"Title: Download of GAO Recommendation Results",,,,,,, "Prepared by: GAO",,,,,,, "Source: GAO recommendations database, status as of Mar 28, 2024 at 2:47 PM EST" ,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,, "Publication Name","Publication Number","Date Publication Issued","Director Name","Director Phone",Agency,Recommendation,Status,Priority,Comments "Blockchain in Finance: Legislative and Regulatory Actions Are Needed to Ensure Comprehensive Oversight of Crypto Assets",GAO-23-105346,"Jul 24, 2023","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation","The Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation should jointly establish or adapt an existing formal coordination mechanism with CFPB, CFTC, the Federal Reserve, NCUA, OCC, and SEC for collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating a timely regulatory response. To facilitate these objectives, this mechanism could include formal planning documents that establish the frequency of meetings and processes for identifying risks and responding to them within agreed-upon time frames. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"FDIC neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendation. In addition, FDIC noted it has coordinated through venues including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the President's Working Group, and some international organizations. However, the regulators' coordination efforts have not always addressed risks posed by crypto assets in a timely manner. We maintain that a formal coordination mechanism focused on collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating timely regulatory responses could improve protections for consumers and investors, mitigate illicit finance and threats to financial stability, and promote responsible innovation and U.S. competitiveness." "Blockchain in Finance: Legislative and Regulatory Actions Are Needed to Ensure Comprehensive Oversight of Crypto Assets",GAO-23-105346,"Jul 24, 2023","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","Federal Reserve System","The Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should jointly establish or adapt an existing formal coordination mechanism with CFPB, CFTC, FDIC, NCUA, OCC, and SEC for collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating a timely regulatory response. To facilitate these objectives, this mechanism could include formal planning documents that establish the frequency of meetings and processes for identifying risks and responding to them within agreed-upon time frames. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"The Federal Reserve neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendation. In its agency comment letter, the Federal Reserve said it routinely engages with the other federal financial regulators on emerging risks posed by blockchain-related products and services. However, the regulators' coordination efforts have not always addressed risks posed by crypto assets in a timely manner. We maintain that a formal coordination mechanism focused on collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating timely regulatory responses could improve protections for consumers and investors, mitigate illicit finance and threats to financial stability, and promote responsible innovation and U.S. competitiveness." "Blockchain in Finance: Legislative and Regulatory Actions Are Needed to Ensure Comprehensive Oversight of Crypto Assets",GAO-23-105346,"Jul 24, 2023","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","Office of the Comptroller of the Currency","The Comptroller of the Currency should jointly establish or adapt an existing formal coordination mechanism with CFPB, CFTC, FDIC, the Federal Reserve, NCUA, and SEC for collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating a timely regulatory response. To facilitate these objectives, this mechanism could include formal planning documents that establish the frequency of meetings and processes for identifying risks and responding to them within agreed-upon time frames. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"OCC neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendation. In its agency comment letter, OCC said it continues to monitor, separately and in collaboration with the other federal financial regulators on emerging risks posed by blockchain-related products and services. However, the regulators' coordination efforts have not always addressed risks posed by crypto assets in a timely manner. We maintain that a formal coordination mechanism focused on collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating timely regulatory responses could improve protections for consumers and investors, mitigate illicit finance and threats to financial stability, and promote responsible innovation and U.S. competitiveness." "Blockchain in Finance: Legislative and Regulatory Actions Are Needed to Ensure Comprehensive Oversight of Crypto Assets",GAO-23-105346,"Jul 24, 2023","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","United States Securities and Exchange Commission","The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission should jointly establish or adapt an existing formal coordination mechanism with CFPB, CFTC, FDIC, the Federal Reserve, NCUA, and OCC for collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating a timely regulatory response. To facilitate these objectives, this mechanism could include formal planning documents that establish the frequency of meetings and processes for identifying risks and responding to them within agreed-upon time frames. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"SEC neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendation. SEC noted that it has already coordinated through venues including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the President's Working Group, and some international organizations to identify risks related to crypto assets. However, the regulators' coordination efforts have not always addressed risks posed by crypto assets in a timely manner. We maintain that a formal coordination mechanism focused on collectively identifying risks posed by blockchain-related products and services and formulating timely regulatory responses could improve protections for consumers and investors, mitigate illicit finance and threats to financial stability, and promote responsible innovation and U.S. competitiveness." "Nuclear Security: DOE Should Take Actions to Fully Implement Insider Threat Program",GAO-23-105576,"May 24, 2023","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Insider Threat Program senior official should establish a process to better integrate insider threat responsibilities, ensuring that the senior official can centrally manage all aspects of the Insider Threat Program. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"As of December 2023, the Insider Threat Program senior official is leading a strategic review to identify any additional needed process changes." "Nuclear Security: DOE Should Take Actions to Fully Implement Insider Threat Program",GAO-23-105576,"May 24, 2023","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the Insider Threat Program achieves a single, department-wide approach to managing insider risk. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"As of December 2023, the Insider Threat Program senior official is conducting an assessment of current strategies focused on reviewing the multidisciplinary governance group's composition to better address insider threat concerns." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should ensure that VA documents a VA-specific change management strategy to formalize its approach to drive user adoption. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"VA concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, VA had worked with its contractor to update the contractor's change management plan to be more VA specific and stated that the Electronic Health Record Modernization program office and Veterans Health Administration Office of Health Informatics are collaborating to develop an enterprise change management strategy that is targeted for completion in September 2024. We will continue to monitor the department's progress towards implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should ensure that the department's planned improvements to communication of system changes meet users' needs for the frequency of the updates provided. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department had taken steps to improve communications of system changes to end users and established a rapid process improvement workstream to gather feedback and update processes to ensure that communications of system changes are distributed consistent with users' needs. Because VA has temporarily paused further system deployments, we will continue to monitor the department's progress towards implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should take steps to improve change readiness scores prior to future system deployments. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department established a target for improving change readiness questionnaire scores. However, because VA has temporarily paused further system deployments, VA has yet to collect new change readiness scores. After system deployments resume, we will revisit the department's actions in response to this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should ensure steps taken by the EHRM program and Oracle Cerner to increase workforce skills and competencies through improved training and related change management activities have been effective. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department had taken steps to increase workforce skills and competencies through learning labs, updates to system training, and building informatics staff expertise. When VA continues its deployments of the new EHR system, we will revisit the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should address users' barriers to change, by ensuring planned completion of all actions identified in the Secretary's Strategic Review. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department was continuing to address 10 of 69 strategic review recommendations. We will continue to monitor the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should develop a plan, including a timeline, for establishing (1) targets for measuring the adoption of changes and (2) metrics and targets to measure the resulting outcomes of the change. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department had identified metrics and targets for change management activities but was continuing to refine the functional and technical quality standards to monitor program performance during system implementation and post go-live. VA plans to complete these activities in May 2025. We will continue to monitor the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should measure and report on outcomes of the change and take actions to support users' ability to use the system to reinforce and sustain the change. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department had identified metrics and targets for change management activities but had not yet reported on outcomes relative to the targets. VA plans to complete these activities in May 2025. We will continue to monitor the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should establish user satisfaction targets (i.e., goals) and ensure that the program demonstrates improvement toward meeting those targets prior to future system deployments. (Recommendation 8)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department had taken steps intended to improve user satisfaction with the system but had not yet established targets satisfaction targets. We will continue to monitor the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should make certain that future system trouble tickets are resolved within established timeliness goals. (Recommendation 9)",Open,Yes,"VA stated that it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, the department had taken steps to resolve trouble tickets within established timeliness goals. These steps included ongoing activities such as establishing a workstream to reduce the number of old tickets, improving strategies to better categorize tickets for efficient resolution, and reducing the misdirection of incoming trouble tickets between the VA enterprise service desk and the system contractor's help desk. We will continue to monitor the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Management Challenges with New System",GAO-23-106731,"May 18, 2023","Carol C. Harris","(202) 512-4456","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of VA should reinstitute plans to conduct an independent operational assessment to evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of the new EHR system for users in the operational environment. (Recommendation 10)",Open,Yes,"VA concurred with this recommendation and stated that it would reinstate plans to conduct an independent operational assessment. However, the department had not established a target date for completing the assessment. We will continue to monitor the department's progress toward implementing this recommendation." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2022 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-23-104786,"Mar 30, 2023","Anne Sit-Williams","(202) 512-7795","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should develop (1) reporting criteria for CIHO and funds held outside of Treasury and (2) a methodology for full-CARS reporters to report CIHO to CARS. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, Fiscal Service concluded that the nature of transactions defined as cash and other investments held outside of Treasury (CIHO) is the same as the nature of transactions defined as funds held outside of Treasury (FHOT) and therefore determined that CIHO should be accounted for and reported in the same manner as FHOT in the Schedules of the General Fund. Fiscal Service further noted that federal entities, including full-CARS reporters, should use the Treasury Financial Manual, Part 2, Chapter 3400 to account for these transactions. Fiscal Service is still in the process of evaluating how to account for and report CIHO reported by Treasury, which includes mutilated currency." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2022 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-23-104786,"Mar 30, 2023","Anne Sit-Williams","(202) 512-7795","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should design and implement controls to identify and close TASs established during the annual fiscal year-end rollover process that do not subsequently have corresponding appropriations supporting the period of availability. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, Fiscal Service developed a report to identify rolled over TASs that have no activity in subsequent years (i.e., potentially lack appropriations for the rolled forward period of availability). Fiscal Service is still developing procedures to follow-up on the TASs identified in the report in order to determine which ones lack appropriations to support the rolled forward period of availability ." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2022 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-23-104786,"Mar 30, 2023","Anne Sit-Williams","(202) 512-7795","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should develop and implement a mechanism to reasonably assure that postpayment voucher transactions recorded in the Schedules of the General Fund general ledgers are readily traceable to the cancellation schedules and the returned or canceled payments that are credited to federal entities. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, Fiscal Service traced various postpayment vouchers to the cancellation schedules to plan for a potential reconciliation process. Fiscal Service anticipates the corrective actions to continue through fiscal year 2024." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2022 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-23-104786,"Mar 30, 2023","Anne Sit-Williams","(202) 512-7795","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should enhance the methodology for classifying cash activity, sufficient to support accurate reporting of line items on the Schedules of the General Fund, to include all transaction types as well as adequate review procedures. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, Fiscal Service continued to evaluate the current classification of cash activity to identify any transactions that should be classified to the other cash line item for proper reporting. Fiscal Service anticipates resolution of this recommendation in fiscal year 2026." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2022 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-23-104786,"Mar 30, 2023","Anne Sit-Williams","(202) 512-7795","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should enhance the design and implementation of the oversight policy and the FAAs to effectively monitor the financial agents. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In June 2023, Fiscal Service developed a corrective action plan to address the recommendation. As of February 2024, Fiscal Service updated its corrective action plan with additional action items related to designing and implementing a monitoring process over the financial agents. Fiscal Service anticipates the corrective actions to continue through fiscal year 2024." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2022 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-23-104786,"Mar 30, 2023","Anne Sit-Williams","(202) 512-7795","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should design and implement policies and procedures to effectively monitor the fiscal agents. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"In June 2023, Fiscal Service developed a corrective action plan to address the recommendation. As of February 2024, Fiscal Service updated its corrective action plan with additional action items related to designing and implementing a monitoring process over the fiscal agents. Fiscal Service anticipates the corrective actions to continue through fiscal year 2024." "Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System",GAO-23-105139,"Mar 20, 2023","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should use and document the results of its ongoing monitoring of the frequency at which it conducts risk and needs assessments, and take appropriate corrective actions, as needed. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In March 2023, we reported that BOP has not confirmed if its planned monitoring efforts will measure whether risk and needs assessments are completed according to First Step Act requirements and BOP internal timeframes. As such, BOP may not have any results from its monitoring efforts that could be utilized to document and determine whether it is conducting assessments on time and taking appropriate corrective action when it is not. We recommended that BOP should use and document the results of its ongoing monitoring of the frequency at which it conducts risk and needs assessments, and take appropriate corrective actions, as needed. BOP concurred with this recommendation. In response, in September 2023, BOP officials stated they planned to enhance its auto-calculation time credits application to integrate risk, needs, and time credits assessments into a single, monthly automated process. According to BOP, this application will automate and independently generate these assessments and will more clearly document completion of each of these assessments at the intervals prescribed by the First Step Act and BOP requirements. In February 2024, BOP officials stated that it will take at least 1 year after implementation of these changes to generate data necessary to evaluate the need for corrective actions. To fully address this recommendation, BOP will need to implement its monitoring efforts and demonstrate through documentation how they are using the results." "Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System",GAO-23-105139,"Mar 20, 2023","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should ensure its plan for evaluating evidence-based recidivism reduction programs has pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act, and includes clear milestone dates. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In March 2023, we reported that BOP's evaluation plan for its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs did not include pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act or clear milestone dates for the evaluation of most of its programs. Accordingly, we recommended that BOP ensure its plan included these elements and BOP concurred. In response, in August 2023, BOP updated its evaluation plan to include milestone dates (i.e. initiation and anticipated completion dates for all of its evaluations) through fiscal year 2026 and goals and research questions for those evaluations that have been initiated. In September 2023, BOP officials stated that while long-term outcomes will primarily focus on recidivism, short-term outcomes will vary by program. Officials stated that specific research questions for each project are developed in collaboration with the researchers. However, BOP's updated evaluation plan did not include timeframes for all of its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and did not include pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act. Specifically, the Attorney General is required to conduct ongoing research on which evidence-based recidivism reduction programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism. In February 2024, BOP officials stated they revised their evaluation plan in January 2024, which states that BOP will revise its plan in 2026 to include the evaluation of programs not currently included. It further states that plans for future evaluations are dependent upon the availability of resources and funding as well as the ability to prioritize evaluations from a current list of programs, which is subject to change. While the evaluation plan references the First Step Act requirements, it does not indicate how BOP will determine which programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism. To fully address this recommendation, BOP should ensure that its plan to evaluate evidence-based recidivism reduction programs include goals that align with the First Step Act. Specifically, BOP should include goals that ensure its planned evaluations will address the mandated requirements to determine which programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism." "Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System",GAO-23-105139,"Mar 20, 2023","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should develop a mechanism to monitor, on an ongoing basis, if it is offering a sufficient amount of evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities to meet the needs of its incarcerated population. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"In March 2023, we reported that BOP does not have a mechanism to monitor, on an ongoing basis, if it is offering a sufficient amount of evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities to meet the needs of the incarcerated population at each facility. To help address this issue, we recommended that BOP develop such a mechanism and BOP concurred. In September 2023, BOP officials stated they were in the process of developing a First Step Act Dashboard, which would display the level of needs and the amount of programming available to meet those needs at each facility. According to these officials, the First Step Act Dashboard would allow BOP to monitor trends, increase areas of emphasis, and shift focus and resources. In February 2024, BOP officials stated the initial construction of the dashboard was completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, and they are working with the contractor to troubleshoot data access limitations. Upon resolution of the limitations, officials stated the dashboard will then be customized to meet the needs for executive-level purposes. To fully address this recommendation, BOP will need to fully implement a mechanism that it can use to monitor if it is offering a sufficient amount of evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities to meet the needs of its incarcerated population at each facility." "Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System",GAO-23-105139,"Mar 20, 2023","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should document a complete list of all the unstructured productive activities that incarcerated people are able to participate in and earn First Step Act time credits. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"In March 2023, we reported that BOP did not list the unstructured productive activities in its First Step Act Approved Programs Guide, or otherwise document a complete list of unstructured productive activities. To help address this issue, we recommended that BOP document a complete list of all the unstructured productive activities that incarcerated people are able to participate in and earn First Step Act time credits. BOP did not concur with this recommendation. In response to our report, BOP stated that it was not statutorily required to document such a list, and such action would not be useful or feasible. While the First Step Act and implementing regulations do not explicitly require BOP to document a complete list, the Act and regulations do provide an opportunity for eligible incarcerated people to earn First Step Act time credits if they successfully participate in programs or productive activities recommended based on their risk and needs assessment. Subsequently, BOP officials stated that they revised the First Step Act Approved Programs Guide in September 2023 to clarify that incarcerated people earn First Step Act time credits based on their ""opt-in status."" According to the guide, incarcerated people may begin opt-in status upon completion of all needs assessment surveys. Further, the guide states that a person would be in opt-out status-and not earn time credits-if the person refuses to complete any of the initial need assessments, declines recommended programming that correspond to an identified need, refuses to participate in the Financial Responsibility Program, is placed in disciplinary segregation, or during a period of absence (such as when an individual leaves a designated institution for an entire calendar day or more). However, according to BOP's program statement, eligible incarcerated people who successfully participate in evidence-based recidivism reduction programs or productive activities, including unstructured productive activities, may earn time credits. It further states that successful participation requires a determination by BOP staff that an eligible person has participated in the evidence-based recidivism reduction programs or productive activities that BOP has recommended based on the individual's risk and needs assessment and the individual has complied with the requirements of each program or productive activity. In February 2024, BOP officials stated that unstructured productive activities do not have an impact on opt-in status, and that opt-in status is how BOP defines ""successful participation"" for the purposes of First Step Act time credits. These officials stated that the ""opt-in/opt-out"" model was adopted for a variety of reasons. For example, the regulations state that incarcerated people should not be penalized by factors outside their control, such as unavailability of a recommended program at their facility. In February 2024, BOP officials stated they are aware of the inaccuracies in the program statement and are in the process of revising it, with a goal to complete internal development in 2024. The intent of our recommendation is for BOP to be transparent in a process that BOP has established in policy. To fully address this recommendation, BOP will need to either document a list of unstructured productive activities or update its policy to reflect these changes." "Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System",GAO-23-105139,"Mar 20, 2023","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should collect and monitor participation data for unstructured productive activities that incarcerated people are able to participate in and earn First Step Act time credits. (Recommendation 8)",Open,Yes,"In March 2023, we reported that BOP did not collect or monitor participation data on unstructured productive activities that incarcerated people are able to participate in and earn First Step Act time credits. We recommended that BOP collect and monitor such data. BOP did not concur with this recommendation. In response to our report, BOP stated that it was not statutorily required to do so, nor would it be helpful, to monitor these activities. While the First Step Act and implementing regulations do not explicitly require BOP to monitor these activities, the Act and regulations do provide an opportunity for eligible incarcerated people to earn First Step Act time credits if they successfully participate in programs or productive activities recommended based on their risk and needs assessment. In February 2024, BOP officials stated that unstructured productive activities do not have an impact on opt-in status, and that opt-in status is how BOP defines ""successful participation"" for the purposes of First Step Act time credits. BOP revised its First Step Act Approved Programs Guide in September 2023 to clarify this point. However, this is not consistent with BOP's program statement that states eligible incarcerated people who successfully participate in evidence-based recidivism reduction programs or productive activities, including unstructured productive activities, may earn time credits. It further states that successful participation requires a determination by BOP staff that an eligible person has participated in the evidence-based recidivism reduction programs or productive activities that BOP has recommended based on the person's risk and needs assessment and the person has complied with the requirements of each program or productive activity. BOP officials stated they are aware of the inaccuracies in the program statement and are in the process of revising it, with a goal to complete internal development in 2024. To fully address this recommendation, BOP will need take these actions or update its policy to reflect these changes." "National Guard Helicopters: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Accidents and Improve Safety",GAO-23-105219,"Apr 12, 2023","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Army","The Secretary of the Army should ensure the Chief of Staff of the Army, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard, updates safety or operational guidance to establish a process to continuously evaluate and update operational risk management worksheets for Army National Guard helicopter units to reflect relevant safety information such as accident data, hazard reporting, and unit culture surveys. