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Open Recommendations

U.S. Postal Service: Action Needed to Fix Unsustainable Business Model
GAO-26-107336
Dec 16, 2025
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
United States Postal Service The Postmaster General should develop current financial projections out to at least fiscal year 2032, after the assets in the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund are projected to be exhausted, such as for its revenue, expenses, net income, and unfunded liabilities that link USPS's near-term results to USPS's desired long-term outcomes, and make them publicly available. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Personnel Security Clearances: Actions Needed to Address Significant Data Reliability Issues That Impact Oversight
GAO-26-107100
Dec 11, 2025
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of the Director of National Intelligence The Director of National Intelligence should develop and implement a process that guides ODNI's efforts to assess agencies' security clearance data. This process should incorporate data reliability practices or principles, such as those found in our data reliability guide or those established by DAMA International. (Recommendation 1)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence The Director of National Intelligence should issue and monitor agencies' adherence to guidance clarifying the agencies' role in assessing data to improve the reliability of the data they report to ODNI. The guidance should require agencies to assess the characteristics, quality controls, and limitations of their data, using data reliability practices or principles, and address any gaps. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence The Director of National Intelligence should define, at each relevant agency, the senior data official's role for assessing the reliability of the agency's data, and ensure agencies have identified these accountable officials. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence The Director of National Intelligence should analyze and update, to the maximum extent practicable, ODNI's personnel vetting policy framework to incorporate GAO's key practices for evidence-building and performance-management activities and apply those practices in its oversight of the clearance process. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Intellectual Property: Patent Office Should Strengthen Its Efforts to Address Persistent Examination and Quality Challenges [Reissued with revisions on Sep. 30, 2025]
GAO-25-107218
Sep 30, 2025
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8 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Patent and Trademark Office The Director of the USPTO should identify ongoing initiatives designed to improve patent examination and quality and take steps to ensure that each initiative is following evidence-based policy-making practices to manage and assess results. For example, initiatives should include clear goals and performance measures, and data collection to support evaluation. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Patent and Trademark Office The Director of the USPTO should formalize, document, and implement an approach for creating, managing, and assessing pilot programs that incorporates leading practices for effective pilot program design. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Patent and Trademark Office The Director of the USPTO should update guidance to better ensure that supervisory quality reviews result in a valid assessment of examiner performance. This should include consideration of how office actions are selected for supervisory quality reviews and how identified errors are reflected in data. (Recommendation 3)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Patent and Trademark Office The Director of the USPTO should implement policies to improve the documentation and transparency of changes made to random quality review outcomes resulting from the OPQA data integrity review process. Such policies should include requiring clear documentation of any change being made to the outcomes, the basis for the change, and the process that led to the change. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Patent and Trademark Office The Director of the USPTO should ensure that the Office of Patent Quality Assessment updates processes to have OPQA's data integrity reviews include an appropriate number of random quality reviews that found compliance. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Patent and Trademark Office The Director of the USPTO should establish an overall statutory patent quality compliance goal and communicate how that goal relates to the issuance of quality patents. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: OPM Should Take Timely Action to Mitigate Persistent Fraud Risks
GAO-25-106885
Jul 17, 2025
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Personnel Management The Director of OPM should clarify, as expeditiously as possible, which entity will serve as the dedicated entity for leading fraud risk management activities. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Personnel Management The Director of OPM should document the responsibilities of its antifraud entity, as distinct from its ERM responsibilities, to include the responsibility for serving as a repository of knowledge on fraud risk and controls; managing the fraud risk-assessment process; leading or assisting with trainings and other fraud-awareness activities; and coordinating antifraud initiatives across the program. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Personnel Management The Director of OPM should design and conduct a robust fraud risk assessment that will identify the inherent fraud risks facing the FEHB program. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Personnel Management The Director of OPM should develop and maintain documentation of its fraud risk assessments. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Personnel Management The Director of OPM should ensure that it documents the results of its assessment of inherent fraud risks facing the FEHB program on its fraud risk profile. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Personnel Management The Director of OPM should involve relevant stakeholders—including OPM's OIG and health insurance carriers—by including their participation in its fraud risk assessment process. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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