management agency. We maintain, however, that OSC could enhance the value of the data it already collects for its regular operations by using existing coordination meetings with VA to incorporate information-sharing on settlement agreement tracking. OSC also expressed concern that adopting this recommendation could lead to broader requests for reciprocal data-sharing across agencies. However, our report noted that VA accounts for a significant proportion of OSC's caseload. Also, OSC identified 90 relevant VA whistleblower retaliation settlement agreements from FY19-FY23. However, this did not include 11 additional agreements from FY19-FY23 that OAWP identified as settled. This discrepancy underscores the potential benefit of the improved agency collaboration we recommend.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should coordinate with the Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel to ensure that VA whistleblower retaliation settlement agreements that arise from cases filed with OSC are accurately tracked. (Recommendation 3)
Open
VA agreed with this recommendation. VA stated that OAWP has drafted a revised directive that would require management to respond to non-disciplinary recommendations and other corrective actions, allowing OAWP to track all corrective actions. We will consider closing this recommendation when this effort is complete.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should ensure that OAWP is delegated the authority to monitor and then monitors whistleblower retaliation settlement agreement implementation, including tracking of relevant settlement agreement data. (Recommendation 4)
Open
VA agreed with this recommendation. The agency expressed willingness to work with OSC on negotiating a memorandum of agreement to enable secure data sharing about settlements and for its Office of General Counsel and OAWP to prepare appropriate documentation from the Secretary of VA for OAWP to monitor settlement implementation. VA also noted that OAWP has already updated its tracking to track all relevant settlement agreement data, including both agency and complainant obligations. We await further progress on these efforts.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Fraud Risk Management
GAO-25-107290
Jan 28, 2025
Show
7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should finalize its key guidance documents on fraud risk management—the Fraud Risk Management Implementation Plan and the Fraud Risk Assessment Portal Methodology—and clearly establish a process for conducting fraud risk assessments for HHS programs, including TANF, at regular intervals and when there are changes to the program or its operating environment. (Recommendation 1)
Open
HHS concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. We will provide updated information when we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should develop and document standard operating procedures for conducting regular fraud risk assessments tailored to TANF. This should include the roles and responsibilities of HHS entities involved in the process. (Recommendation 2)
Open
HHS concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. We will provide updated information when we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should develop a process for direct and regular communication with state and local agencies, and their respective OIGs or auditors, about TANF fraud risks that includes an approach for soliciting information from these entities and document this process in its standard operating procedures for conducting fraud risk assessments tailored to TANF. (Recommendation 3)
Open
HHS concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. We will provide updated information when we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should update the design of HHS's Fraud Risk Assessment Portal to have the functionality to allow users to assess the likelihood and impact of each fraud risk identified in a program, such as TANF; determine the related fraud risk tolerance; and include those results in the portal as part of their fraud risk assessments. (Recommendation 4)
Open
HHS did not concur with this recommendation. We continue to believe that this recommendation is valid because users should be able to perform the likelihood, impact, and fraud risk tolerance assessment of each fraud risk identified in a program, such as TANF, in HHS's centralized Fraud Risk Assessment Portal as part of their fraud risk assessments. We will monitor HHS's efforts to address this recommendation.
Department of Health and Human Services As part of finalizing HHS's key guidance documents on fraud risk management, the Secretary of HHS should require users to assess the likelihood and impact of each fraud risk identified in a program, such as TANF; determine the related fraud risk tolerance; and include those results in the Fraud Risk Assessment Portal as part of their fraud risk assessments. (Recommendation 5)
Open
HHS did not fully concur with this recommendation. We continue to believe that this recommendation is valid because HHS should require users to perform the likelihood, impact, and fraud risk tolerance assessment of each fraud risk identified in a program, such as TANF, in HHS's centralized Fraud Risk Assessment Portal as part of their fraud risk assessments. We will monitor HHS's efforts to address this recommendation.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should update the design of HHS's Fraud Risk Assessment Portal to have the functionality to allow for the regular assessment of any additional fraud risks facing TANF, including those identified by GAO. (Recommendation 6)
Open
HHS concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. We will provide updated information when we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation.
View More Recommendations

Related Pages

GAO Contacts