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"The Army concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan provided to us in February 2024, Army officials noted that they intend to update Army Regulation 385-10 ""The Army Safety Program"" to reflect the need for a well-defined process for continuous evaluation of operational risk management practices that is informed by relevant safety data. The Army estimates that these actions will be completed by the end of December 2024. By taking these actions, the Army will be able to ensure that risk management worksheets reflect relevant and up-to-date safety information, as GAO recommended in March 2023." "National Guard Helicopters: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Accidents and Improve Safety",GAO-23-105219,"Apr 12, 2023","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Air Force","The Secretary of the Air Force, in coordination with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the Director of the Air National Guard, should incorporate an evaluation of unit processes for updating risk management worksheets as a component of the Air Force's unit inspection program or other means to ensure that the worksheets reflect relevant safety information such accident data, hazard reporting, and unit culture surveys. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"The Air Force partially concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan provided to us in February 2024, Air Force officials shared plans to update Air Force Unit Effectiveness Inspection and Continual Evaluation worksheets to include a specific item to verify Air National Guard helicopter unit's compliance with existing risk management directives. Specifically, the plans call for adding an evaluation item to the worksheet that requires safety staff to provide accident, hazard, and culture survey information to the commander for incorporation into the risk management worksheets. Further, the plans will add an evaluation item to have helicopter wing commanders verify that their unit risk management worksheets comply with Air Force and Air Combat Command risk management guidance. The Air Force estimates that these actions will be completed by the end of September 2024. By taking these actions, the Air Force will be able to ensure that risk management worksheets reflect relevant and up-to-date safety information, as GAO recommended in March 2023." "National Guard Helicopters: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Accidents and Improve Safety",GAO-23-105219,"Apr 12, 2023","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Army","The Secretary of the Army should ensure the Army Training and Doctrine Command's Army Aviation Center of Excellence, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard, develops a coordinated plan and identifies the resources necessary for conducting in-flight aviation standardization program evaluations of Army National Guard helicopter unit aircrews on a regular and recurring basis. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"The Army concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan provided to us in February 2024, Army officials noted that a review of the resourcing requirements to support the Directorate of Evaluations and Standardizations to start re-occurring assessments for the Army National Guard helicopter units is complete. The Army's assessment determined that conducting recurring standard evaluations for National Guard units would require the Directorate of Evaluations and Standards to increase its standard evaluation personnel levels by 15 percent and that it would cost an additional $300,000 in annual travel costs. GAO is reviewing the information the Army provided to determine the approaches the Army considered and the resources it identified that would provide the National Guard with more frequent standard evaluations. By performing this review and by developing a plan to implement more frequent National Guard standard evaluations, the Army will be able to provide more regular assessments of Army National Guard Helicopter crew training standardization, as GAO recommended in March 2023." "National Guard Helicopters: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Accidents and Improve Safety",GAO-23-105219,"Apr 12, 2023","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Army","The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Chief of Staff of the Army, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard, develops a comprehensive strategy that includes goals, priorities, and performance measures to address the challenges that hinder Army National Guard helicopter pilot training. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"The Army concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan provided to us in February 2024, Army National Guard officials recommended the Army establish a working group to identify challenges and develop a strategy with the Army Aviation Enterprise and the Combat Readiness Center to meet the challenges which are currently hindering pilot training and determine the trends and solutions which will address pilot training friction points in the future. The Army estimates that establishing the working group and developing recommendations will take until the end of April 2024. By taking this action, the Army will have a comprehensive approach to address the training challenges facing Army National Guard helicopter pilots, as GAO recommended in March 2023." "National Guard Helicopters: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Accidents and Improve Safety",GAO-23-105219,"Apr 12, 2023","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Air Force","The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, in coordination with the Director of the Air National Guard, develops a comprehensive strategy that includes goals, priorities, and performance measures to address the challenges that hinder Air National Guard helicopter pilot training. (Recommendation 8)",Open,Yes,"The Air Force concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan provided to us in February 2024, Air Force officials shared plans to develop an actionable and comprehensive strategy to update its Ready Aircrew Flying Hour Program goals to reflect the information in our report. Additionally, the Air National Guard will require an initial and midyear comparative review of personnel funding and the flying hour program for each unit to ensure units are adequately resourced to achieve the goals set by the Ready Aircrew Program. Further, Air Force Unit Effectiveness Inspection and Continual Evaluation worksheets will include a specific item to verify Air National Guard helicopter unit's compliance with existing risk management directives. The Air Force estimates that these actions will be completed by the end of September 2024. By taking these actions, the Air Force will be better able to identify and mitigate the training challenges faced by Air National Guard helicopter units, as GAO recommended in March 2023." "Capitol Attack: Federal Agencies Identified Some Threats, but Did Not Fully Process and Share Information Prior to January 6, 2021 [Reissued with revisions on Jul. 21, 2023]",GAO-23-106625,"Jul 21, 2023","Triana McNeil","(202) 512-8777","Office of Intelligence and Analysis","The DHS I&A Under Secretary should assess the extent to which its internal controls ensure personnel follow existing and updated policies for processing open source threat information. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In February 2023, we reported that DHS I&A did not process all relevant open source threat-related information related to the events of January 6. To help address this issue, we recommended that DHS I&A assess the extent to which personnel did not process information. As of March 2024, DHS I&A offices are partnering to collaborate efforts to close out the assessments and report the findings of the I&A Secretary's 90-day review of I&A's open source intelligence program. I&A expects this review to include a deep-dive examination into the program's objectives, policies, procedures, and safeguards along with the development of potential reform recommendations, including with respect to internal controls that ensure personnel follow existing and updated policies for processing open-source threat information. I&A expects to complete the report by June 28, 2024. We will continue to monitor I&A's progress." "Capitol Attack: Federal Agencies Identified Some Threats, but Did Not Fully Process and Share Information Prior to January 6, 2021 [Reissued with revisions on Jul. 21, 2023]",GAO-23-106625,"Jul 21, 2023","Triana McNeil","(202) 512-8777","Office of Intelligence and Analysis","The DHS I&A Under Secretary should assess the extent to which its internal controls ensure personnel consistently follow the policies for sharing threat-related information with relevant agencies such as Capitol Police. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In February 2023, we reported that DHS I&A did not share threat-related information with relevant agencies, such as Capitol Police. To help address this issue, we recommended that DHS I&A assess the extent to which personnel did not share information. As of March 2024, DHS I&A offices are partnering to collaborate efforts to close out the assessments and report the findings of the I&A Secretary's 90-day review of I&A's open source intelligence program. I&A expects this review to include a deep-dive examination into the program's objectives, policies, procedures, and safeguards along with the development of potential reform recommendations, including with respect to internal controls that ensure personnel follow existing and updated policies for processing open-source threat information. I&A expects to complete the report by June 28, 2024. We will continue to monitor I&A's progress." "Federal Workforce: OPM Advances Efforts to Close Government-wide Skills Gaps but Needs a Plan to Improve Its Own Capacity",GAO-23-105528,"Feb 27, 2023","Alissa H. Czyz","(202) 512-6806","Office of Personnel Management","The Director of OPM should establish an action plan to address OPM's skills gaps identified in the workforce assessment, either as an update to its HCOP or a separate effort. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"OPM agreed with the recommendation. As of May 2023, we continue to monitor OPM's progress." "Department of Education: Additional Data Collection Would Help Assess the Performance of a Program Supporting College Students with Disabilities",GAO-23-105551,"Feb 17, 2023","Elizabeth Curda","(202) 512-7215","Department of Education","Education's Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education should collect data from SSS grantees on each participant's disability status and use this information to report on program performance for participants with disabilities. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"Education agreed with this recommendation. The agency plans to collect data from SSS grantees on participants' disability status and use this information to report on the TRIO program's performance for participants with disabilities. To fully implement this recommendation, Education needs to complete these efforts. Without collecting information on which SSS participants have a disability, Education cannot fully assess SSS's performance for individuals with disabilities, and any eventual plan to evaluate and report on the performance of TRIO programs will be incomplete." "Drones: FAA Should Improve Its Approach to Integrating Drones into the National Airspace System",GAO-23-105189,"Jan 26, 2023","Heather Krause","(202) 512-2834","Federal Aviation Administration","The Administrator of FAA should develop a drone integration strategy that includes all seven elements of a comprehensive strategy. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOT agreed with this recommendation. In February 2024, FAA reported to us that it is developing a drone integration strategy and that it is on track with issuing this strategy by June 30, 2024. FAA previously stated that the drone integration strategy will include all seven elements of a comprehensive strategy and that the agency is coordinating and collect input from different FAA offices to develop the drone integration strategy. We will review the drone integration strategy when it is completed." "Climate Change: Options to Enhance the Resilience of Agricultural Producers and Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposure",GAO-23-104557,"Feb 16, 2023","Steve Morris","(202) 512-3841","Department of Agriculture","The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the Climate Change Program Office, located within the Office of the Chief Economist, analyzes the options to enhance the climate resilience of agricultural producers that were identified in this report and integrates them, as appropriate, into USDA's future climate resilience prioritization and planning efforts. Such analysis should include an explanation of USDA's decision to prioritize or not prioritize the options identified in this report and the identification of any additional authority and resources that USDA would need to implement the options. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"USDA agreed with the recommendation. According to the Statement of Action included in the Department's response letter sent on June 6th, 2023, USDA will integrate the evaluation of GAO's 13 options into its ongoing climate adaptation efforts. Specifically, USDA''s Statement of Action said that, beginning in calendar year 2023, the Department will include an analysis of the 13 policy options GAO identified to help enhance the resilience of agricultural producers in its revised Departmental-level Action Plan for Climate Adaptation and Resilience. We will continue to assess USDA's progress towards completing this analysis." "Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability",GAO-23-104661,"Jan 12, 2023","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","National Nuclear Security Administration","The NNSA Administrator should ensure the head of the Plutonium Modernization program develops a life cycle cost estimate for establishing NNSA's pit production capability that aligns with GAO cost estimating best practices. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"NNSA concurred with our recommendation. In March 2023, NNSA officials stated they will develop an initial life cycle cost estimate in April 2024 and a baseline life cycle cost estimate in September 2025, following the establishment of baseline cost and schedule estimates for the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility and the Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production Project. We noted in our response to agency comments that, according to NNSA's plans, the program will have reached major milestones, including the first production unit pit (fiscal year 2024) and production of 10 pits per year (fiscal year 2025), without a life cycle cost estimate if this tool is not developed before fiscal year 2026. During this time, NNSA will have spent billions of dollars without having an overall idea of total program costs. We encourage NNSA to develop both its programmatic life cycle cost estimate and integrated master schedule using GAO best practices as soon as possible, rather than waiting for project baselines that may themselves be delayed. We further encourage NNSA to view the life cycle cost estimate and the integrated master schedule as tools for managing a complex and expensive program, rather than as static documents. Developing a comprehensive life cycle cost estimate could improve NNSA's decision-making, the efficiency and effectiveness of their efforts, and the quality of information provided to Congress." "Emergency Rental Assistance: Treasury's Oversight is Limited by Incomplete Data and Risk Assessment",GAO-23-105410,"Dec 20, 2022","Dan Garcia-Diaz","(202) 512-8678","Department of the Treasury","The Chief of the Office of Recovery Programs should expediently collect complete and accurate data, including quarterly payment data and performance measures required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of February 23, 2024, Treasury had not taken action to address this recommendation." "Disaster Recovery: Better Information Is Needed on the Progress of Block Grant Funds",GAO-23-105295,"Dec 15, 2022","Dan Garcia-Diaz","(202) 512-8678","Department of Housing and Urban Development","The Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development should, in the event of future CDBG-DR funding, require recipients to collect and analyze data on critical milestones needed to monitor the timeliness of their housing activities and inform corrective actions, consistent with leading project management practices. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"On February 21, 2024, HUD said it was evaluating how best to require grantees to develop milestones to identify program delivery bottlenecks and modify recovery programs to ensure the needs of disaster survivors are met in a timely manner. The agency was also evaluating whether incorporating milestones would require new language in a Federal Register notice or revising its monitoring handbook." "Thrifty Food Plan: Better Planning and Accountability Could Help Ensure Quality of Future Reevaluations",GAO-23-105450,"Dec 14, 2022","Kathy Larin","(202) 512-7215","Department of Agriculture","The Secretary of Agriculture should establish specific quality assurance guidelines for TFP reevaluations that will ensure methodological decisions meet key quality standards for an analysis that will affect public policy and inform policy makers. These guidelines should summarize applicable USDA and other federal quality standards and should describe how such standards will be embedded in future TFPs. These guidelines should ensure that future TFP reports have:clear rationales linked to the objective and scope of the analysis;consideration of alternatives based in evidence, including important economic effects;underlying analysis of economic effects associated with decisions; where important economic effects cannot be quantified, the analysis explains how they affect the comparison of alternatives;transparent description of analytical choices, assumptions and data, including explanation of key limitations in the data and methods used; andadequate documentation included in the analysis; the analysis should document that it complies with a robust quality assurance process. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"USDA did not explicitly agree or disagree with this recommendation. In February 2024, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) stated that the agency would follow the same quality assurance guidelines for the 2026 reevaluation as it did for the ""Thrifty Food Plan Cost Estimates for Alaska and Hawaii"" report. For example, the report included information on the objectives of the analyses, alternatives considered, and sensitivity analyses. In addition, FNS published an ""Initial Study Plan: Thrifty Food Plan, 2026."" This document outlines several quality assurance commitments for the 2026 reevaluation, such as publishing the initial and a final study plan and the project management plan on FNS's website; conducting the TFP reevaluation in alignment with USDA's Scientific Integrity Policy; following analytic best practices, collaboration with experts, and external peer review; and ensuring transparency by disclosing key information in the final TFP report. However, this initial study plan does not lay out specific quality assurance guidelines or controls, such as a checklist, to ensure the reevaluation team is aware of and held accountable for key quality assurance steps and standards. By contrast, as we noted in our report, USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has published specific quality guidelines for its data products. For example, these standards state that all products are thoroughly reviewed by knowledgeable staff prior to dissemination to verify the accuracy and validity of the data, and that the procedures used to conduct this review must be documented and available upon request. ERS also has turned these guidelines into a checklist for product quality review. We will close this recommendation when USDA provides documentation of specific quality assurance standards that would apply to future TFP reevaluations." "Paid Tax Return Preparers: IRS Efforts to Oversee Refundable Credits Help Protect Taxpayers but Additional Actions and Authority Are Needed",GAO-23-105217,"Nov 30, 2022","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-6806","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should finalize the Service-wide Return Preparer Strategy and identify the resources needed to implement it. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"IRS agreed with this recommendation. As of March 2024, IRS reported it had aligned the Service-wide Return Preparer Strategy's strategic goals with the objectives and initiatives of the Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan and developed a crosswalk to demonstrate how those goals were aligned. However, IRS has not yet provided this documentation. To implement this recommendation, IRS needs to capitalize on the plans it has and identify any remaining steps necessary to operationalize a more coordinated approach to paid preparer compliance. A strategic, IRS-wide approach to paid preparer compliance could benefit taxpayers by promoting more accurate tax return preparation and help IRS more efficiently allocate resources across its various paid preparer activities." "Social Security Administration: Remote Service Delivery Increased during COVID-19, but More Could Be Done to Assist Vulnerable Populations",GAO-23-104650,"Nov 17, 2022","Elizabeth Curda","(202) 512-7215","Social Security Administration","The Commissioner of SSA should develop a plan—with clear steps, goals, metrics, and timelines—for enabling claimants to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits online. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"SSA agreed with this recommendation. As of May 2023, we await the agency's plans to address it and will monitor its progress." "Disaster Recovery: Actions Needed to Improve the Federal Approach",GAO-23-104956,"Nov 15, 2022","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Federal Emergency Management Agency","The FEMA Administrator should, in consultation with the Recovery Support Function Leadership Group, identify and take steps to better manage fragmentation between its disaster recovery programs and other federal programs, including consideration of the options identified in this report. If FEMA determines that it needs authority for actions that it seeks to implement, it should request that authority from Congress. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DHS agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2024, FEMA officials stated that they were continuing to work with the White House and senior executives across the federal government through an Interagency Policy Committee and the Recovery Support Function Leadership Group (RSFLG) to consider options to improve disaster recovery, including those identified by GAO. For example, FEMA has worked with SBA, HUD, OMB and other interagency partners to explore the viability of a single disaster assistance application, aligned with one of the options identified by GAO. As of February 2024, FEMA officials told us they were working with HUD to determine a path forward for HUD to be the inaugural partner in a consolidated application for individual disaster assistance. FEMA officials stated that they were not able to identify an approach for a consolidated application with SBA, but they were working together toward improved sharing of common applicant data elements and a ""no wrong door"" approach. According to FEMA officials, this approach would ensure that disaster survivors who could benefit from working with both agencies are fully aware of the types of assistance available to them and are appropriately guided directly into each Agency's intake process with their common data. FEMA's work through the Interagency Policy Committee, RSFLG, and directly with HUD and SBA on the possibility of a common application could help FEMA identify and take steps to better manage fragmentation between FEMA's disaster recovery programs and other federal programs, including consideration of the options in this report. To fully address this recommendation, FEMA will need to demonstrate that it has worked with interagency partners and thoroughly considered available options, identified those FEMA intends to implement, and then take steps to do so. By taking these steps, FEMA could improve service delivery to disaster survivors and communities; and improve the effectiveness of recovery efforts." "Disaster Recovery: Actions Needed to Improve the Federal Approach",GAO-23-104956,"Nov 15, 2022","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Department of Housing and Urban Development","The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should, in consultation with the Recovery Support Function Leadership Group, identify and take steps to better manage fragmentation between its disaster recovery programs and other federal programs, including consideration of the options identified in this report. If HUD determines that it needs authority for actions that it seeks to implement, it should request that authority from Congress. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed with this recommendation. In March 2024, HUD officials stated they were continuing to coordinate with Federal partners through its role in the National Disaster Recovery Framework. HUD officials told us that HUD, FEMA and other partners are coordinating to share data to inform program and funding decisions for disaster survivor assistance. HUD anticipates completion of the data-sharing efforts to conclude in 2024. HUD officials also told us that HUD and FEMA completed the first round of a Disaster Housing Pilot to help communities assess housing needs prior to disasters. HUD anticipates conducting a second round of the pilot in 2024. In May 2023, officials also stated that HUD also was seeking public input on ways to improve CDBG-DR fund delivery and working with agency partners to improve the customer experience for survivors. To fully address this recommendation, HUD will need to demonstrate that it has worked with interagency partners and thoroughly considered available options, identified those HUD intends to implement, and then taken steps to do so. By taking these steps, HUD could improve service delivery to disaster survivors and communities; and improve the effectiveness of recovery efforts." "Disaster Recovery: Actions Needed to Improve the Federal Approach",GAO-23-104956,"Nov 15, 2022","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Federal Emergency Management Agency","The FEMA Administrator should identify and take steps to better manage fragmentation across its disaster recovery programs, including consideration of the options identified in this report. If FEMA determines that it needs authority for actions that it seeks to implement, it should request that authority from Congress. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DHS agreed with this recommendation. In response, FEMA has taken steps to streamline applications for its Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs to reduce the complexity and time it takes to apply. According to FEMA documentation, as of February 2024, FEMA had begun implementing some of these changes, such as streamlining the online disaster survivor registration intake process in fall 2023. FEMA officials explained that they were in the process of revising their Public Assistance intake forms to eliminate duplicate requests for information by pre-populating answers the applicant already provided. FEMA officials estimated that the changes to these forms will reduce the administrative burden by around 20 percent. FEMA officials stated that other changes, such as removing the requirement that survivors apply for an SBA loan before being considered for certain types of financial assistance, will go into effect for disasters declared after March 22, 2024. These steps, once fully implemented, could be a great start toward reducing fragmentation across FEMA programs. To fully address this recommendation FEMA will need to demonstrate that they have thoroughly considered available options to reduce fragmentation across its own programs, identified those FEMA intends to implement, and then taken steps to do so. By taking these steps, FEMA could make its programs simpler, more accessible, and more user-friendly, thereby improving their effectiveness." "Northern Triangle: DOD and State Need Improved Policies to Address Equipment Misuse",GAO-23-105856,"Nov 2, 2022","Chelsa L. Kenney","(202) 512-2964","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, should evaluate DOD's Golden Sentry program to identify whether the program provides reasonable assurance, to the extent practicable, that DOD-provided equipment is only used for its intended purpose and develop a plan to address any deficiencies identified in the evaluation. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of September 2023, DOD officials said that they are collaborating with the Department of State to evaluate the Golden Sentry program. If they identify deficiencies, they will work with State to develop a corrective action plan to address them." "Offshore Oil and Gas: Strategy Urgently Needed to Address Cybersecurity Risks to Infrastructure",GAO-23-105789,"Nov 17, 2022","Frank Rusco, Marisol Cruz Cain","(202) 512-3841, (202) 512-9342","Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement","The BSEE Director should immediately develop and implement a strategy to guide the development of its most recent cybersecurity initiative; such a strategy should include (1) a risk assessment; (2) objectives, activities, and performance measures; (3) roles, responsibilities, and coordination; and (4) identification of needed resources and investments. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In an October 2022 email response to our draft report, we were informed that Interior generally concurred with our findings and recommendation. In March 2023, Interior indicated that BSEE is developing a cybersecurity strategy that encompasses (1) a risk assessment, (2) objectives, activities, and performance measures, (3) roles, responsibilities, and coordination, and (4) identification of needed resources and investments. In June 2023, BSEE provided an update on is strategy development and anticipates that this strategy will be complete by the end of calendar year 2023 for implementation in 2024." "Information Technology: Education Needs to Address Student Aid Modernization Weaknesses",GAO-23-105333,"Oct 20, 2022","Marisol Cruz Cain","(202) 512-5017","Office of Federal Student Aid","The Chief Operating Officer of FSA should update FSA's cost estimation guidance for its acquisition programs to incorporate the best practices called for in GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"FSA generally agreed with this recommendation. In April 2023, the office reported that the FSA Chief Operating Officer directed the senior leadership team to establish a working group to identify potential improvements to its project management guidance and practices. The office also reported that this new group's initial work was focused on project management training, project tracking, and shared templates. Further, the office said this working group will continue to identify approaches that FSA may be able to implement to align with this recommendation, as the office's available resources and limited funding will permit. As such, we will continue to monitor FSA's efforts to implement this recommendation." "Small Business Research Programs: Reporting on Award Timeliness Could Be Enhanced",GAO-23-105591,"Oct 12, 2022","Candice N. Wright","(202) 512-6888","Small Business Administration","The Administrator of the Small Business Administration should develop, document, and execute a plan to (1) identify actions that could improve timely publication of its annual report to Congress, and (2) implement the actions identified. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"SBA concurred with this recommendation. In August 2023, SBA described some steps taken to implement it including timely collection of agency award data, efforts to review all parts of the process, and convening an annual meeting with agency representatives to discuss opportunities to streamline the annual report. As of March 2024, according to SBA, it had assessed its annual report processes and was working to publish all SBIR/STTR annual reports, including the fiscal year 2023 report by September 30, 2024. We will reassess the status of this recommendation when SBA provides additional information on its implementation." "Federal Real Property: GSA Should Leverage Lessons Learned from New Sale and Transfer Process",GAO-23-104815,"Oct 7, 2022","Jill Naamane","(202) 512-2834","General Services Administration","The Administrator of the GSA, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, should develop a process to collect, share, and apply lessons learned from the implementation of FASTA to improve the final 2024 round and future disposal efforts, including reporting any lessons learned through this process, to Congress. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In March 2023, GAO confirmed that GSA compiled an initial list of lessons learned, including a discussion of underlying assumptions, structural issues, and challenges implementing the FASTA process. While GSA officials noted continuous coordination with stakeholders throughout the FASTA process, the extent to which GSA consulted with stakeholders to develop this initial list is unclear. In January 2024, GSA officials provided additional information on ongoing collaboration with stakeholders and how FASTA lessons learned were being used to identify strategies for disposing of unneeded government properties, which could result in cost savings. To fully implement this recommendation, GSA needs to develop a documented process to work with relevant stakeholders to identify and implement solutions to address numerous setbacks encountered throughout the FASTA process. This action could leverage stakeholders' knowledge and experiences with FASTA to make and agree upon necessary changes for the final FASTA round, and identify useful and financially beneficial concepts to include as part of future efforts to reduce the federal government's real property inventory. GAO will continue to monitor GSA's progress to address this recommendation." "Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Actions Needed to Determine Whether DOE's New Contracting Approach is Achieving Desired Results",GAO-22-105417,"Sep 28, 2022","Nathan Anderson","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Assistant Secretary of DOE's Office of Environmental Management should develop and document specific performance goals for the ESCM and measures to track progress toward achieving them. EM should use this performance information to improve the ESCM and better ensure that it is achieving desired results. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"As of February 2024, DOE is working to address this recommendation. For example, DOE's Office of Environmental Management (EM) has taken steps to require each task order associated with End State Contracting Model contracts to document key metrics for use in assessing performance. In addition, EM officials told us they are in the process of developing new guidance that will require the consistent use of specific metrics to assess the performance of individual contracts and associated task orders, as well as the End State Contracting Model initiative as a whole. Until EM implements measurable performance goals and can assess its progress toward meeting them, EM risks continuing to award billions of dollars through a new contracting approach that it has not verified is achieving its desired results in improving EM's contracting for environmental cleanup." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Commerce","The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that its organization-wide risk management strategy includes key elements, including a determination of privacy risk tolerance. (Recommendation 9)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Commerce agreed with our recommendation and stated that it planned to develop a formal action plan. As of February 2023, Commerce had not provided additional updates on any further actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should establish a time frame for fully defining a process to ensure that the senior agency official for privacy or other designated senior privacy official is involved in assessing and addressing the hiring, training, and professional development needs of the agency with respect to privacy, and document this process. (Recommendation 10)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense concurred with our recommendation and stated that it would take steps to address it by the end of April 2024. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify if implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Education","The Secretary of Education should establish a time frame for updating the department's policies for creating, reviewing, and publishing system of records notices, and make these updates. (Recommendation 13)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Education concurred with our recommendation and described plans under way to address it. As of February 2023, the department had not provided additional updates on further actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should establish a time frame for fully defining the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 16)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Energy concurred with our recommendation and described planned actions to implement it. As of February 2023, the department stated that its Office of the Chief Information Officer is in the process of updating the department's privacy program order, which will include documenting and defining the role of the SAOP in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages. The program will also review whether additional delegations are needed to empower the SAOP to perform the relevant functions. DOE estimated completing this effort by the end of June 2023. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of Health and Human Services should fully define and document a process for ensuring that the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official is involved in assessing and addressing the hiring, training, and professional development needs of the agency with respect to privacy. (Recommendation 17)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Health and Human Services concurred with our recommendation and described actions planned to address it. Specifically, the department stated that it planned to more fully define and document the responsibility and process of the senior agency official for privacy in the next iteration of its Policy for Information Security and Privacy Protection. As of February 2024, the department had not provided updates on any further efforts taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security should fully define and document the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages. (Recommendation 19)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Homeland Security concurred with our recommendation and described plans to implement it. As of February 2023, the department had not provided any updates of further actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Housing and Urban Development","The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should incorporate privacy into an organization-wide risk management strategy that includes a determination of risk tolerance. (Recommendation 22)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Housing and Urban Development did not concur with this recommendation, stating that privacy risks at the enterprise level are addressed through the department's Risk Management Council. However, while a dedicated risk management council can be an important tool for managing agency risks, it does not replace the need for a documented risk management strategy in which the agency explicitly frames its approach to privacy risk. We intend to follow up with HUD, and once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should establish a time frame for incorporating privacy into an organization-wide risk management strategy that includes a determination of risk tolerance, and develop and document this strategy. (Recommendation 24)",Open,Yes,"The Department of the Interior concurred with our recommendation. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Justice","The Attorney General should incorporate privacy into an organizationwide risk management strategy that includes a determination of risk tolerance. (Recommendation 25)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Justice did not concur with this recommendation, stating that its existing strategy documents address how it manages privacy risk, including a determination of risk tolerance. However, documentation provided by DOJ did not explicitly discuss the department's approach to determining privacy risk tolerance, including, for example, factors to be considered and acceptable amounts of risk. Accordingly, we continue to believe our recommendation is warranted. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Labor","The Secretary of Labor should fully define and document the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages. (Recommendation 29)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Labor stated that it concurred with our recommendation and would take steps to address it. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of State","The Secretary of State should establish a time frames for fully defining and the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 31)",Open,Yes,"The Department of State concurred with our recommendation and described plans under way to address it. As of February 2023, the department stated that it planned to fully define and document these roles by April 30, 2024. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Transportation","The Secretary of Transportation should fully define and document a process for ensuring that the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official is involved in assessing and addressing the hiring, training, and professional development needs of the agency with respect to privacy. (Recommendation 33)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Transportation concurred with our recommendation. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of the Treasury","The Secretary of the Treasury should establish a time frame for fully defining the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 38)",Open,Yes,"The Department of the Treasury did not state whether it concurred with our recommendation. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should fully define and document the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 42)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Veterans Affairs concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2023, VA stated that it was updating its relevant policies to address this recommendation and anticipates completion by September 30, 2023. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","The Administrator of NASA should fully define and document the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages. (Recommendation 49)",Open,Yes,"NASA stated that it agreed with our recommendation and was developing plans to address it. As of February 2023, NASA had provided evidence to demonstrate actions taken to implement this recommendation. We are following up with NASA to collect additional information and verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Office of Personnel Management","The Director of OPM should establish a time frame for fully defining the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 56)",Open,Yes,"The Office of Personnel Management partially concurred with this recommendation, stating that its privacy team is involved in various activities related to this process and its privacy and security teams are currently examining roles and responsibilities with respect to the controls and their selection and evaluation. As of January 2024, OPM stated that in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, OPM will continue to look for opportunities to document the role of the SAOP more fully in these activities and that this should be satisfied by the draft agency-level Cybersecurity and Privacy policy that is currently undergoing internal review. Once the agency states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Small Business Administration","The Administrator of SBA should fully define and document a process for ensuring that the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official is involved in assessing and addressing the hiring, training, and professional development needs of the agency with respect to privacy. (Recommendation 58)",Open,Yes,"SBA stated that it agreed with our recommendation and was developing plans to address it. In March 2023, SBA described actions it was taking to address this recommendation and enhance its privacy program, including updating its Privacy Program Plan. The agency stated that it planned to complete these efforts by the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. We continue to follow up with SBA on its efforts." "Nuclear Weapons Cybersecurity: NNSA Should Fully Implement Foundational Cybersecurity Risk Management Practices",GAO-22-104195,"Sep 22, 2022","Allison Bawden, David (Dave) Hinchman","(202) 512-3841, 214-777-5719","National Nuclear Security Administration","The NNSA Administrator should direct the Office of Information Management to identify the needed resources to implement foundational practices for the OT environment, such as by developing an OT activity business case for consideration in NNSA's planning, programming, budgeting, and evaluation process. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"NNSA agreed with our recommendation and, in November 2022, stated that needed resources would be identified for developing an Operational Technology (OT) business case for use in the budgeting process. In June 2023, NNSA officials stated that NNSA was in the early stages of drafting an OT strategy document and establishing a Center of Excellence for OT. In January 2024, NNSA notified us that it was in the process of taking actions that would be responsive to this recommendation, and they expected those action to be completed by September 30, 2024. We will follow up with NNSA in fiscal year 2025 to clarify the actions NNSA is taking and how they are consistent with this recommendation." "Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-22-105065,"Sep 22, 2022","Jennifer Franks, Marisol Cruz Cain","(404) 679-1831, (202) 512-5017","Social Security Administration","The Commissioner of SSA should establish a time frame for fully defining the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 62)",Open,Yes,"SSA stated that it agreed with our recommendation. In October 2023, SSA stated that it is evaluating how best to integrate its Privacy Implementation Division into the review and approval process for system categorizations. Once the agency states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Nuclear Weapons Cybersecurity: NNSA Should Fully Implement Foundational Cybersecurity Risk Management Practices",GAO-22-104195,"Sep 22, 2022","Allison Bawden, David (Dave) Hinchman","(202) 512-3841, 214-777-5719","National Nuclear Security Administration","The Director of NNSA's Office of Acquisition and Project Management should clarify and reinforce to the M&O contractors, such as by a policy flash or other communication, that they are required to monitor subcontractor's cybersecurity measures. (Recommendation 7)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"NNSA agreed with our recommendation. In December 2022, NNSA clarified M&O contractors' responsibility to validate subcontractor compliance with cybersecurity requirements in its fiscal year 2023 Cybersecurity Program Execution Guidance. In June 2023, NNSA officials stated that additional clarifying guidance had been added to the update to Supplemental Directive 205.1. In January 2024, NNSA notified us that the process of revising the supplemental directive and getting the updates approved had been more complicated than previously anticipated, and it expected the process to be completed by December 29, 2024. We will follow up with NNSA in early 2025 on the status of its actions to update the directive." "Coronavirus Food Assistance Program: USDA Should Conduct More Rigorous Reviews of Payments to Producers",GAO-22-104397,"Sep 8, 2022","Steve Morris","(202) 512-3841","Farm Service Agency","The Administrator of FSA should conduct additional spot checks of CFAP payments and use a more risk-based approach to selecting producers for review. This approach could include focusing on producers of commodities not generally covered by other FSA programs and producers that received large payments. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of January 2024, FSA has developed a risk-based methodology to select additional producers for spot checks and has drafted guidance to its field offices for conducting spot checks. We will review FSA's process for its additional spot checks when complete and assess whether it is responsive to this recommendation." "Nuclear Energy Projects: DOE Should Institutionalize Oversight Plans for Demonstrations of New Reactor Types [Reissued with revisions on Sept. 15, 2022]",GAO-22-105394,"Sep 15, 2022","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and the Director of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations coordinate and institutionalize via documentation their processes for providing oversight for large nuclear energy demonstration projects, including the use of external independent reviews, steps for addressing any risks identified, and criteria for which projects should use these processes. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOE agreed with our recommendation. In its response to our report, DOE's Offices of Nuclear Energy and Clean Energy Demonstrations stated that they are taking steps to document their processes for providing oversight of large nuclear demonstration projects--including the use of external independent peer reviews--and for ensuring close cooperation. In March 2024, DOE officials said that they drafted and submitted draft procedures for independent peer reviews to management and determined additional efforts are required, including additional procedures on the topics of risk management, independent cost reviews, and general award oversight. DOE officials also said that draft procedures for these additional elements are being prepared for management review by the end of the third quarter of 2024. Finalizing documentation of these processes will allow DOE to share best practices across offices, which could result in stronger federal oversight of the projects and improved project performance. Further, because the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations will oversee other large energy demonstration projects going forward, documenting these processes could result in stronger federal oversight, more broadly." "Federal Real Property: GSA Could Further Support Agencies' Post-Pandemic Planning for Office Space Use",GAO-22-105105,"Sep 7, 2022","Jill Naamane","(202) 512-2834","General Services Administration","The Administrator of the GSA should develop a plan to broadly share with federal agencies, including those that do not use GSA services, information learned from GSA's pilots and other space utilization data collection efforts. (Recommendation 1).","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"GSA has taken several steps to broadly share information on space utilization data through updates to the GSA website and a quarterly newsletter. These updates include information from pilot programs on the costs and benefits of different methods for collecting space utilization data. However, as of February 2024, GSA does not have a documented plan to ensure officials continue these efforts to publicize information that reaches federal agencies, including those that do not use GSA services. GAO will continue to monitor GSA's progress to address this recommendation." "Small Business Administration: Recent Changes to the 8(a) Program's Financial Thresholds Need Evaluation",GAO-22-104512,"Sep 29, 2022","William B. Shear","(202) 512-8678","Small Business Administration","The Associate Administrator of SBA's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development should assess the process for producing Section 408 reports in light of identified delay-causing factors and use the results of the analysis to identify potential operational efficiencies and develop a plan to address report delays, including revising procedures as needed and developing time frames for report submission. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In March 2024, SBA stated that the agency had assessed the current Section 408 process to develop revisions that reduce or eliminate reporting delays. In addition, SBA stated that the agency had completed and obtained Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the fiscal year 2018 Section 408 report. SBA also stated that the agency the Section 408 reports for fiscal years 2019-2022 were drafted and pending OMB approval. SBA stated that the agency anticipates completing these actions by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. GAO will continue to monitor SBA's efforts to implement the recommendation." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Treasury and OMB Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-22-105851,"Aug 16, 2022","Dawn B. Simpson","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","We recommend that the Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury enhance existing policies and procedures to reasonably assure appropriate accounting and reporting for significant, unusual transactions or events, such as changes in legislation, affecting the CFS. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government, this recommendation remained open. Treasury began looking into the feasibility of receiving additional information to address this recommendation but did not design or implement corrective actions in fiscal year 2022. Therefore, this recommendation remains open." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Treasury and OMB Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-22-105851,"Aug 16, 2022","Dawn B. Simpson","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","We recommend that the Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury enhance Treasury's procedures for analyzing uncorrected misstatements to identify all known uncorrected misstatements, by line item and on all of the affected current year and prior year financial statements, during the CFS preparation process. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury enhanced its procedures to identify and analyze prior and current year uncorrected misstatements by preparing a prior year Summary of Uncorrected Misstatements (SUM) and including restatements and immaterial adjustments recorded against current year net cost in its current year SUM. However, Treasury did not consider all uncorrected misstatements during the CFS preparation process. Therefore, this recommendation remains open." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Treasury and OMB Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-22-105851,"Aug 16, 2022","Dawn B. Simpson","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","We recommend that the Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury enhance Treasury's procedures for analyzing uncorrected misstatements to consider the effect of uncorrected misstatements by line item and on all of the affected current year and prior year financial statements. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government, this recommendation remained open. Treasury developed a timeline for addressing this recommendation but did not design or implement corrective actions during fiscal year 2022 to address this recommendation. Therefore, this recommendation remains open." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Treasury and OMB Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-22-105851,"Aug 16, 2022","Dawn B. Simpson","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","We recommend that the Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury enhance existing policies and procedures to support CFS disclosure decisions related to explaining significant fluctuations and disaggregating line item components in note tables. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury did not design or implement corrective actions in fiscal year 2022. Treasury identified plans to change its existing materiality policies during fiscal year 2023. These new policies will be used to inform management decisions about disclosures of information in the CFS, including decisions about the disaggregation of financial statement and note line items. Therefore, this recommendation remains open." "Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Enhance IT Program Implementation",GAO-22-105092,"Jul 28, 2022","Jennifer Franks","(404) 679-1831","United States Coast Guard","The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard should direct the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support to implement the leading practices for network capacity planning that we identified, including (1) compiling a complete and accurate inventory of hardware, software, and configurations; (2) identifying traffic growth predictions; (3) prioritizing network traffic; (4) performing simulations and what-if-analyses; and (5) continually monitoring the health of the infrastructure to ensure it is meeting demand and mission needs. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In November 2023, DHS stated that the Coast Guard was on track to complete the Enterprise Infrastructure Services transition by March 2024, which includes implementing network capacity planning. DHS added that Coast Guard is in the process of updating system data in its new inventory system called Alphabet, which was procured in September 2021. As of November 2023, the Coast Guard plans to fully implement the recommendation by March 29, 2024. We will continue to monitor the Coast Guard's efforts in implementing the recommendation." "Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Enhance IT Program Implementation",GAO-22-105092,"Jul 28, 2022","Jennifer Franks","(404) 679-1831","United States Coast Guard","The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard should direct the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support to ensure that the plan or strategy for aligning all operational technology to the Department of Defense risk management framework is effectively implemented. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, the Coast Guard updated its Cybersecurity Policy to require that all operational technology comply with the Department of Defense risk management framework. The Coast Guard stated that they are working on developing a plan for aligning all operational technology to the Department of Defense risk management framework but did not have an estimated time, as of February 2024, for completing the plan. We will continue to monitor the agency's progress in implementing this recommendation." "Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight",GAO-22-105442,"Jul 14, 2022","William B. Shear","(202) 512-8678","Small Business Administration","The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop, document, and implement procedures to use enforcement data on suspected fraud in other SBA programs, such as PPP, to identify potential fraud in RRF recipients. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"In January 2023, SBA stated that it was reviewing 10 percent of RRF awards to confirm eligibility and use of funds compliance. This recommendation will remain open until SBA provides evidence of using enforcement data (e.g., information on suspicious borrowers provided by the Department of Justice or SBA's Office of Inspector General) on suspected fraud in other SBA programs to identify potential fraud in RRF recipients." "Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight",GAO-22-105442,"Jul 14, 2022","William B. Shear","(202) 512-8678","Small Business Administration","The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop and implement a plan to respond to potentially fraudulent and ineligible RRF awards in a prompt and consistent manner. This plan should include coordinating with the OIG to align efforts to address fraud. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"A July 2023 SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report similarly found that SBA had not prioritized reviewing awards flagged for fraud, specifically noting that some awards flagged in May 2021 had not yet been reviewed over two years later. The OIG recommended that SBA prioritize reviewing these flagged awards and SBA agreed with the recommendation. In September 2023, SBA officials also told us that they will prioritize reviewing all awards flagged for potential fraud and that they will provide us with supporting documentation regarding their actions in response to the OIG's recommendation. This recommendation will remain open until SBA provides us with documentation showing it has implemented the OIG's recommendation and is prioritizing the review of potentially fraudulent and ineligible awards in its post-award reviews." "Preventing a Dirty Bomb: Vulnerabilities Persist in NRC's Controls for Purchases of High-Risk Radioactive Materials",GAO-22-103441,"Jul 21, 2022","Allison Bawden, Howard Arp","(202) 512-3841, (202) 512-5222","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","The Chairman of NRC should immediately require that vendors verify category 3 licenses with the appropriate regulatory authority. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"When the report was issued, NRC stated in their agency comments that they agreed with requiring vendors to verify category 3 licenses with the appropriate regulatory agency and had begun rulemaking that would require such verification. As of March 2024, the rulemaking was with the NRC Commission and agency officials told us that they were uncertain when the rulemaking would be finalized." "Preventing a Dirty Bomb: Vulnerabilities Persist in NRC's Controls for Purchases of High-Risk Radioactive Materials",GAO-22-103441,"Jul 21, 2022","Allison Bawden, Howard Arp","(202) 512-3841, (202) 512-5222","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","The Chairman of NRC should add security features to its licensing process to improve its integrity and make it less vulnerable to altering or forging licenses. These security features could include multifactor authentication or moving away from paper licenses to electronic-based licensing. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"When the report was issued, NRC stated in their agency comments that they agreed with considering enhanced security features in the licensing process. Specifically, as part of their ongoing rulemaking process, they would consider providing guidance to regulators and licensees that would reduce the potential for altered or forged licenses to be used in acquiring category 3 radioactive sources. The NRC staff also explored the security features suggested by GAO as an interim step for licenses for category 3 quantities of material. The NRC evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of features such as two factor authentication, non-fungible tokens, data tokens, and QR codes. Tokenization and QR codes demonstrated the most promise of security improvement within reasonable implementation cost. According to NRC, a path towards adoption of this security feature has been developed, and integration into Web-based Licensing system will begin in 2024." "Defense Industrial Base: DOD Should Take Actions to Strengthen Its Risk Mitigation Approach",GAO-22-104154,"Jul 7, 2022","William Russell","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the National Technology and Industrial Base strategy is in a consolidated document and comprehensive, such as by including required resources and an implementation plan. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) partially concurred with this recommendation and is taking steps to implement the recommendation. For example, the Executive Order one-year report, Securing Defense-Critical Supply Chains that was released in February 2022 and the Industrial Capabilities Report that was released in March 2023, are a first step at consolidation. Together they present a strategy for addressing the changing supply chain problems across five critical defense industrial base sectors. DOD plans to update its progress on implementing recommendations related to the Executive Order in its Industrial Capabilities Reports, which are published annually. The DOD Industrial Base Policy Office is also developing an overarching Modern Industrial Base Strategy for DOD that is expected to guide the department's focus in engagement, policy development, and investment in the Modern Industrial Base over the next 3-5 years. DOD expects to release the strategy by May 2024." "Defense Industrial Base: DOD Should Take Actions to Strengthen Its Risk Mitigation Approach",GAO-22-104154,"Jul 7, 2022","William Russell","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, in coordination with the Industrial Base Council, develops and uses performance measures to monitor the aggregate effectiveness of mitigation efforts for DOD-wide industrial base risks. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation and is developing metrics that are aligned to the five focus areas in Executive Order 14017 on America's Supply Chains that will measure efforts to mitigate supply chain risk. The initial metrics are expected to be identified by January 2024. DOD also plans to continue to create and monitor these metrics to assess mitigation efforts over time." "Federal Personal Property: Better Internal Guidance and More Action from GSA Are Needed to Help Agencies Maximize Use of Excess",GAO-22-104626,"Jun 28, 2022","Catina Latham","(202) 512-2834","General Services Administration","The Administrator of the General Services Administration should assess its current efforts to promote the maximum use of excess personal property and take further actions that could increase the use of excess personal property; such actions could include promoting additional policies or methods that will help agencies implement guidance to provide assurance that excess property is considered before purchasing new. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"The General Services Administration (GSA) agreed with this recommendation. As of October 2023, GSA said it had identified and interviewed 14 organizations within GSA that play a role in promoting the use of excess personal property to identify areas for improvement. From these efforts, GSA developed 7 actions it would take and has completed 3 of them. GSA anticipates completing the remaining 4 by April 2024. In addition, a working group led by GSA developed 12 recommendations to increase the promotion and consideration of excess property. GSA has taken action to implement some of these actions and is evaluating others. We will continue to monitor GSA's efforts to address this recommendation." "COVID-19: Pandemic Lessons Highlight Need for Public Health Situational Awareness Network",GAO-22-104600,"Jun 23, 2022","Jennifer Franks","(404) 679-1831","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of HHS should ensure that the lead operational division, in developing the PAHPAIA work plan, includes specific near-term and longterm actions that can be completed to show progress in developing the network. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In April 2023, HHS stated that longer-term actions that can be completed beyond fiscal year 2023 will require the establishment of dedicated funding resources. HHS also stated that it had completed specific near-term actions to establish an electronic public health situational awareness network capability by transitioning the HHS Protect data system and program stewardship to CDC and approving a new governance structure. In March 2024, HHS stated that the FY 2024 CDC Congressional Justification request will support the Response Ready Enterprise Data Platform (formerly HHS Protect) to serve as the common operating picture and central hub to collect, integrate, and share public health data in near-real time across federal agencies and with state, local, territorial, and tribal partners. HHS also stated that it will continue to provide information to GAO in future updates. We will continue to monitor any additional actions HHS takes to implement this recommendation. To fully implement this recommendation, HHS should ensure that it develops a plan for specific long-term actions in addition to near-term actions to show progress in the PAHPAIA network's development. For example, the plan should include PAHPAIA requirements regarding HHS' efforts to conduct a review of the data and information transmitted by the network and a discussion of any additional data sources and challenges in the incorporation of standardized data from various sources. Until HHS fully implements this recommendation, it may not be able to show that it is making significant progress in developing the network." "Cyber Insurance: Action Needed to Assess Potential Federal Response to Catastrophic Attacks",GAO-22-104256,"Jun 21, 2022","Dan Garcia-Diaz, Kevin Walsh","(202) 512-8678, (202) 512-6151","Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency","The Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency should work with the Director of the Federal Insurance Office to produce a joint assessment for Congress on the extent to which the risks to the nation's critical infrastructure from catastrophic cyberattacks, and the potential financial exposures resulting from these risks, warrant a federal insurance response. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DHS agreed with this recommendation. DHS has collaborated with Treasury on identifying data needs for the agencies' joint assessment of the need for a federal insurance response to address catastrophic cyberattacks. To fully implement this recommendation, DHS needs to continue working with Treasury to determine additional data needs for the agencies' joint assessment, as DHS has indicated is its intent. An assessment with DHS's analysis of the cyber risks facing critical infrastructure could inform Congress in its deliberations related to addressing the increasing risk of catastrophic cyber incidents for U.S. critical infrastructure." "Cyber Insurance: Action Needed to Assess Potential Federal Response to Catastrophic Attacks",GAO-22-104256,"Jun 21, 2022","Dan Garcia-Diaz, Kevin Walsh","(202) 512-8678, (202) 512-6151","Federal Insurance Office","The Director of the Federal Insurance Office should work with the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to produce a joint assessment for Congress on the extent to which the risks to the nation's critical infrastructure from catastrophic cyberattacks, and the potential financial exposures resulting from these risks, warrant a federal insurance response. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"Treasury agreed with this recommendation. In September 2022 Treasury published a request for information in the Federal Register to solicit comments from stakeholders on topics related to a potential federal insurance response to catastrophic cyber incidents and received 55 responses from a variety of organizations. As of February 2023, Treasury stated that it aims to complete an initial assessment of the potential need for a federal response to catastrophic cyber incidents by the end of 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, Treasury needs to continue stakeholder engagement and complete its initial assessment of whether there is a potential need for a federal response to catastrophic cyber incidents by the end of 2023, as it has indicated is its intent. Such an assessment could inform Congress in its deliberations related to addressing the increasing risk of catastrophic cyber incidents to U.S. critical infrastructure." "Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia",GAO-22-104449,"Jun 15, 2022","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration","The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should document and define what a national HAB and hypoxia program would entail, including identifying the program's resource needs. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In February and March 2023, NOAA and EPA stated that they will work together and with the other agencies in the working group, to define a national program, identifying goals, objectives, milestones, and resource needs. The agencies also stated that their efforts will build on the information in a coordinated planning document the working group has already prepared. Both agencies said the efforts would be completed in late 2024. We will continue to follow up on the agencies' efforts and progress." "Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia",GAO-22-104449,"Jun 15, 2022","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Administrator of EPA, working with the other members of the working group, should develop an interagency framework, including prioritizing water bodies and identifying resource needs, to expand monitoring of freshwater HABs and hypoxia. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"EPA agreed with this recommendation and the benefit of an interagency framework to expand monitoring of freshwater HABs and hypoxia. In addition, as of July 2023, EPA stated that it intends to coordinate with NOAA and other working group members to develop an interagency framework, identify resource needs for monitoring, and prioritize water bodies to expand monitoring of freshwater HABs and hypoxia. EPA further stated that the interagency framework will be completed by June 2024. We will continue to follow up on these efforts." "Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia",GAO-22-104449,"Jun 15, 2022","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Administrator of EPA, working with the other members of the working group, should develop an interagency framework, including prioritizing water bodies and identifying resource needs, to expand forecasting of freshwater HABs and hypoxia. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"EPA agreed with this recommendation. In addition, as of July 2023, EPA stated that it intends to coordinate with NOAA and other working group members to develop an interagency framework, identify resource needs for forecasting, and prioritize water bodies to expand forecasting of freshwater HABs and hypoxia. EPA further stated that it will complete the work by June 2024. We will continue to follow up on these efforts." "Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia",GAO-22-104449,"Jun 15, 2022","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration","The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should develop a national goal for the group focused on efforts to prevent HABs and hypoxia. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"NOAA and EPA agreed with this recommendation. In February and March 2023, the two agencies stated that they will work together, in collaboration with the working group members, to develop a national goal focused on prevention, building on the information provided in the 2016 and 2017 Research Plans and Action Strategies for the U.S. and Great Lakes. The agencies stated that this work will be completed by December 2023. We will continue to follow up on the work as it is completed." "Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia",GAO-22-104449,"Jun 15, 2022","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should document and define what a national HAB and hypoxia program would entail, including identifying the program's resource needs. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In February and March 2023, EPA and NOAA stated that they will work together and with the other agencies in the working group, to define a national program, identifying goals, objectives, milestones, and resource needs. The agencies also stated that their efforts will build on the information in a coordinated planning document the working group has already prepared. Both agencies said the efforts would be completed in late 2024. We will continue to follow up on the agencies' efforts and progress." "Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia",GAO-22-104449,"Jun 15, 2022","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should develop a national goal for the group focused on efforts to prevent HABs and hypoxia. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"EPA and NOAA agreed with this recommendation. In late 2022, the two agencies stated that they will work together, in collaboration with the working group members, to develop a national goal focused on prevention, building on the information provided in the 2016 and 2017 Research Plans and Action Strategies for the U.S. and Great Lakes. The agencies stated that this work will be completed by December 2023. We will continue to follow up on the work as it is completed." "Hanford Cleanup: DOE Has Opportunities to Better Ensure Effective Startup and Sustained Low-Activity Waste Operations",GAO-22-104772,"Jun 14, 2022","Nathan Anderson","(202) 512-3841","Office of Environmental Management","The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that existing challenges and problems identified in its review of facilities, systems, and components related to DFLAW are resolved by the end of hot commissioning. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"In a June 2022 letter, signed by the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management that provided agency comments on our draft report, DOE stated that it concurred with this recommendation. DOE further stated in its letter that it continues to hold the contractor accountable to strengthen both management and execution of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant DFLAW project elements to begin immobilization of tank waste on schedule, while sustaining a robust safety and quality culture. On May, 2023, DOE provided an outline of the actions it is taking to implement this recommendation. These actions direct the contractor responsible for completing waste treatment facilities needed for DFLAW to include measures to ensure that existing challenges and problems with facilities, systems, and components related to DFLAW are resolved by the end of hot commissioning in their proposal for a contract extension for starting the operation of waste treatment facilities. This contract extension has not yet been finalized." "Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: Federal Program Supported Contingent Workers Amid Historic Demand, but DOL Should Examine Racial Disparities in Benefit Receipt",GAO-22-104438,"Jun 7, 2022","Thomas Costa","(202) 512-4769","Department of Labor","The Secretary of Labor should ensure the Office of Unemployment Insurance examines and publicly reports on the extent of and potential causes of racial and ethnic inequities in the receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, as part of the agency's efforts to modernize UI and improve equity in the system. The report should also address whether there is a need to examine racial, ethnic, or other inequities in regular UI benefit receipt, based on the PUA findings. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOL partially agreed with this recommendation, noting that enhancing demographic data collection in the permanent UI programs to inform actions to improve equity is a higher priority than performing a complete retrospective review of the PUA program, which is no longer operating. As of June 2023, DOL's efforts to promote equity in UI programs have continued. DOL has provided grant awards to 41 states as of May 2023 to promote equitable access to UI programs. DOL has also continued its work to establish data partnerships with selected states to obtain claimant-level data to analyze the demographic and geographic characteristics of people who apply for, receive, and are denied UI benefits, including reasons for denial, if possible. DOL has received data from one partner state, has finalized an agreement with another state, and is working on agreements with three other states. DOL also plans to enhance its collection of demographic information in certain reports states submit with UI data to better understand and identify barriers to equitable access to the UI program and benefits. DOL plans to submit the proposed revisions for review by the Office of Management and Budget by the end of FY 2023. These ongoing efforts represent key steps to promoting equity in UI programs. We also maintain that examining and reporting on the extent and potential causes of racial and ethnic inequities in the receipt of PUA benefits would provide valuable information for DOL and policymakers to effectively monitor state practices for meeting its goals of advancing racial, geographic, and gender equity in the UI system. We appreciate DOL's commitment to improving equity in UI programs, and to consider the insights in our report as it advances its ongoing and planned efforts. We await the results of DOL's efforts and encourage the agency to pursue an analysis of the extent of and potential causes of inequities in the receipt of PUA benefits in tandem with the agency's other ongoing efforts. For example, DOL could consider obtaining and analyzing PUA data from the states with which DOL is establishing data partnerships, and then assessing the need for further study based on initial findings." "Equal Employment Opportunity: Better Assistance and Data Use Could Improve Oversight of Veterans' Federal Contractor Employment",GAO-22-104599,"May 26, 2022","Thomas Costa","(202) 512-4769","Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs","The Director of OFCCP should use available data to better approximate the size and characteristics of the veteran population protected under VEVRAA. For example, OFCCP could consider how to adjust the data it uses from the CPS Veterans Supplement to approximate the subset of veterans who are protected. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"OFCCP conducted research, consulted with other agencies, and met with subject matter experts to explore whether it would be possible to adjust the CPS Veterans Supplement data the agency currently uses or use other data sources to obtain a better approximation of the number of protected veterans under VEVRAA. However, in February 2023, OFCCP noted limitations to some approaches that may hinder approximating veterans protected under VEVRAA. For example, they stated that using the CPS Veterans Supplement data to narrow down the veteran population would result in a lower benchmark. Yet OFCCP officials previously stated that one of the limitations to identifying an employment goal for VEVRAA was the inability to isolate the narrower subset of veterans who are protected under the law from the overall veteran population. As such, it is unclear why using data that align with protected veteran categories would be a limitation to better approximating that population. To implement this recommendation, OFCCP should continue its efforts to explore options and identify available data that will better approximate the veteran population it is charged with protecting." "DOD Financial Management: Additional Actions Would Improve Reporting of Joint Strike Fighter Assets",GAO-22-105002,"May 5, 2022","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment together with the F-35 Program Executive Officer, and in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), should develop and document a comprehensive strategy to address the JSF material weakness. The strategy should include (1) complete, detailed procedures; (2) time frames based on an analysis of the time needed to accomplish the procedures; and (3) resources required to design and implement the procedures. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. In its response, DOD stated the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has been coordinating with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD (A&S)) and OUSD (Comptroller) (OUSD(C)) since fiscal year 2019 to execute a documented strategy for addressing the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) material weakness. The OUSD(C) approved corrective action plans with applicable milestones and estimated completion dates to address identified gaps and known challenges with F-35 property accountability and financial reporting for program assets. Additionally, F-35 JPO has increased resources dedicated to completing documented milestones, appointed people accountable to outcomes, and established cross-functional working groups to track progress in regularly scheduled meetings. JPO will continue to coordinate with OUSD(A&S) and OUSD(C), along with internal and external stakeholders, to add detail and fidelity to time frames, procedures, and resource requirements as needed. The expected date of completion for these actions is July 31st, 2024. We will continue to follow-up with DOD on the status of this recommendation." "DOD Financial Management: Additional Actions Would Improve Reporting of Joint Strike Fighter Assets",GAO-22-105002,"May 5, 2022","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment together with the F-35 Program Executive Officer should develop and document a plan for verifying the completeness of JSF assets recorded in its APSR, including conducting an analysis and documenting the results on the feasibility of performing a wall-to-wall inventory to capture all JSF assets. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. In its response, DOD stated that under the guidance of the OUSD(A&S), F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) is currently developing policies and procedures for both regularly scheduled inventory verification and record completeness checks in the JPO accountable property system of record to ensure capture and tracking of all Joint Strike Fighter assets. The JPO Inventory Management Plan will incorporate analysis of feasibility for wall-to-wall inventory versus alternate inventory procedures, taking consideration to minimize disruptions to F-35 production manufacturing operations and movement of critical parts in the sustainment supply chain supporting F-35 flight operations. The expected date of completion for these actions is June 30, 2024. We will continue to follow-up with DOD on the status of this recommendation." "DOD Financial Management: Additional Actions Would Improve Reporting of Joint Strike Fighter Assets",GAO-22-105002,"May 5, 2022","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment together with the F-35 Program Executive Officer should develop procedures that outline the steps to periodically capture and verify the accuracy and completeness of JSF asset data from contractors and other DOD sources to be recorded in DPAS until a direct interface with the prime contractors' systems has been established. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has been coordinating with the OUSD(A&S) and the Defense Logistics Agency since fiscal year 2019 to implement the program's accountable property system of record, Defense Property Accountability System (DPAS). With guidance from the OUSD(A&S), the JPO is in the process of developing procedures for periodic capture, validation, and upload into DPAS of property data from contractor and DOD sources. The periodic data management processes will support F-35 property accountability until a direct IT system interface, or other DOD-approved solutions are established. The expected date of completion for these actions is June 30, 2024. We will continue to follow-up with DOD on the status of this recommendation." "IRS Free File Program: IRS Should Develop Additional Options for Taxpayers to File for Free",GAO-22-105236,"Apr 28, 2022","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-6806","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of IRS should, before the expiration of the current Free File MOU in October 2023, work with relevant stakeholders to identify and develop additional options for free online filing of tax returns that would reflect current guidelines for federal digital services. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"IRS originally disagreed with this recommendation. In its April 2022 comments on the report, IRS stated that it did not believe a public free filing option would significantly improve the taxpayer experience and it did not have sufficient funding to do this. In August 2022, Congress provided IRS with $15 million in the Inflation Reduction Act to study the possibility of an IRS-run system. In January 2023, IRS and Free File Inc. agreed to extend the current Free File Memorandum of Understanding to October 2025. In May 2023, IRS issued its report to Congress on the potential for a free direct file system. IRS concluded that there is taxpayer interest in such an option and IRS is technically capable of delivering such a system. However, IRS noted that doing so would require additional resources and add complexity to IRS operations. IRS also plans to use a pilot program to gather data to assess issues identified in the report before deciding whether to deploy a full-scale direct file system. Ensuring IRS is positioned to offer free online filing services to taxpayers will help mitigate the risks and uncertainty associated with the current Free File program." "Traffic Safety: Implementing Leading Practices Could Improve Management of Mandated Rulemakings and Reports",GAO-22-104635,"Apr 26, 2022","Elizabeth (Biza) Repko","(202) 512-2834","National Highway Traffic Safety Administration","The NHTSA Deputy Administrator should update NHTSA's rulemaking procedures to require the use of leading project schedule management practices for the activities needed to draft a proposed rule. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"NHTSA concurred with this recommendation. In its February 2024 180-day letter, NHTSA stated that the agency would update its procedures for drafting a proposed rule by June 30, 2024. We will evaluate those procedures once they are completed and provide updated information on the status of NHTSA efforts to implement our recommendation." "Consular Affairs: State May Be Unable to Cover Projected Costs if Revenues Do Not Quickly Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels",GAO-22-104424,"Apr 18, 2022","Jason L. Bair","(202) 512-6881","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure the Bureau of Consular Affairs develops a plan to assess and document what fee amounts, statutory changes, supplemental and annual funding, or other actions would allow State to cover future consular costs. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"State did not concur with our recommendation to develop a plan to assess and document what measures would allow State to cover future consular costs, indicating that its cost model presents unrecovered costs by service. State does not believe the legislative change authorizing retention of the passport application fee impacts its planning for what other measures (including State's existing requests for legislative changes) it may need to cover future consular costs. In September 2022, State noted that there already is a plan for this analysis, but did not provide documentation for such a plan as of February 2023. State noted in February 2023 that worldwide demand for consular services has rebounded more quickly than previously anticipated, but remains concerned that future fee revenue may remain susceptible to downward swings in demand and continues to advocate for permanent expanded expenditure authorities for multiple fees. We maintain that a plan to assess and document which measures would be sufficient to cover costs without generating carryover balances in excess of the targeted threshold is important, and that State should perform and share such analysis with policymakers to enable them to understand the potential impact of each option, in isolation or in combination, before taking legislative action." "Tax Filing: 2021 Performance Underscores Need for IRS to Address Persistent Challenges",GAO-22-104938,"Apr 11, 2022","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-6806","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should work with Treasury to develop and implement a modernization plan for ""Where's My Refund"" that fully addresses taxpayer needs and requirements. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"IRS agreed with this recommendation. In its March 2022 comments on the report, IRS stated that implementation of this effort will be contingent on available funding. IRS's April 2023 Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan contains an initiative to build status tracking tools for taxpayers. In June 2023, IRS stated that this initiative will include updating the current ""Where's My Refund"" application. In February 2023, IRS officials reported that IRS completed research on user needs and expectations for ""Where's My Refund."" They found that users expected a more modern interface, were frustrated with the authentication process and inability to use the tool more than one time per day, and desired more information on their refund. IRS officials also reported that, based on the feedback and other information, IRS requested funding to make some enhancements. In March 2023, we received documentation on the research results and recommendations for enhancements and are reviewing this information. In July 2023, IRS officials told us they plan on completing the modernization of ""Where's My Refund"" by summer 2024 and the modernization of ""Where's My Amended Return"" by late summer 2024. Some updates included a mobile-friendly version of ""Where's My Refund"" and, longer term, accessibility through Online Account. IRS was unable to provide information at that time on how it was implementing these changes, such as addressing technical limitations with the current application or developing a new application. We will continue to monitor IRS's proposed plans for implementing this recommendation." "Tax Filing: 2021 Performance Underscores Need for IRS to Address Persistent Challenges",GAO-22-104938,"Apr 11, 2022","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-6806","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should estimate time frames for resolving IRS's correspondence backlog, monitor and update these estimates periodically, and communicate this information to taxpayers and stakeholders. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"IRS agreed with the recommendation, and officials said IRS would continue with its efforts to manage its correspondence inventory and return it to normal levels. Although it resolved the backlog of 2021 paper tax returns, IRS's inventory of taxpayer correspondence remained high heading into the 2023 filing season. IRS committed to reducing its taxpayer adjustments correspondence inventory to about 1 million by the end of 2022, and assigned additional customer service representatives to process correspondence during the year. However, IRS has not established goals to resolve other areas of its correspondence inventory. In October 2022, IRS stated that it continues to update its ""Status of Operations"" webpage to provide taxpayers and other stakeholders pertinent information regarding processing time frames. However, this webpage provides limited information on processing time frames. For example, before the 2022 filing season started, IRS reported on its website that it had about 2.3 million unprocessed individual amended returns in its correspondence inventory, and that its current time frame for processing amended returns can be more than 20 weeks. As of July 2023, IRS had updated the volume of amended returns in process and that the processing time frame remained at more than 20 weeks. Further, during the same time period, IRS provided limited information on the status of processing other types of correspondence, such as responses to letters and notices. As of November 2023, IRS said it will update the mission critical operations page and create a new processing times status page on IRS.gov by the start of the 2024 filing season. IRS said it will include the dates of the correspondence it is working on the processing page. IRS needs to clearly communicate estimated timeframes for resolving correspondence so taxpayers know when to reasonably expect a response or refund. Without clear, timely information on IRS's processing timeframes for addressing taxpayer correspondence, taxpayers will continue to call, write, or visit IRS in person to try to obtain this information, and IRS will continue to struggle to meet demands for taxpayer customer service and in processing returns." "Cybersecurity: OMB Should Update Inspector General Reporting Guidance to Increase Rating Consistency and Precision",GAO-22-104364,"Mar 31, 2022","Jennifer Franks","(404) 679-1831","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should collaborate with its partners in DHS and CIGIE to clarify the IG FISMA metrics guidance to specify when IGs should use OMB's recommended methodology and when they should use another method to determine agencies' overall effectiveness ratings. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"OMB did not concur with our recommendation at the time of report issuance. In December 2022, OMB informed us that they were working on an action related to the recommendation. As of February 2023, we have yet to receive OMB's plan to implement our recommendation or any documentation showing progress. We will continue to monitor OMB's implementation of our recommendation." "Cybersecurity: OMB Should Update Inspector General Reporting Guidance to Increase Rating Consistency and Precision",GAO-22-104364,"Mar 31, 2022","Jennifer Franks","(404) 679-1831","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should collaborate with its partners in DHS and CIGIE to create a more precise overall effectiveness rating scale for IG FISMA reports. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"OMB did not concur with our recommendation at the time of report issuance. In December 2022, OMB informed us that they were working on an action related to the recommendation. As of February 2023, we have yet to receive OMB's plan to implement our recommendation or any documentation showing progress. We will continue to monitor OMB's implementation of our recommendation." "DOD Financial Management: Air Force Needs to Improve Its System Migration Efforts",GAO-22-103636,"Feb 28, 2022","Asif A. Khan","(202) 512-9869","Department of the Air Force","The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller) should develop a systems migration plan based on leading migration practices to more timely transition from the Air Force's General Accounting and Finance System–Reengineered environment to the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System (DEAMS). (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In October 2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) provided its September 2023 Department of the Air Force General Accounting and Finance System Migration Strategy and Plan (""the plan""). The plan was consistent with four of the leading migration practices described in our report and partially consistent with two of the practices. Specifically, the plan was consistent with leading practices associated with user interface capability, database capability, transition support, and system interface compatibility. The plan was partially consistent with leading practices associated with training and informing users about transition tasks and workloads. In particular, while the plan recognized the importance of training, it stated that the Air Force will develop the training content and the training schedule during the execution of the system migration. In addition, the plan provided general methods for informing users about transition tasks and workloads. However, the plan only documented high-level milestones for phase one of a three-phase migration. The plan also referred to additional documentation, which DOD did not provide in October 2023. We will continue to follow-up with DOD and update the status of this recommendation as department provides additional information." "Littoral Combat Ship: Actions Needed to Address Significant Operational Challenges and Implement Planned Sustainment Approach",GAO-22-105387,"Feb 24, 2022","Diana Maurer","(202) 512-9627","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the LCS program office, in coordination with the Chief of Naval Operations, develops a comprehensive plan, including estimated costs and time frames, for addressing deficiencies in the seaframes, performing adequate testing of mission modules, and implementing lessons learned from completed deployments. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation. In January 2022, the Navy reported that it had merged the LCS Strike Team into the newly established Task Force LCS to identify reliability issues with both LCS variants. The Navy also reported that the surface warfare mission package has completed operational testing and achieved initial operational capability. In addition, the Navy planned to complete formal testing aboard the LCS and achieve initial operational capability for the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and mine countermeasures mission (MCM) packages by the end of fiscal year 2022. Further, the Navy planned to conduct additional testing of the ASW and MCM mission packages based in part on the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation's Integrated Evaluation Framework Process. Navy officials said that lessons learned from these testing efforts, as well as Task Force LCS's efforts to identify reliability issues, should inform the development of a comprehensive plan to address deficiencies in the seaframes and implement lessons learned from completed deployments. As of February 2023, the Navy had not provided an update on actions taken to implement this recommendation. In September 2023, DOD informed us that it had requested a status update from the Navy and would provide an update upon receiving the response. We will periodically follow up with the Navy to monitor its progress." "Littoral Combat Ship: Actions Needed to Address Significant Operational Challenges and Implement Planned Sustainment Approach",GAO-22-105387,"Feb 24, 2022","Diana Maurer","(202) 512-9627","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Chief of Naval Operations, to the extent practicable, makes future operational deployments contingent on demonstrated progress in addressing gaps between desired and demonstrated capabilities. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation. In January 2022, Navy officials said the Navy's Task Force LCS had begun addressing this recommendation. Navy officials stated that some planned operational deployments had been paused pending correction of performance challenges. In addition, Navy Commanders conduct recurring readiness briefs to address and resolve identified issues prior to operational deployments. Navy officials stated they plan to complete actions to address this recommendation by the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. As of February 2023, the Navy had not provided an update on actions taken to implement these recommendations. As the Navy identifies and takes corrective actions to address performance challenges and resolve issues prior to operational deployments, it will begin to address gaps between desired and demonstrated capabilities for the LCS. In September 2023, DOD informed us that it had requested a status update from the Navy and would provide an update upon receiving the response. We will periodically follow up with the Navy." "2020 Census: Lessons Learned from Planning and Implementing the 2020 Census Offer Insights to Support 2030 Preparations",GAO-22-104357,"Feb 11, 2022","Yvonne Jones, Kevin Walsh","(202) 512-6806, (202) 512-6151","Department of Commerce","The Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau should develop a plan to improve resiliency of its 2030 Census research and testing activity in response to Bureau-identified budget uncertainty, including but not limited to specifying the tests and projects that are most important to conduct. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"The Census Bureau agreed with our recommendation, and in September 2022, provided numerous documents describing and demonstrating actions the Bureau was taking to improve its budget development, execution, and oversight. The Bureau has also identified two program risks to the 2030 Census related to budget uncertainty and reported drafting contingency plans for those risks. As of February 2023, Bureau officials confirmed this as a priority they were working to address. In order to fully address this recommendation, the Bureau will need to demonstrate how its 2030 Census tests and projects that are most important to conduct are protected from budget uncertainty." "Navy Ship Maintenance: Actions Needed to Monitor and Address the Performance of Intermediate Maintenance Periods",GAO-22-104510,"Feb 8, 2022","Diana Maurer","(202) 512-9627","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Navy's maintenance-related strategic planning and initiatives, such as the Navy's Performance to Plan efforts, include issues associated with the performance of intermediate maintenance periods. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"The Navy agreed with our recommendation, stating that it will leverage the Performance to Plan and Naval Sustainment System forums to drive improvements to maintenance as a whole, encompassing both intermediate and depot-level maintenance. As of March 2024, the Navy stated that it had no updates to provide on efforts to address our recommendation. To implement this recommendation fully, the Navy should ensure it includes in strategic documentation the issues associated with intermediate maintenance periods. Without implementing our recommendation, the Navy risks negatively affecting the readiness of the fleet, and intermediate maintenance periods may continue to result in thousands of days of maintenance delay for the Navy's submarines, surface ships, and aircraft carriers." "Defense Infrastructure: DOD Should Better Manage Risks Posed by Deferred Facility Maintenance",GAO-22-104481,"Jan 31, 2022","Elizabeth Field","(202) 512-2775","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, in coordination with the DOD components, sets milestones and holds component leadership accountable for implementing SMS. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD's initial corrective action plan stated that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, would identify relevant milestones and completion dates for implementing SMS, periodically brief senior leaders on the status of these milestones to enhance accountability, and issue policy that sets out DOD components' responsibilities for implementing SMS. These steps would meet the intent of our first recommendation but, as of January 2023, had not been completed. We will continue to monitor implementation of the recommendation, and update the recommendation status as warranted." "Defense Infrastructure: DOD Should Better Manage Risks Posed by Deferred Facility Maintenance",GAO-22-104481,"Jan 31, 2022","Elizabeth Field","(202) 512-2775","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, in coordination with the DOD components, conducts an assessment of the SMS implementing guidance to determine which elements of SMS should be applied consistently across the components, and uses the results of that assessment to update the guidance for SMS condition assessments to ensure that facility condition data are comparable across the department. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD's corrective action plan specifies steps the department is taking to determine which elements of SMS should be standardized and consistently applied by all DOD components. DOD stated that it would issue policy detailing the degree of standardization DOD components are to use in SMS, which would meet the intent of our recommendation. As of January 2023, the corrective action plan stated that these remaining steps would be completed by the fall of 2023. We will continue to monitor implementation of the recommendation, and update the recommendation status as warranted." "K-12 Education: Department of Education Should Help States Address Student Testing Issues and Financial Risks Associated with Virtual Schools, Particularly Virtual Charter Schools",GAO-22-104444,"Mar 2, 2022","Jacqueline M. Nowicki","(617) 788-0580","Department of Education","The Secretary of Education should identify the factors that cause underreporting and misreporting of information on management organizations that contract with charter schools, including virtual charter schools, and take steps to help states report accurate data on these contracts. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"Education agreed with this recommendation. Officials said the Institute of Education Sciences has made significant outreach efforts over the last two years to gather input from state and local officials, and to disseminate information useful to all schools including virtual charter schools. Education also noted that it has funded a technical assistance center to support states and districts in tracking attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism, and that states can use information developed through this center for virtual schools as needed. As of February 2023, Education is assessing the data reported by states about charter schools that contract with management organizations, including virtual charter schools. These are positive steps and GAO will await additional steps that Education should pursue to address this recommendation." "COVID-19: Significant Improvements Are Needed for Overseeing Relief Funds and Leading Responses to Public Health Emergencies",GAO-22-105291,"Jan 27, 2022","Jessica Farb","(202) 512-7114","Department of the Treasury","The Secretary of the Treasury should design and implement processes, such as post-payment reviews or recovery audits, to help ensure timely identification and recovery of overpayments made by grantees to households, landlords, or utility providers in the Emergency Rental Assistance programs. See the Emergency Rental Assistance enclosure. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Treasury agreed with our recommendation and stated that it is working to establish post-payment reviews and recovery audit activities within the schedule prescribed in Treasury's Implementation Guide for OMB Circular A-123 Appendix C: Requirements for Payment Integrity. Treasury also stated that it will be approving and initiating an Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) desk review plan that uses risk-based analytics to identify the highest-risk ERA recipients. In December 2023, Treasury stated that its ERA desk review was still in development. Treasury also provided a status update and supporting documentation of the corrective actions taken. The corrective actions included: (1) implementing a data-centric risk-based approach to recipient monitoring that relies on a combination of automated and manual reviews of recipient data to identify and address potential noncompliance, focusing on allowable costs; (2) developing a risk monitoring tool that uses risk-based analytics to identify the highest-risk recipients; and (3) establishing a process for remediation and audit resolution that allows for recovery of unallowable costs, including potential overpayments. Additionally, Treasury mentioned that as it continues to build its existing processes, there is ongoing monitoring of recipient's compliance and enhancements that allow Treasury to further mitigate the most significant risks that will ensure the success of these vital programs. Treasury stated that it considers this recommendation closed based upon the implementation of these corrective actions. In March 2024, Treasury indicated that there were no further updates. Based on the documentation provided, we believe Treasury has partially addressed the recommendation. Treasury has designed monitoring procedures related to determining whether nonfederal entities appropriately disbursed ERA program funds to households. However, Treasury did not provide documentation of monitoring procedures related to eligibility of households and Treasury's recovery efforts on funds provided to or on behalf of ineligible households. To address this recommendation, Treasury needs to design and implement processes, such as post-payment reviews or recovery audits to identify and recover ERA overpayments made by grantees (e.g., nonfederal entities). This process would include monitoring procedures that detect ERA funds disbursed by nonfederal entities to households who were not eligible to receive those funds and steps to recover those funds. We will continue to monitor agency's actions to address this recommendation." "USDA Market Facilitation Program: Oversight of Future Supplemental Assistance to Farmers Could Be Improved",GAO-22-104259,"Feb 3, 2022","Steve Morris","(202) 512-3841","Farm Service Agency","The Administrator of FSA should issue guidance directing the agency to assess risk characteristics and take a more complete risk-based approach in selecting samples for future compliance reviews of supplemental assistance programs. This approach could include focusing on farming operations that received substantially large payments and new customers for which FSA does not have other information to corroborate eligibility for program participation. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"As of July 2023, FSA has not implemented this recommendation. FSA has agreed to distribute guidance regarding data collection and analysis, which includes future compliance reviews of supplemental assistance programs, in a way that ensures reliable results, assesses program risk characteristics, and continue to take a more complete risk-based approach in selecting samples. Upon obtaining copies of FSA's guidance, we will review and assess whether it is responsive to this recommendation." "Carbon Capture and Storage: Actions Needed to Improve DOE Management of Demonstration Projects",GAO-22-105111,"Dec 20, 2021","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management should incorporate into any future CCS demonstration project selections a down-selection and allow adequate time for negotiations prior to entering cooperative agreements. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In its December 2021 response to our report, DOE stated that it was working to establish a new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that would be best positioned to evaluate our recommendations and develop a corrective action plan. In July 2022, DOE indicated that the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations was designing its carbon capture demonstration projects program to fully incorporate lessons learned from prior demonstration projects, including incorporating a down-selection process and allowing adequate time for due diligence of and negotiations with applicants prior to entering into cooperative agreements. In January 2024, DOE indicated that during fiscal year 2024 it will continue to develop (1) its project management approach and (2) procedures to guide the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations in overseeing demonstration projects against their planned scope, schedule, and budgets." "Carbon Capture and Storage: Actions Needed to Improve DOE Management of Demonstration Projects",GAO-22-105111,"Dec 20, 2021","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management should take actions to more consistently administer future CCS demonstration projects against established scopes, schedules, and budgets. