Reports & Testimonies
GAO’s reports and testimonies give Congress, federal agencies, and the public timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can improve government operations and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Most Recent Reports
1 - 20 of 58093 Reports
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Financial Literacy: Better Outcome Reporting Could Facilitate Oversight of Programs for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Older adults and people with disabilities can generally be vulnerable to financial distress, so it's important to help them understand and manage their finances. We found 24 examples of federal financial literacy programs for these groups, such as a curriculum for teaching older adults about scams and financial information for people with disabilities. A federal commission coordinates federal financial literacy efforts—but its reports aren't clear...
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Federal Maritime Commission: Improved Use of Data on Shippers' Complaints Could Enhance Oversight
During COVID-19 , high demand for cargo space disrupted the maritime shipping industry. Some companies that ship hazardous items raised concerns that ship operators prioritized consumer goods over their cargo, which is often less valuable. The Federal Maritime Commission investigates complaints about shipping practices. We found: Hazmat companies rarely filed complaints, partially due to not understanding the complaint process FMC doesn't collect specific data on...
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Biometric Identification Technologies: Considerations to Address Information Gaps and Other Stakeholder Concerns
Biometric identification technologies—such as facial recognition and fingerprinting—can affect underserved communities, including low-income and minority communities. We interviewed academics, advocacy groups, and technology experts to find out how. They gave us examples of positive effects, e.g., improving communities' access to public services, and negative effects, e.g., subjecting communities to unnecessary surveillance. There's still a lot to learn about how these technologies perform in the real...
Single Audits: Improving Federal Audit Clearinghouse Information and Usability Could Strengthen Federal Award Oversight
Federal award amounts distributed to recipients have increased substantially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. If an award recipient spends $750,000 or more in federal funds in a year, it must undergo an audit of its award spending. The results of this "single audit" must be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, which is maintained by the General Services Administration. We found issues with...
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Overview of Mission, Structure, and GAO Oversight
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plays an important role in protecting people from unfair, deceptive, and abusive financial practices. This statement for the Congressional Record discusses our CFPB oversight work. Each year since 2011, we've audited and issued an opinion on CFPB's financial statements and related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are properly authorized and recorded). We've found that statements were...
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Cybersecurity: Implementation of Executive Order Requirements is Essential to Address Key Actions
In 2021, the President issued an executive order to help protect federal IT systems from cyberattacks. The order contains 55 leadership and oversight requirements. DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Office of Management and Budget are responsible for implementing them. These agencies have fully completed 49 of 55 requirements. Remaining requirements include improving software that is...
Electronic Health Records: DOD Has Deployed New System but Challenges Remain
DOD provides crucial health care services to millions of service members, retirees, and their families. DOD has been working to modernize how it handles patients' electronic health records and has deployed a new electronic records system to its health care facilities. In 2022, DOD began conducting an annual survey of user satisfaction with this new system. User satisfaction rates have improved over the past 2...
Foreign Investment in the U.S.: Efforts to Mitigate National Security Risks Can Be Strengthened
Foreign investment in U.S. companies benefits the economy but can also pose national security risks—such as by giving foreign investors access to sensitive data. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. reviews these investments and enters into agreements with companies to address risks. Over the last decade, the number of agreements has quadrupled and the work of monitoring and enforcing compliance has grown. But...
Military Justice: Quality Data Needed to Improve Oversight of Navy and Marine Corps Disciplinary Measures
The Navy and the Marine Corps may impose punishments—such as extra duties or loss of pay—against service members for minor offenses. Commanding officers at sea may discipline service members via the "vessel exception" that prohibits service members from refusing punishment by demanding a trial. The Navy and the Marine Corps report data on these punishments. But data on use of the "vessel exception" may be...
Federal Food Purchases: Buying from Small Businesses and Local Sources
This Q&A report discusses federal food purchases for places like schools and military bases. The Agricultural Marketing Service and Defense Logistics Agency are the two largest federal purchasers, awarding billions of dollars in contracts annually to procure food. The agencies are generally required to buy domestic food—but they aren't required to buy locally grown food. Agency documentation suggests that they both attempt to source, or...
Medicaid: COVID-19 Vaccination Data Access and Strategies Used to Improve Immunization Rates
Medicaid needs to ensure that its beneficiaries receive COVID-19 vaccines to prevent hospitalizations and deaths. But during the public health emergency, COVID-19 vaccines were provided to the public for free, and not by state Medicaid programs. Consequently, Medicaid didn't always know which of its beneficiaries had received the vaccines. We reviewed 6 state Medicaid programs and found that 4 of them got vaccination data on...
Discretionary Grants: DOT Should Improve Clarity and Transparency of Program Management
The nation's people and freight depend on an aging transportation system to keep moving. The Department of Transportation administers billions of dollars in competitive grants to improve it. As the cost of transportation repairs exceeds the available funding, this Snapshot highlights the importance of using this money wisely. But we previously found that DOT's processes for reviewing grant applications and making award decisions wasn't documented...
Civil Monetary Penalties: Federal Agencies' Compliance with the 2023 Annual Inflation Adjustment Requirements
When enforcing regulations, federal agencies use fines to hold violators accountable and to deter future violations. But if agencies don't regularly adjust these fines for inflation, they may become less effective deterrents. Congress enacted the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 partly to address this issue. In 2015, Congress amended the act to require GAO to annually review agencies' compliance with certain provisions...
Public Health Preparedness: Mpox Response Highlights Need for HHS to Address Recurring Challenges
Health and Human Services was initially charged with coordinating the federal response to a 2022 global outbreak of mpox—a smallpox-related virus. State and local jurisdictions cited challenges in the federal response such as difficulty accessing and using vaccines and tests, which may have led to unnecessary suffering. We added HHS's leadership and coordination of public health emergencies to our High Risk List earlier in 2022...
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Retirement Security: The U.S. Virgin Islands' Pension Plan Faces Risks Paying Government Employee Benefits
The U.S. Virgin Islands' Government Employees' Retirement System remains one of the lowest funded public pension plans in the U.S. While most public plans in our review had enough funding to cover 60 to 111% of plan liabilities as of 2021, USVI's plan had enough to cover about 10%. The USVI government secured additional funding for the plan through an excise tax on rum in...
Aviation Safety: Federal Efforts to Address Unauthorized Drone Flights Near Airports
The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits unauthorized drone flights near airports because they can pose safety risks to other aircraft and disrupt air traffic control. Local authorities respond to these incidents with assistance from the federal government, if needed. Some federal agencies have authority to use drone detection and counter-drone technologies, in certain situations. The military has used these technologies for many years and FAA is...
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Restrictive Housing: Actions Needed to Enhance BOP and ICE Management and Oversight
We testified about our prior work related to use of restrictive housing, formerly referred to as "solitary confinement," in federal prison and detention facilities. In some cases, this includes isolating 1-2 people in cells for nearly 24 hours per day. The Bureau of Prisons uses restrictive housing for about 8% of its prison population each year—about 11,000 people in FY 2023. U.S. Immigration and Customs...
Counternarcotics: DOD Should Improve Coordination and Assessment of Its Activities
According to the U.S. government, illicit drugs and the criminal organizations that produce and traffic them are a significant threat. DOD leads federal efforts to monitor the air and water transport of drugs like cocaine and fentanyl into the U.S. DOD set up a joint operation area including the western U.S. border and parts of Latin America. But 3 of DOD's regional components' areas of...
Homeland Security: DHS Internal Entities Facilitate Information Sharing in Key Areas and Collaborate as Needed
Nine formal groups within the Department of Homeland Security routinely share information to advise leaders, guide internal policies, and identify potential threats. We found no unnecessary duplication among the groups, but some of their purposes and activities had the potential for overlap. Agency officials said groups collaborate to avoid duplication. For example, the Homeland Security Intelligence Council—composed of less-senior staff than the Counter Threats Advisory...
Medicare and Medicaid: Additional Actions Needed to Enhance Program Integrity and Save Billions
Both Medicare and Medicaid are susceptible to payment errors—over $100 billion worth in 2023. Known as "improper payments," these are payments that are either made in an incorrect amount or should not have been made at all. We testified about our numerous recommendations to CMS and Congress that reduced improper payments, enhanced program integrity, and saved billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid. Other recommendations...