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In its December 2021 response to our report, DOE stated that it was working to establish a new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that would be best positioned to evaluate our recommendations and develop a corrective action plan. In July 2022, DOE indicated that the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations was implementing a consistent and rigorous approach to demonstration project management oversight to ensure projects are reviewed regularly and objectively against established scopes, schedules, and budgets. In January 2024, DOE indicated that during fiscal year 2024 it will continue to develop (1) its project management approach and (2) procedures to guide the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations in overseeing demonstration projects against their planned scope, schedule, and budgets." "Open Data: Additional Action Required for Full Public Access",GAO-22-104574,"Dec 16, 2021","Michelle Sager","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should comply with its statutory requirement under the OPEN Government Data Act to issue implementation guidance to agencies on making data open by default. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with our recommendation. In September 2020, OMB provided draft implementation guidance to federal agencies for comment, but has yet to issue final guidance on making data open by default, as required by statute. In March 2024, OMB staff confirmed that action to implement this recommendation is still in progress, but they did not provide a time frame for issuing the guidance. To fully implement this recommendation, OMB will need to issue guidance to agencies on making data open by default that takes into account relevant considerations for this guidance laid out in the OPEN Government Data Act. Although agencies are making some progress toward implementing their requirements under the act, without this guidance, they do not have all the information required to address the act's requirements on making data open by default. Furthermore, OMB's delay in issuing the guidance could lead to increased costs for agencies if they are required to revise their approaches to implementation after OMB releases the guidance." "Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers",GAO-22-104039,"Dec 15, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Federal Emergency Management Agency","The FEMA Administrator should, in coordination with the SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance and the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, develop, with input from key recovery partners, and implement an interagency plan to help ensure the availability and use of quality information that includes (1) information requirements, (2) data sources and methods, and (3) strategies for overcoming information challenges—to support federal agencies involved in disaster recovery in identifying access barriers or disparate outcomes. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, FEMA officials told us that FEMA, together with HUD and SBA, are developing an interagency plan for data collection, sharing, and analysis to identify potential equity issues. According to FEMA, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. They also noted that in November 2023, FEMA completed Privacy Threshold Analyses needed for FEMA to share certain aggregate applicant data with HUD and SBA to help all 3 agencies identify potential access barriers. However, to fully address the recommendation and ensure the availability and use of quality information needed to identify access barriers and disparate outcomes, FEMA (with HUD and SBA) will need to both develop and implement this interagency plan specifying the data needed, the sources of those data, and the methods for obtaining those data. Without implementing a plan to ensure the availability of comprehensive information, programs lack a means to identify potential social and institutional barriers in their own programs and across programs." "Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers",GAO-22-104039,"Dec 15, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Federal Emergency Management Agency","The FEMA Administrator should coordinate with the SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance and the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development to design and establish routine processes to be used within and across federal disaster recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, FEMA officials told us that FEMA, together with HUD and SBA, are developing an interagency plan that includes a description of routine processes that they will use to address any equity issues they identify. According to FEMA, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. For its part, FEMA officials stated that they anticipate addressing the identified access barriers through targeted capacity-building support, including: training, peer-to-peer network development, recovery planning, and technical assistance support to low-capacity, highly impacted local and tribal governments with high vulnerability indicators to position these governments to better manage recovery efforts. However, to fully address the recommendation, FEMA (with HUD and SBA) must also implement institutionalized processes to be used within and across federal recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. Without routine processes, disaster recovery programs lack a mechanism to ensure they can address any potential access barriers or disparate outcomes they might identify, particularly if the cause of those barriers or outcomes arise from the interaction between or among programs." "Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers",GAO-22-104039,"Dec 15, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Department of Housing and Urban Development","The HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development should, in coordination with the FEMA Administrator and SBA, develop, with input from key recovery partners, and implement an interagency plan to help ensure the availability and use of quality information that includes (1) information requirements, (2) data sources and methods, and (3) strategies for overcoming information challenges—to support federal agencies involved in disaster recovery in identifying access barriers or disparate outcomes. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, HUD officials told us that HUD, together with FEMA and SBA, are developing an interagency plan for data collection, sharing, and analysis to identify potential equity issues. According to HUD, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. In the interim, HUD officials noted their plans to expand data collection about applicants and beneficiaries, starting with groups protected under the Fair Housing Act and subsequently other vulnerable populations. They further noted that in spring 2024 HUD plans to enter into an interagency agreement with FEMA to coordinate data sharing. These efforts may improve HUD's access to information needed to help identify access barriers and disparate outcomes. However, to address the recommendation and ensure the availability and use of quality information for these purposes, HUD (with FEMA and SBA) will need to both develop and implement this interagency plan specifying the data needed, sources of those data, and methods for obtaining those data. Without implementing a plan to ensure the availability of comprehensive information, programs lack a means to identify potential social and institutional barriers in their own programs and across programs." "Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers",GAO-22-104039,"Dec 15, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Department of Housing and Urban Development","The HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development should coordinate with the FEMA Administrator and SBA to design and establish routine processes to be used within and across federal disaster recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, HUD officials told us that HUD, together with FEMA and SBA, is developing an interagency plan that includes a description of routine processes that they will use to address any equity issues they identify. According to HUD, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. For its part, HUD established an Equity Team within its Office of Disaster Recovery to expand data collection, evaluate CDBG-DR implementation processes and identify improvements, provide technical assistance to CDBG-DR grantees, and evaluate quarterly performance reports, according to HUD officials. However, to fully implement this recommendation, HUD must provide evidence it has designed and institutionalized routine processes to be used within and across federal recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. Without routine processes, these programs will lack a mechanism to ensure they can address any potential access barriers or disparate outcomes they might identify, particularly if those barriers or disparate outcomes arise from the interaction between or among programs." "Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers",GAO-22-104039,"Dec 15, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Small Business Administration","The SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance should, in coordination with the FEMA Administrator and the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, develop, with input from key recovery partners, and implement an interagency plan to help ensure the availability and use of quality information that includes (1) information requirements, (2) data sources and methods, and (3) strategies for overcoming information challenges—to support federal agencies involved in disaster recovery in identifying access barriers or disparate outcomes. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, SBA officials told us that SBA, together with FEMA and HUD, is developing an interagency plan for data collection, sharing, and analysis to identify potential equity issues. According to SBA, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. SBA officials also noted that they are renewing interagency agreements with FEMA and HUD to coordinate data sharing. However, to fully address the recommendation, SBA (with FEMA and HUD) would need to both develop and implement this interagency plan specifying the data needed, and sources and methods for obtaining the data. Without implementing a plan to ensure the availability of comprehensive information, programs lack a means to identify potential social and institutional barriers in their own programs and across programs." "Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Address Potential Recovery Barriers",GAO-22-104039,"Dec 15, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Small Business Administration","The SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Assistance should coordinate with the FEMA Administrator and the HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development to design and establish routine processes to be used within and across federal recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"In February 2024, SBA officials told us that SBA, together with FEMA and HUD, is developing an interagency plan that includes a description of routine processes that they will use to address any equity issues they identify. According to SBA, this interagency plan will be developed by June 2024. For its part, SBA officials told us that to help reduce access barriers in rural communities, they implemented the Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act in June 2023, which simplified the process for SBA disaster declaration in rural communities. SBA officials also told us that they established Portable Loan Outreach Centers to enable recovery teams to deploy to low-capacity theaters of operation after a disaster. However, to fully implement this recommendation, SBA needs to provide evidence it has designed and institutionalized routine processes within and across federal recovery programs to address identified access barriers and disparate outcomes on an ongoing basis. Without routine processes, disaster recovery programs lack a mechanism to ensure they can address any potential access barriers or disparate outcomes they might identify, particularly if those barriers or disparate outcomes arise from the interaction between or among programs." "Economic and Commercial Diplomacy: State and Commerce Implement a Range of Activities, but State Should Enhance Its Training Efforts",GAO-22-104181,"Dec 13, 2021","Kimberly Gianopoulos","(202) 512-8612","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure that the Foreign Service Institute develops and implements a process to conduct periodic, comprehensive assessments of training needs across the economic and commercial diplomacy issue area. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In its written comments on the draft report, State concurred with this recommendation and recognized that the department should strengthen its economic and commercial diplomacy training efforts, including through a regular training needs assessment process. State added that it had taken steps to initiate a regular training needs assessment process for its economic and commercial diplomacy training, working with EB and other internal stakeholders to review the content, mode, and frequency of training, and to prioritize training across the issue area. As part of this process, State interviewed Ambassadors, Deputy Chiefs of Mission and Principal Officers, mid-level economic officers, and business representatives and organizations regarding to identify gaps in its training in the commercial diplomacy area. State detailed its findings from this assessment in a September 2022 report. This report identified gaps in State's commercial diplomacy training for senior-level and mid-level employees and made recommendations to address those gaps. As a result, State launched an advanced commercial diplomacy tradecraft course in November 2023, according to State officials. State officials told us that State intends to review the course every three years and update it as appropriate in accordance with the Foreign Service Institute's Policies and Standards. To fully implement this recommendation, State needs to provide documentation showing that its comprehensive assessment of economic and commercial diplomacy training needs is conducted on a periodic basis. As of March 2024, we continue to monitor State's actions to implement this recommendation." "Economic and Commercial Diplomacy: State and Commerce Implement a Range of Activities, but State Should Enhance Its Training Efforts",GAO-22-104181,"Dec 13, 2021","Kimberly Gianopoulos","(202) 512-8612","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure that the Foreign Service Institute establishes a mechanism to periodically consult with external stakeholders, including Commerce, private sector entities, and industry groups, about whether State's training programs in economic and commercial diplomacy are achieving the desired impact. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In its written comments on the draft report, State concurred with this recommendation and stated that it planned to take steps to implement it, including establishing a stakeholder advisory group through which it planned to engage private sector and industry groups on training. State added that it had also communicated with the U.S. Department of Commerce to initiate regular meetings to discuss economic and commercial diplomacy training, including whether training is achieving the desired impact. State's Foreign Service Institute and Commerce's International Trade Administration signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines commitments to meet quarterly to discuss economic and commercial training offerings and outreach to external stakeholders, among other things. State officials said that they have held two such meetings in October 2023 and January 2024. However, the memorandum does not specifically describe a mechanism through which external stakeholders can consult with State regarding State's training programs in this area are achieving the desired impact. To fully implement this recommendation, State needs to provide documentation showing that it has established a mechanism for periodic consultation with external stakeholders that includes a means of assessing whether its training is achieving the desired impact. As of March 2024, we continue to monitor State's actions to implement this recommendation." "Personnel Vetting: Actions Needed to Implement Reforms, Address Challenges, and Improve Planning",GAO-22-104093,"Dec 9, 2021","Brian M. Mazanec","(202) 512-5130","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency revises the National Background Investigation Services system schedule to meet all the characteristics of a reliable schedule as defined in GAO's best practice guides for scheduling and Agile software development. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. In March 2022, the department stated that the NBIS Executive Program Manager had incorporated several best practices and estimated that the NBIS schedule would substantially meet all characteristics of a reliable schedule by April 2022. However, we reviewed the NBIS program schedule again and, as of February 2023, found that the program had not substantially met any of the characteristics of a reliable schedule. In October 2023, DOD provided an update stating that, due to new findings in our August 2023 report related to the NBIS schedule (GAO-23-105670), they are continuing to work through resolution of our findings and plan to complete an analysis by February 1, 2024, with implementation immediately following." "Bureau of Land Management: Better Workforce Planning and Data Would Help Mitigate the Effects of Recent Staff Vacancies",GAO-22-104247,"Nov 18, 2021","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Bureau of Land Management","The Director of BLM should develop an agency-wide strategic workforce plan that aligns the agency's human capital program with emerging mission goals and includes long-term strategies for acquiring, developing, and retaining staff to achieve programmatic goals. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of the Interior concurred with this recommendation. As of February 2024, the Bureau of Land Management developed a draft workforce planning framework and project plan, which we reviewed. The agency expects to implement its workforce plan in fiscal year 2025." "COVID-19: State Carried Out Historic Repatriation Effort but Should Strengthen Its Preparedness for Future Crises",GAO-22-104354,"Nov 2, 2021","Jason L. Bair","(202) 512-6881","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure that the Executive Secretary, the Under Secretary for Management (M), and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs work with the regional bureaus to develop a mechanism for ensuring that each post completes, and documents completion of, required emergency preparedness drills. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"State concurred with this recommendation. State is assessing existing policies and practices that mandate each post completes, and documents completion of required emergency preparedness drills, with a focus on how to improve compliance with those policies and practices, according to State officials. As of December 2023, State is working to address the recommendation." "COVID-19: State Carried Out Historic Repatriation Effort but Should Strengthen Its Preparedness for Future Crises",GAO-22-104354,"Nov 2, 2021","Jason L. Bair","(202) 512-6881","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure that the relevant bureaus and offices establish a mechanism to systematically assess overseas posts' preparedness to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"""State concurred with this recommendation. State has existing policies and practices, including a Crisis Management Training (CMT) program administered by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). FSI's crisis management trainers visit posts every 24 to 30 months (except those high-threat, high-risk posts, which conduct training annually). Trainers review emergency planning with post's Emergency Action Committee (EAC) members and stress-test post readiness through tabletop or full-scale exercises. FSI also provides in-person and online training and resources for all post employees on crises preparedness. Posts are also responsible for continually updating their EAPs and certifying it annually. The Department has received several recommendations from GAO regarding crisis management planning over the past two years. Through the Secretary's Modernization Agenda, the Department will be taking a closer, holistic look at crisis management planning to assess where improvements might be made, according to State officials. As of December 2023, State is working to address the recommendation." "COVID-19: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Accountability and Program Effectiveness of Federal Response",GAO-22-105051,"Oct 27, 2021","Jessica Farb","(202) 512-7114","Occupational Safety and Health Administration","The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health should assess?as soon as feasible and, as appropriate, periodically thereafter?various challenges related to resources and to communication and guidance that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has faced in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and should take related actions as warranted. See the Worker Safety and Health enclosure. (Recommendation 14)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Labor (DOL) partially agreed with our recommendation. In September 2021, DOL stated that it agreed that it is important to assess lessons learned and best practices for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) operational response to COVID-19. However, DOL officials said they believed that while the pandemic is ongoing, the agency's resources are best used to help employers and workers mitigate exposures to COVID-19. In December 2021, OSHA officials said they planned to conduct an assessment as soon as feasible, with a team of national office and field office staff, and would incorporate lessons learned, if applicable, into future emergency response efforts. In May 2022, OSHA officials said that the agency had taken a number of actions as a result of its ongoing assessment of successes and challenges during the pandemic, such as hiring new inspectors and implementing OSHA headquarters and field communication check-ins during periods of high COVID-19 transmission. In February 2023, OSHA officials said that, in fiscal year 2023, the agency would select and implement a task force to assess how OSHA could have improved its communications, provided clearer information, and sought feedback from the field in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will close this recommendation when OSHA has conducted this assessment of the various challenges the agency has faced in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has taken any related warranted actions." "High-Performance Computing: Advances Made Towards Implementing the National Strategy, but Better Reporting and a More Detailed Plan Are Needed",GAO-21-104500,"Sep 30, 2021","Candice N. Wright","(202) 512-6888","Office of Science and Technology Policy","The Director of OSTP should address each of the desirable characteristics of a national strategy, as practicable, in the implementation roadmap for the 2020 strategic plan or through other means. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In May 2022, OSTP issued an implementation roadmap for the 2020 strategic plan for high-performance computing that addressed several of the desirable characteristics of a national strategy. For example, the implementation roadmap addressed the desirable characteristic of integration and implementation by describing collaboration and coordination across the Federal government on related initiatives and efforts, such as quantum information science, and by assigning specific activities to agencies. However, the implementation roadmap did not address other desirable characteristics, such as performance measures or a process for monitoring and reporting on progress. OSTP stated in January 2023 that it would address additional desirable characteristics in a progress report on the strategic plan for the Future Advanced Computing Ecosystem. As of October 2023, OSTP anticipated that the progress report would be in released early in 2024. We will continue to monitor OSTP's efforts to fully implement this recommendation." "High-Performance Computing: Advances Made Towards Implementing the National Strategy, but Better Reporting and a More Detailed Plan Are Needed",GAO-21-104500,"Sep 30, 2021","Candice N. Wright","(202) 512-6888","Office of Science and Technology Policy","The Director of OSTP, in consultation with the 10 NSCI agencies, should prepare publically available annual reports assessing progress made in implementing the 2020 strategic plan on the future advanced computing ecosystem. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In January 2022, OSTP stated that a process had been initiated to develop an annual report on progress toward the goals of the 2020 strategic plan, and in May 2022, OSTP issued its implementation roadmap for the 2020 strategic plan for high-performance computing. However, the roadmap did not contain an annual report on progress toward implementing the 2020 strategic plan. As of October 2023, OSTP anticipated that the first annual progress report on the strategic plan for the Future Advanced Computing Ecosystem would be released early in 2024 . We will continue to monitor OSTP's efforts to implement this recommendation." "IT Modernization: USDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area",GAO-21-512,"Sep 23, 2021","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-6240","Department of Agriculture","The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) directs the Assistant Chief Information Officer to have the FPAC mission area develop a strategic plan, in alignment with departmental policies and procedures, to include performance goals and measures for maximizing efficiencies and reducing IT duplication and overlap. (Recommendation 12)",Open,Yes,"As of February 2024, the department stated that FPAC's mission area IT strategic plan was still in the review and approval process. Agency officials did not provide an estimated completion date. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation." "IT Modernization: USDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area",GAO-21-512,"Sep 23, 2021","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-6240","Department of Agriculture","The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) directs the Assistant Chief Information Officer to have the FPAC mission area monitor IT program performance against efficiency goals and measures documented in its plan for maximizing efficiencies and reducing IT duplication and overlap. (Recommendation 13)",Open,Yes,"In August 2023, agency officials noted that they were developing metrics dependent on the FPAC IT strategic plan. However, as of February 2024, the IT strategic plan was still in the review approval process. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation." "Overseas Real Property: Prioritizing Key Assets and Developing a Plan Could Help State Manage Its Estimated $3 Billion Maintenance Backlog",GAO-21-497,"Sep 15, 2021","Jason L. Bair, Catina Latham","(202) 512-6881, (202) 512-2834","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure that the Director of OBO develops a plan to address State's deferred maintenance and repair backlog, and specifically identifies the funding and time frames needed to reduce it in congressional budget requests, related reports to decision makers, or both. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"State concurred with this recommendation. As of August 2023, State officials said OBO continues to make progress on developing its plan to address State's deferred maintenance and repair backlog. OBO has established a Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization framework and issued related guidance, which helps categorize requirements affecting the backlog. State officials said current funding levels are addressing the backlog identified through annual condition assessments and post-initiated requests, as well as the continued replacement and renovation of older facilities. However, State did not specify the amount of funding or timeframes needed to reduce the backlog in its recent Congressional Budget Justification. In February 2023, State officials said as OBO continues to develop its data dashboards that will include projected lifecycle costs and facility condition trends, among other things, it will use data modeling to inform budget requests and predict timeframes needed to reduce the backlog. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation." "Global Food Security: Improved Monitoring Framework Needed to Assess and Report on Feed the Future's Performance",GAO-21-548,"Aug 31, 2021","Chelsa L. Kenney","(202) 512-2964","U.S. Agency for International Development","The Administrator of USAID, in consultation with FTF partner agencies, should establish quantifiable and measurable performance goals for the initiative to assess progress toward FTF's strategic objectives and overarching goal. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In its response to our report, USAID agreed with this recommendation. In November 2021, USAID established two performance goals for FTF in the State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan and later created two additional performance goals, all with quantifiable targets and timeframes. According to USAID officials, USAID selected these four performance goals based on existing performance indicators, the agency's key priorities, and their ability to reflect the contributions of FTF partner agencies. As of October 2023, USAID officials planned to develop documentation showing how these goals help assess progress toward FTF's strategic objectives and overarching goal. We will continue to monitor USAID's implementation of this recommendation and provide updated information on its progress." "Global Food Security: Improved Monitoring Framework Needed to Assess and Report on Feed the Future's Performance",GAO-21-548,"Aug 31, 2021","Chelsa L. Kenney","(202) 512-2964","U.S. Agency for International Development","The Administrator of USAID, in consultation with FTF partner agencies, should establish FTF-wide targets for FTF-wide performance indicators required as applicable across the initiative. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In its response to our report, USAID agreed with this recommendation. As noted in the status of recommendation 1, USAID has set three performance goals, which include five performance indicators with associated targets. USAID has not set FTF-wide targets for its other performance indicators, explaining that these indicators are useful for monitoring the performance of countries or implementing partners, rather than the initiative as a whole. However, USAID continues to use these indicators for FTF-wide purposes, such as reporting. As of February 2024, USAID officials planned to provide information on the use of these indicators and their ability to establish FTF-wide targets for them. To close this recommendation, USAID needs to establish targets for all performance indicators it uses FTF-wide. We will continue to monitor USAID's implementation of this recommendation and provide updated information on its progress." "Capitol Attack: Special Event Designations Could Have Been Requested for January 6, 2021, but Not All DHS Guidance is Clear [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 09, 2021.]",GAO-21-105255,"Aug 9, 2021","Triana McNeil","(202) 512-8777","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security should consider whether additional factors, such as the context of the events and surrounding circumstances in light of the current environment of emerging threats, are needed for designating NSSE events. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of March 20, 2023, DHS officials stated that they do not concur with this recommendation and requested that GAO consider this recommendation resolved and closed. We disagree and maintain that implementing this recommendation is important. While past congressional certifications of election results were not designated National Special Security Events and DHS officials considered this normal congressional business, the lack of consideration of other factors, such as the large rally at the Ellipse that mobilized to the Capitol, and the climate surrounding the 2020 election demonstrate a gap in the adaptability of how these events are considered. To fully implement this recommendation, DHS needs to formally review the factors it developed to designate a National Special Security Event (NSSE), including whether additional events should be designated as an NSSE. A review of these factors can help ensure that the process for designating an NSSE is dynamic and responsive to changing environments and emerging threats." "Capitol Attack: Special Event Designations Could Have Been Requested for January 6, 2021, but Not All DHS Guidance is Clear [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 09, 2021.]",GAO-21-105255,"Aug 9, 2021","Triana McNeil","(202) 512-8777","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security should update the Department of Homeland Security's policy to clarify and communicate the process for requesting an NSSE designation for an event held on federal property in Washington, D.C. to all relevant stakeholders, including relevant federal, state, and local entities (Recommendation 2).",Open,Yes,"As of March 20, 2023, DHS officials stated that they do not concur with this recommendation and requested that GAO consider this recommendation resolved and closed. We disagree and maintain that implementing this recommendation is important. As noted in our report, there is a gap in DHS's policy and in the awareness of relevant partners regarding the process. Clarifying and communicating the DHS policy for requesting a National Special Security Event designation for events on federal property in Washington, D.C. will help ensure that responsible entities are aware of their ability to make such a request. To fully implement this recommendation, DHS needs to clarify its policy to clearly identify who can request an NSSE designation on federal property in Washington, D.C. and communicate any updates to relevant stakeholders. Updating its policy will help DHS ensure that relevant agencies are aware of, and understand, the process for requesting such event designations and may help to better secure the Capitol Complex and other federal properties in the future." "National Flood Insurance Program: Congress Should Consider Updating the Mandatory Purchase Requirement",GAO-21-578,"Jul 30, 2021","Alicia Puente Cackley","(202) 512-8678","Federal Emergency Management Agency","The Deputy Associate Administrator of FEMA's Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration should determine what information is available—both internally and externally—related to the mandatory purchase requirement, and use it to develop strategies for increasing consumer participation in the flood insurance market. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DHS agreed with this recommendation. DHS outlined its plan to determine available information both internally and externally that could be used to develop strategies for increasing consumer participation in the flood insurance market. More specifically, DHS plans to continue its review of internal available data and external research conducted by agencies and researchers. Further, internally, DHS plans to look for ways to communicate with the FEMA Individual Assistance Program disaster relief recipients to determine if there are ways to increase consumer participation in the flood insurance market through information sharing across the NFIP mandatory purchase requirement and Individual Assistance Program. As of November 2022, DHS completed its review of internal available data and existing research conducted by agencies and researchers to help develop strategies for increasing consumer participation in the flood insurance market. DHS officials told us it was conducting a policy and legal analysis for communicating with potential policyholders who have received prior individual assistance and are subject to the Mandatory Purchase Requirement. The officials said they expected to complete this analysis in June 2023, and that they plan to conduct outreach to individuals and households, as appropriate, with an estimated completion date of December 2023.To fully implement this recommendation, DHS will need to follow through on its efforts to collect information, both internally and externally, and develop strategies for increasing consumer participation. By doing so, FEMA may be able to better target its outreach to communities, lenders, property owners, and other stakeholders to improve compliance with the requirement. We will continue to monitor the progress DHS makes in implementing this recommendation." "National Flood Insurance Program: Congress Should Consider Updating the Mandatory Purchase Requirement",GAO-21-578,"Jul 30, 2021","Alicia Puente Cackley","(202) 512-8678","Federal Emergency Management Agency","The Deputy Associate Administrator of FEMA's Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration should evaluate and report to Congress with recommendations on how comprehensive and up-to-date flood risk information could be used to determine which properties should be subject to the mandatory purchase requirement. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DHS agreed with the recommendation. DHS outlined plans to assess data and make it available to policyholders and others regarding flood risk. In May 2022, DHS developed potential legislative proposals that included suggested changes to simplify and clarify FEMA's mapping authority. The suggested changes also would provide flexibility for FEMA to produce regulatory maps and non-regulatory flood hazard and flood risk information products to enhance the understanding of flood risk. As of November 2022, DHS officials told us they completed analysis comparing flood insurance premiums to the latest flood risk information for specific geographies and planned to brief FEMA leadership on their findings and recommendations on which flood risk datasets may inform the mandatory purchase requirement. DHS plans to report to Congress on its evaluation of flood risk data and recommend possible uses of flood risk information to inform mandatory purchase requirements with an estimate completion date of December 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, DHS will need to follow through on these efforts to evaluate how comprehensive and up-to-date flood risk information could be used to determine which properties should be subject to the mandatory purchase requirement. By conducting this analysis, FEMA could help Congress in its decision-making on how, if at all, to revise the mandatory purchase requirement and improve the ability of the requirement to increase consumer participation and reduce future federal disaster assistance expenditures. Each of these goals will continue to be important as flood risk is expected to increase in the future. We will continue to monitor the progress DHS makes in implementing this recommendation." "Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Communication with Applicants and Address Fraud Risks",GAO-21-589,"Jul 30, 2021","William B. Shear","(202) 512-8678","Small Business Administration","The Associate Administrator of SBA's Office of Disaster Assistance should develop a comprehensive strategy for communicating with potential and actual program applicants in the event of a disaster. Such a strategy should provide guidelines for the types of information and timing of information to be provided to program participants throughout a disaster. The types of information to be addressed in the strategy could include processing steps and time frames applicants might experience through different stages of the loan process. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"SBA agreed with the recommendation and stated that the agency planned to develop a comprehensive strategy for communicating with potential and actual disaster loan applicants, which would include information such as processing steps and corresponding time frames applicants might experience through different stages of the loan process. In February 2023, SBA stated that the development of a new disaster loan application portal had been underway since early 2022. SBA stated that the new portal would include improved messaging features that permit applicants to receive immediate status updates and to submit questions to loan processing teams on a safe and secure portal versus communicating through emails. In March 2024, SBA stated that the project was a priority for the agency's Office of Capital Access and Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, and the agency anticipates completing the project by fiscal year 2025. GAO will continue to monitor the agency's actions to address this recommendation." "Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance",GAO-21-491,"Jul 27, 2021","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Air Force","The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Contracting) uses a balanced set of performance metrics to manage the department's procurement organizations, including outcome-oriented metrics to measure (a) timeliness of deliveries, (b) quality of deliverables, and (c) end-user satisfaction. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"The Air Force disagreed with this recommendation. However, in January 2022, the Department of Defense (DOD) communicated that the Air Force had established teams to review existing contracting metrics and develop new contracting metrics. In February 2024, the Air Force revised its performance metrics intended to be responsive to mission partner needs. However, the revised metrics do not include outcome-oriented metrics which is needed to fully implement this recommendation. Using a balanced set of performance metrics, including both process- and outcome-oriented measures can help federal agencies identify improvement opportunities, set priorities, and allocate resources." "Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance",GAO-21-491,"Jul 27, 2021","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Army","The Secretary of the Army should ensure the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Procurement) uses a balanced set of performance metrics to manage the department's procurement organizations, including outcome-oriented metrics to measure (a) cost savings/avoidance, (b) timeliness of deliveries, (c) quality of deliverables, and (d) end-user satisfaction. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"The Army concurred with this recommendation. In January 2022, the Department of Defense communicated that the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Procurement) was establishing metrics for cost, schedule, and performance outcomes, with a focus on customer service. In March 2024, DOD shared the Army's ongoing efforts to establish these metrics, which have the potential to address the recommendation, and stated it was aiming to implement the metrics by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. The Army communicated that its contracting enterprise review tool could provide metrics on end-user satisfaction and timeliness and quality of deliverables but did not provide specific examples. Further, the Army communicated that forthcoming category management metrics will measure cost savings and avoidance. The Army's efforts have the potential to address the recommendation and we are continuing to track the Army's progress in these areas. In order to fully close this recommendation, the Army will need to provide evidence that it has implemented all the performance metrics to manage its procurement organizations. Using a balanced set of performance metrics, including both process- and outcome-oriented measures can help federal agencies identify improvement opportunities, set priorities, and allocate resources." "Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance",GAO-21-491,"Jul 27, 2021","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Procurement) uses a balanced set of performance metrics to manage the department's procurement organizations, including outcome-oriented metrics to measure (a) cost savings/avoidance, (b) timeliness of deliveries, (c) quality of deliverables, and (d) end-user satisfaction. (Recommendation 8)",Open,Yes,"The Navy concurred with the recommendation. In January 2022, the Department of Defense (DOD) communicated that the Navy was developing tools, such as dashboards, that would provide the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Procurement) greater visibility and real-time access to existing metrics and data, and an ability to create new metrics as needed. In February 2024, DOD stated that the Navy's enterprise procurement reporting and planning capabilities are in various stages of development and would complete this effort by the end of fiscal year 2024. To fully close this recommendation, the Navy will need to provide evidence that it has implemented all the performance metrics to manage its procurement organizations. Using a balanced set of performance metrics, including both process- and outcome-oriented measures can help federal agencies identify improvement opportunities, set priorities, and allocate resources." "Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance",GAO-21-491,"Jul 27, 2021","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure the DHS Chief Procurement Officer uses a balanced set of performance metrics to manage the department's procurement organizations, including outcome-oriented metrics to measure (a) cost savings/avoidance, (b) timeliness of deliveries, (c) quality of deliverables, and (d) end-user satisfaction. (Recommendation 9)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DHS did not concur with the recommendation, stating that while the department supports the use of outcome-oriented metrics, it disagreed that the specific metrics included in our recommendation necessarily captured the most relevant aspects of procurement organizations' performance. However, DHS also stated the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) would review its current metrics to determine whether they appropriately measure outcomes. We agree DHS could identify additional outcome-oriented metrics that are tailored to its needs. We also continue to believe DHS should address the recommendation by using the four types of metrics we identified because the corporate procurement leaders we interviewed emphasized the importance of using these four types of outcome-oriented metrics. In June 2023, the OCPO provided evidence that that it was using an outcome-oriented metric to measure cost savings/avoidance achieved through category management activities, which are intended to improve how agencies procure common goods and services. DHS officials provided an update in February 2024 showing that in fiscal year 2023 the department used category management activities for about 80 percent of their common goods and services expenditures ($18 billion of $22.5 billion) and had tracked savings of $502 million. To address the timeliness of deliveries and quality of deliverables metrics, the OCPO noted that by June 2024 they plan to review marginal and unsatisfactory data from the Contractor Performance Reporting System. This analysis will then determine what additional steps are needed. To address the end-user satisfaction metric, the OCPO stated it supplemented its Acquisition 360 data by surveying procurement personnel and stakeholders, including end-users, in order to improve the procurement experience for their workforce and end-users. OCPO officials stated that if performance gaps related to end-user experiences are identified, they will work to develop metrics, as needed. In order to fully close this recommendation, DHS will need to provide evidence that it has implemented all the performance metrics to manage the department's procurement organization. Using a balanced set of performance measures, including both process- and outcome-oriented measures can help federal agencies identify improvement opportunities, set priorities, and allocate resources." "Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance",GAO-21-491,"Jul 27, 2021","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","The Administrator of NASA should ensure the NASA SPE uses a balanced set of performance metrics to manage the agency's procurement organizations, including outcome-oriented metrics to measure (a) cost savings/avoidance, (b) timeliness of deliveries, (c) quality of deliverables, and (d) end-user satisfaction. (Recommendation 10)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"NASA agreed with the recommendation. In February 2022, the NASA Senior Procurement Executive shared plans to implement metrics in the future to measure (a) cost savings/avoidance, (b) timeliness of deliveries, and (c) quality of deliverables. As of February 2023, NASA reported it developed an E-Business Systems Office within the Office of Procurement (OP) that is responsible for defining and managing data and creating a Procurement Dashboard, metrics and analytical data tools, among other things. In May 2023, NASA provided evidence that it was using an outcome-oriented metric to measure end-user satisfaction, using among other sources of data, a quarterly assessment of the Office of Procurement by each of the NASA Centers. NASA's OP also provided an update on their efforts to collect data to measure cost savings/avoidance. As of February 2024, the OP told us it that it established a mechanism to collect costs savings/avoidance data, but it encountered data quality issues. According to the OP, it is addressing these issues and expects to resolve them this calendar year. For the timeliness of deliveries and the quality of deliverables metrics, the OP established the procurement dashboard to assist in tracking and analyzing data from the Contractor Performance Reporting System and is working to address stakeholder input. In order to fully close this recommendation, NASA will need to provide evidence that it has implemented all the performance metrics to manage the agency's procurement organizations. Using a balanced set of performance metrics, including both process- and outcome-oriented measures can help federal agencies identify improvement opportunities, set priorities, and allocate resources." "Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance",GAO-21-491,"Jul 27, 2021","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should ensure the VA SPE uses a balanced set of performance metrics to manage the department's procurement organizations, including outcome-oriented metrics to measure (a) cost savings/avoidance, (b) timeliness of deliveries, (c) quality of deliverables, and (d) end-user satisfaction. (Recommendation 11)",Open,Yes,"VA agreed with this recommendation. In February 2024, VA officials provided a copy of a survey that is intended to identify opportunities to improve the procurement experience for end-users. VA officials stated they piloted the survey in August 2023 and received data in September 2023, however, there were an insufficient number of respondents to establish accurate data. Officials indicated they are focused on increasing the number of survey responses before establishing outcome-oriented metrics to measure cost savings/ avoidance, timeliness of deliveries, quality of deliverables and end-user satisfaction. In order to close this recommendation, the VA will need to provide evidence that it has implemented all the performance metrics to manage its procurement organizations. Using a balanced set of performance metrics, including both process- and outcome-oriented measures can help federal agencies identify improvement opportunities, set priorities, and allocate resources." "Countering Violent Extremism: DHS Can Further Enhance Its Strategic Planning and Data Governance Efforts",GAO-21-507,"Jul 20, 2021","Triana McNeil","(202) 512-8777","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure that the Chief Data Officer—in consultation with other affected offices and components—incorporates the governance of data needed to support DHS's targeted violence and terrorism prevention mission into its departmental data governance framework, including determining how targeted violence and terrorism prevention will be represented on the data governance body, conducting a data maturity assessment, and identifying opportunities to increase staff data skills that includes targeted violence and terrorism prevention data. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DHS concurred with the recommendation and has taken steps to incorporate planned data collection into its data governance framework. For instance, as of March 2024, the department has identified the data domains that would govern targeted violence and terrorism prevention data. In addition, DHS published a 2024 departmentwide learning agenda, which is a mechanism to capture DHS skills and capabilities required to meet mission goals, including those associated with targeted violence and terrorism prevention. For this mission, DHS identified it needed skills in conducting quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and focus groups, among other things. Further, as of March 2024, officials stated that DHS has conducted a data maturity assessment, which reviewed elements such as the department's data governance, security, sharing, and analytics, among others, across all missions, including targeted violence and terrorism prevention. We will assess additional documentation on the results of the data maturity assessment when they become available in spring 2024. These actions align with the recommendation. As such, we determined that the recommendation is partially implemented." "Countering Violent Extremism: DHS Can Further Enhance Its Strategic Planning and Data Governance Efforts",GAO-21-507,"Jul 20, 2021","Triana McNeil","(202) 512-8777","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security—in consultation with affected offices and components—should establish common terminology for targeted violence. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DHS concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, DHS developed a draft definition of targeted violence, and plans to work with stakeholders to finalize the definition by the end of June 2024. We will continue to monitor DHS's progress." "COVID-19: Continued Attention Needed to Enhance Federal Preparedness, Response, Service Delivery, and Program Integrity",GAO-21-551,"Jul 19, 2021","A. Nikki Clowers","(202) 512-7114","Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response","To improve the nation's preparedness for a wide range of threats, including pandemics, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response should develop and document plans for restructuring the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise. These plans should describe how the Assistant Secretary will ensure a transparent and deliberative process that engages interagency partners in the full range of responsibilities for the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise outlined in the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Innovation Act of 2019, including the annual Strategic National Stockpile Threat-Based Reviews. These plans should also incorporate GAO's leading practices to foster more effective collaboration, while ensuring that sensitive information is appropriately protected. See the Strategic National Stockpile enclosure. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In June 2021, HHS concurred with this recommendation. In January 2022, HHS developed plans and analyses to support the reformed PHEMCE, which it relaunched in February 2022. In September 2022, HHS reported that it was hiring staff to support the PHEMCE, including by continuing to develop and implement new operating procedures. Further, in October 2022 HHS released the 2022 PHEMCE Strategy and Implementation Plan that provides information on the structure, goals, and timeframes by which the PHEMCE will modernize its efforts to establish and maintain an improved state of medical countermeasure preparedness. In February 2024, HHS reported that the plans it had developed and documented outline the purpose and responsibility of PHEMCE, as well as its structure, some of which are not yet finalized. In addition, HHS reported it had updated the process used to develop the 2022 SNS annual review (now called the Medical Countermeasure Preparedness Review)-a process in which the PHEMCE is to play a key role. The review provides some information regarding the role of the PHEMCE for that particular review, but does not outline a standardized process that will be followed in future reviews. We will update this recommendation after we obtain more information regarding the PHEMCE's finalized operating structure; the process by which HHS ensures transparency in how they engage interagency partners in the full range of PHEMCE responsibilities outlined in the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Innovation Act of 2019; the extent to which HHS has implemented the goals and objectives of its 2022 PHEMCE Strategy and Implementation plan, including how it has established feedback mechanisms to ensure two way communication and foster effective collaboration with interagency partners; whether HHS has finalized PHEMCE standard operating procedures, including mechanisms for protecting sensitive information." "Military Vehicles: Army and Marine Corps Should Take Additional Actions to Mitigate and Prevent Training Accidents",GAO-21-361,"Jul 14, 2021","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Army","The Secretary of the Army, in consultation with the Chief of Staff of the Army, should ensure that tactical vehicle driver training programs—to include licensing, unit, and follow-on training—have a well-defined process with specific performance criteria and measurable standards to identify driver skills and experience under diverse conditions. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"The Army concurred with this recommendation. According to an action plan provided to us in February of 2024, has already sent out a safety message emphasizing the importance of unit commanders following the standards established in Army Regulation 600-55. The plan further states that the Army intends to take other actions to clarify and improve the implementation of existing guidance to address our recommendation culminating in a progressive driver training model to be implemented by the end of fiscal year 2024. By taking these actions, the Army will have a more well-defined driver skill development process as GAO recommended in July 2021." "Military Vehicles: Army and Marine Corps Should Take Additional Actions to Mitigate and Prevent Training Accidents",GAO-21-361,"Jul 14, 2021","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy, in consultation with the Commandant of the Marine Corps, should ensure that tactical vehicle driver training programs—to include licensing, unit, and follow-on training—have a well-defined process with specific performance criteria and measureable standards to identify driver skills and experience under diverse conditions. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"The Navy concurred with this recommendation. According to an action plan provided to us in February of 2024, the Marine Corps has already taken a number of actions to address this recommendation, to include holding several meetings to specifically discuss new initiatives to address these challenges. The Marine Corps identified that it is also creating a new Tactical Vehicle Off-Road Instructor Military Occupational Specialty to help manage commands' licensing requirements and driver training needs. The Marine Corps estimates that this action will be completed in June of 2024. By taking these actions the Marine Corps will improve tactical driver training, as recommended by GAO in July 2021." "Spectrum Management: Agencies Should Strengthen Collaborative Mechanisms and Processes to Address Potential Interference",GAO-21-474,"Jul 19, 2021","Andrew Von Ah, Karen Howard","(202) 512-2834, (202) 512-6888","National Telecommunications and Information Administration","The NTIA Administrator should establish clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for making decisions on spectrum-management activities that involve other agencies, particularly when consensus cannot be reached, in consultation with FCC and—as appropriate—State. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"NTIA agreed to implement this recommendation from our June 2021 report and has taken steps to do so. Previously, FCC and NTIA signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding that, according to officials, is part of establishing an agreed-upon process for making decisions on spectrum-management activities that involve other agencies. As the MOU focuses on NTIA's coordination with FCC, we are awaiting additional information about processes for resolving conflicts with other agencies. In January 2024, NTIA officials explained that the National Spectrum Strategy NTIA released in November 2023 and implementation of the strategy will further address this recommendation. The strategy states, for example, that NTIA will develop and document an evidence-based national spectrum decision-making methodology and that NTIA, in collaboration with FCC and in coordination with other federal agencies, will prepare and publish an implementation plan for the new strategy. We will continue to monitor NTIA's efforts as it implements this recommendation. By establishing clearly defined and agreed-upon processes, NTIA will be better positioned to work collaboratively to make important spectrum-management decisions, particularly when consensus cannot be reached." "Spectrum Management: Agencies Should Strengthen Collaborative Mechanisms and Processes to Address Potential Interference",GAO-21-474,"Jul 19, 2021","Andrew Von Ah, Karen Howard","(202) 512-2834, (202) 512-6888","National Telecommunications and Information Administration","The NTIA Administrator should clarify and further identify shared goals or outcomes for spectrum-management activities that involve collaboration and ways to monitor and track progress, in consultation with FCC and—as appropriate—State. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"NTIA agreed to implement this recommendation from our June 2021 report and has taken steps to do so. In January 2024, NTIA officials explained that the National Spectrum Strategy NTIA released in November 2023 and implementation of the strategy will further address this recommendation. The strategy states, for example, that NTIA, in collaboration with FCC and in coordination with other federal agencies, will prepare and publish an implementation plan that establishes spectrum outcomes associated with each of the strategy's strategic objectives. We will continue to monitor NTIA's efforts as it implements this recommendation. By clarifying shared goals and ways to monitor and track progress, NTIA will be better positioned to work collaboratively on spectrum-management activities, particularly when overcoming conflicting interests." "Spectrum Management: Agencies Should Strengthen Collaborative Mechanisms and Processes to Address Potential Interference",GAO-21-474,"Jul 19, 2021","Andrew Von Ah, Karen Howard","(202) 512-2834, (202) 512-6888","National Telecommunications and Information Administration","The NTIA Administrator should request that State initiate a review of the General Guidance Document—in consultation with NTIA, FCC, and other relevant participants—and update and develop a means to continually monitor and update this document. (Recommendation 9)",Open,Yes,"NTIA agreed to implement this recommendation from our June 2021 report and has taken steps to do so. Previously, in a February 2022 letter, the Department of Commerce said NTIA had requested that the Department of State initiate a review of the General Guidance Document and had provided input to State for updating it to address key issues such as transparency and collaboration. In January 2024, NTIA officials told us that NTIA expects to begin coordinating again with State on this recommendation soon, now that the 2023 World Radio Communication Conference has concluded. We will continue to monitor NTIA's efforts as it implements this recommendation." "Spectrum Management: Agencies Should Strengthen Collaborative Mechanisms and Processes to Address Potential Interference",GAO-21-474,"Jul 19, 2021","Andrew Von Ah, Karen Howard","(202) 512-2834, (202) 512-6888","National Telecommunications and Information Administration","The NTIA Administrator should establish procedures to help guide the design (including selection of acceptable assumptions and methodologies) of spectrum-sharing and potential-interference studies intended as U.S. contributions to WRC technical meetings, in consultation with FCC, State, and other federal participants of the U.S. technical preparatory process. (Recommendation 10)",Open,Yes,"NTIA agreed to implement this recommendation from our June 2021 report and has taken steps to do so. In January 2024, NTIA officials explained that the National Spectrum Strategy NTIA released in November 2023 and implementation of the strategy will further address this recommendation. The strategy states, for example, that the U.S. Government will formalize its best practices for conducting technical, scientific, mission, and economic analyses in support of spectrum management decisions, to provide greater visibility into, and acceptance of, key studies, and to reduce contention and disputes of findings. It also states that NTIA, in collaboration with FCC and in coordination with other federal agencies, will prepare and publish an implementation plan for the new strategy. We will continue to monitor NTIA's efforts as it implements this recommendation. Establishing specific procedures for the design of spectrum-sharing and potential-interference studies intended as U.S. contributions to WRC technical meetings may help guide agencies' efforts to resolve disagreements like those experienced in the past." "Nuclear Security Enterprise: NNSA Should Use Portfolio Management Leading Practices to Support Modernization Efforts",GAO-21-398,"Jun 9, 2021","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","National Nuclear Security Administration","The NNSA Administrator should establish an enterprise-wide portfolio management framework. The framework should define the portfolio of weapons stockpile and infrastructure maintenance and modernization programs and its governance roles, as well as include portfolio-level selection criteria, prioritization criteria, and performance metrics. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"NNSA agreed in principle with our recommendation to establish an enterprise-wide portfolio management framework. In its comments on our recommendation, NNSA recognized that it is in the early stages of implementing portfolio management processes for its Weapons Activities portfolio of work and that the leading practices we identified can be useful in developing a portfolio management approach. In a June 2021 advanced change directive on the planning, programming, budgeting, and evaluation (PPBE) process, NNSA established that PPBE Account Integrator positions are responsible for integrating and prioritizing their portfolio--Weapons Activities being one of those. In the fiscal year 2022 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP), NNSA added a section on portfolio management. The fiscal year 2022 SSMP states that NNSA considers the Weapons Activities budget account a portfolio of work that is managed by its programs and underpinned by specific capabilities. In response to Congressional direction included in the Joint Explanatory Statement to Accompany the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022, NNSA provided a briefing in November 2022 on its progress addressing our recommendation. In the briefing materials, NNSA provided a Weapons Activities portfolio structure that generally aligns with the Weapons Activities budget structure and includes scopes of work managed by NNSA's Office of Defense Programs, Office of Infrastructure, Office of Defense Nuclear Security, and Office of Information Management. NNSA's next steps include establishing the portfolio management process and formalizing the process in updated strategic documents. In January 2023, NNSA estimated that this would take about 2 years--by January 2025. We are encouraged that NNSA has taken action. We continue to believe that an established portfolio management framework--a cohesive, strategic document that clearly describes how to manage the portfolio and how to assess its overall performance--would provide NNSA with a more structured and defensible approach to managing the billions of dollars of work that comprise the Weapons Activities portfolio. We will continue to review NNSA's progress to address this recommendation." "Navy Readiness: Additional Efforts Are Needed to Manage Fatigue, Reduce Crewing Shortfalls, and Implement Training",GAO-21-366,"May 27, 2021","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of Chief of Naval Operations and the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet use collected data on sailor fatigue to identify, monitor, and evaluate factors that contribute to fatigue and inadequate sleep such as the effects of crew shortfalls, work requirements, administrative requirements, and collateral duties. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. We reviewed documentation that showed that the Navy began two pilot programs in 2020 to 1) collect biometric sleep, activity, and health data to provide near real-time information, and 2) develop a system to leverage biometric data and assist with watchbill planning and management. As of October 2023, the Navy expects to complete testing of these programs in 2024. According to officials, these programs show promise for their ability to identify fatigue issues and mitigate risks in real time, but both are limited from further expansion due to a lack of dedicated funding. We will continue to monitor the Navy's efforts to expand these programs and to gather more data before closing this recommendation as implemented." "Navy Readiness: Additional Efforts Are Needed to Manage Fatigue, Reduce Crewing Shortfalls, and Implement Training",GAO-21-366,"May 27, 2021","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of Chief of Naval Operations and the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet take actions to address the factors causing sailor fatigue and inadequate sleep. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. The Navy's fiscal year 2022 Afloat Safety Climate Assessment Survey found that workload and uncomfortable mattresses, respectively, are the two leading factors causing inadequate sleep and fatigue. As of October 2023, the Navy had not addressed the enduring personnel shortfalls causing heavy workload or the issue of uncomfortable mattresses." "Navy Readiness: Additional Efforts Are Needed to Manage Fatigue, Reduce Crewing Shortfalls, and Implement Training",GAO-21-366,"May 27, 2021","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Office of Chief of Naval Operations and the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet establish a process for identifying and assisting units that have not implemented its fatigue management policy. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. We reviewed documentation showing that as of October 2023, the Navy has instituted changes to identify and assist ships in managing fatigue, including debriefs with ship leadership on survey results, and both external and self-assessments of ships' implementation of crew endurance policy. The Navy needs to gain more experience with its external and self-assessment efforts and collect more actionable data from fatigue-monitoring pilot programs in order to ensure that it has an established process for identifying and assisting units with fatigue issues." "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: State Should Improve Data Quality and Assess Long-term Resource Needs",GAO-21-374,"May 20, 2021","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator establishes standard, documented procedures to fully track and verify PEPFAR program-level budget data, including data used for reporting to Congress, to ensure that these data are complete and accurate. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"State accepted our recommendation and told us they are making improvements in establishing standards and procedures, and improving systems to track program level budget data. On February 14, 2023 State informed GAO that actions have been taken, such as improvements to the FACTS Info Next Gen system and statements of procedure drafted for several processes which are expected to be finalized in 2023. On March 6, 2024 State officials briefed GAO on updates to the system to improve management and tracking of budget data. State agreed to provide supporting documentation, including standard operating procedures and user guidance needed to close out the recommendation." "Sexual Harassment: NNSA Could Improve Prevention and Response Efforts in Its Nuclear Security Forces",GAO-21-307,"Apr 19, 2021","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should fully implement plans to address the department's EEO program deficiencies relevant to sexual harassment and work with NNSA to fully implement plans to address the agency's EEO program deficiencies relevant to sexual harassment. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"As of January 2023, DOE reported that it had implemented plans to address nine of its 10 EEO program deficiencies relevant to sexual harassment. In September 2021 and January 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission verified that NNSA had addressed two of its three EEO program deficiencies relevant to sexual harassment. We will continue to monitor DOE and NNSA's progress to fully implement their plans." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2020 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-21-362,"Apr 15, 2021","Anne Sit-Williams, J. Lawrence Malenich","(202) 512-7795, (202) 512-3406","Commissioner of Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should design and implement procedures to periodically review and maintain documentation to support account attributes for all active TASs to reasonably assure that activity recorded to each account is properly recognized in the Schedules of the General Fund. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Fiscal Service is developing and implementing a procedure to review active Treasury Account Symbols (TAS) and to compile a standard support package for attributes assigned to them. As of February 2024, Fiscal Service compiled support packages for about 9,300 TASs out of a total of approximately 17,600 active TASs. In addition, Fiscal Service is developing criteria and procedures for assigning and maintaining BETCs available to active TASs. Fiscal Service anticipates resolving this recommendation by approximately fiscal year 2027." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2020 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-21-362,"Apr 15, 2021","Anne Sit-Williams, J. Lawrence Malenich","(202) 512-7795, (202) 512-3406","Commissioner of Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should establish controls to restrict access to each TAS to only those federal agencies to which the account belongs. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Fiscal Service determined that developing the capability to systematically restrict Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) access is not feasible prior to fiscal year 2027 and is working to develop a detective control in the meantime. As of February 2024, Fiscal Service completed an analysis that identified the relationships that federal entities (i.e., Agency Location Codes (ALC)) have with each TAS. It subsequently used this analysis to implement a monthly process to 1) analyze the monthly TAS activity and 2) work with federal entities to identify valid TAS-ALC relationships based on the monthly activity. Fiscal Service plans to use the information obtained from this monthly process to compile a list of valid TAS-ALC relationships that could be used in the future as the basis for a detective control." "COVID-19: Sustained Federal Action Is Crucial as Pandemic Enters Its Second Year",GAO-21-387,"Mar 31, 2021","A. Nikki Clowers","(202) 512-7114","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should work in consultation with federal agencies and the audit community (e.g., agency Offices of Inspector General; National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers; and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), to the extent practicable, to incorporate appropriate measures in the Office of Management and Budget's process for preparing single audit guidance, including the annual Single Audit Compliance Supplement, to better ensure that such guidance is issued in a timely manner and is responsive to users' input and needs. See Single Audits enclosure. (Recommendation 28)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In April 2023, OMB agreed that the Compliance Supplement (Supplement) should be issued in the spring of each year. For 2023, OMB stated that the Supplement is on schedule to be released in May. OMB also stated that OMB staff focused on improving the quality of the 2023 Supplement during the review process and issued a Preparation Guide for agencies to use in updating the Supplement. This guide included guidance and requirements for agencies to follow when updating their respective sections of the 2023 Supplement, as well as a schedule for providing updates to OMB. OMB requests that this recommendation be closed. We have requested a copy of OMB's guide and will continue to monitor OMB's steps to address this recommendation." "Department of Defense: Additional Actions to Improve Suspense Account Transactions Would Strengthen Financial Reporting",GAO-21-132,"Mar 25, 2021","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should establish a process to provide specific implementing guidance to DFAS and DOD components, including field submitters, when new suspense account policy memorandums are issued. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) partially agreed with this recommendation. DOD previously stated that the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) provides implementing guidance to DFAS and DOD components, when appropriate, for complex accounting issues based on professional judgment. In December 2022, DOD stated that it does not plan to establish a process to provide specific implementing guidance and reiterated what it had said previously about providing such guidance as needed based on its professional judgement. However, without a process for providing guidance that results in consistent implementation of any new or updated complex suspense account policies department-wide, there is an increased risk that consolidated data reported in DOD's core financial reporting system may be unreliable." "Department of Defense: Additional Actions to Improve Suspense Account Transactions Would Strengthen Financial Reporting",GAO-21-132,"Mar 25, 2021","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), in conjunction with the Director of DFAS, should provide guidance on suspense account transactions to DOD components and the DFAS sites to help ensure that they develop consistent policies and procedures that are accurate and up-to-date. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD stated that it plans to update its policy related to certain suspense accounts to ensure that they are used consistently across DOD for recording Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection and interfund transactions. Without guidance on periodic reviews of DOD and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) policies and procedures for continued relevance and consistency, policies may continue to become outdated over time, and components and the DFAS sites may be inconsistently recording and consolidating transaction information for suspense accounts. In December 2022, DOD stated that it issued a policy to ensure the consistent use of certain suspense accounts across DOD for recording Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection and interfund transactions. However, the policy only reiterated the definitions established by the Department of Treasury for suspense accounts and did not provide guidance to DOD components and the DFAS sites to help ensure that they develop consistent suspense account policies and procedures that are accurate and up-to-date. Also, it surveyed its components and DFAS sites to determine if the current use of suspense accounts to record Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection and interfund transactions were in accordance with its Financial Management Regulations. However, none of these actions helps ensure that DOD components and DFAS sites develop consistent policies and procedures that are accurate and up-to-date." "Department of Defense: Additional Actions to Improve Suspense Account Transactions Would Strengthen Financial Reporting",GAO-21-132,"Mar 25, 2021","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), in conjunction with the Director of DFAS, should develop and implement DOD-wide guidance, applicable to both DFAS sites and DOD components, for assessing, identifying, and remediating the root causes of control deficiencies in DOD's suspense account processes. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) did not concur with this recommendation. DOD cited several sections of the FMR and an internal control guide for financial reporting that provides guidance on root-cause analysis and the remediation of root causes at DOD. In December 2022, DOD reiterated that it does not concur with this recommendation and that it does not have plans to address it. DOD reiterated that is has an internal control guide for financial reporting that provides guidance on root cause and the remediation of root cause at DOD. While the requirement for identifying the root cause is included in the guidance that DOD cited, none of the guidance is specific to suspense account processes. Given the complexity of suspense account processes, the established general guidance that DOD noted in its response is not sufficient to enable identification of root causes and development of comprehensive corrective action plans, even though they are stated objectives of DOD's suspense account initiatives. DOD's initiatives have resulted in suspense account balances that are considerably smaller than they were in previous fiscal years." "VA Acquisition Management: Comprehensive Supply Chain Management Strategy Key to Address Existing Challenges",GAO-21-445T,"Mar 24, 2021","Shelby S. Oakley","(202) 512-4841","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should ensure the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Support develops a comprehensive supply chain management strategy that outlines how VHA's various supply chain initiatives are related to each other and to VA-wide initiatives. This strategy should link to VA's overall plans to address its broader acquisition management challenges and reflect key practices of organizational transformations, including an implementation plan with key milestones. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA officials agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2024, VA and VHA continue to collaborate to provide a completed Comprehensive Supply Chain Management strategy to GAO. In September 2023, VA signed a charter which appointed a program manager to oversee the modernization of the supply chain process within VA. In September 2023, VA also chartered an Enterprise Supply Chain Board (ESCB) to integrate VA's supply chain efforts under a single governing body to bring together the goals, governance structure, and roles and responsibilities of the ESC program. VA's Chief Acquisition Officer is leading efforts to develop an overarching strategy, but has yet to set a release date for the final strategy. VA has completed two phases of its process to develop this strategy, which include identifying the current state of its supply chain and conducting a gap analysis. VA's Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction is also in the process of acquiring a new information technology capability to support supply chain efforts. To fully implement this recommendation, VA needs to develop a comprehensive supply chain management strategy that addresses the interrelationships between its various modernization relationships and reflects key practices of organizational transformations, including an implementation plan with key milestones. Until it develops an overarching supply chain strategy and answers key questions, VA will not be able to fully address its high-risk acquisition management and ultimately better meet veterans' needs." "Decennial Census: Bureau Should Assess Significant Data Collection Challenges as It Undertakes Planning for 2030",GAO-21-365,"Mar 22, 2021","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Department of Commerce","The Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau should, to inform 2030 planning, evaluate how major operational changes in response to data collection challenges affected the quality and completeness of nonresponse follow-up and group quarters enumerations. At a minimum, this evaluation should address: (1) late design changes; (2) procedures for accessing multi-unit buildings; (3) the process for reassigning cases; (4) supervisory alerts used to manage enumerators; (5) quality control over training assessments; and (6) the eResponse option for group quarter data collection. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Commerce agreed with our recommendation. The Bureau has taken some steps to address this recommendation. For example, in January 2022, the Bureau provided us with a revised nonresponse follow-up assessment study plan that included a question to evaluate the completeness and quality of operational changes to data collection due to the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. In addition, the Bureau provided us with a lessons learned document that identified research for enumerator access to multi-unit buildings, the process for reassigning cases, supervisory alerts used to manage enumerators, and quality control over training assessments. In June 2022, the Bureau provided us with a group quarter assessment study plan that discussed providing quantitative data such as, the percent of eResponse submissions that had issues or required additional steps to capture the response data. Moreover, in February 2023 the Bureau shared plans for future projects that will address this recommendation including research to improve the usability of the eResponse option for group quarter data collection. The nonresponse follow-up and group quarter assessments are scheduled to be released in the spring of 2024. This recommendation will remain open until we have had the opportunity to review all relevant documents including the forthcoming operational assessments." "Offshore Oil and Gas: Updated Regulations Needed to Improve Pipeline Oversight and Decommissioning",GAO-21-293,"Apr 19, 2021","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement","The BSEE Director should take actions to further develop, finalize, and implement updated pipeline regulations to address long-standing limitations regarding its ability to (1) ensure the integrity of active offshore oil and gas pipelines and (2) address safety and environmental risks associated with their decommissioning. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In September 2021, the Department of the Interior indicated that BSEE was continuing to work on updating its offshore oil and gas pipeline regulations and anticipated publishing a final rule in October 2022. As of January 2024, BSEE continues to work toward publishing updates to its pipeline regulations and now anticipates publishing a proposed rule by April 2024." "Electricity Grid: Opportunities Exist for DOE to Better Support Utilities in Improving Resilience to Hurricanes",GAO-21-274,"Mar 5, 2021","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should establish a plan, including timeframes as appropriate, to guide the agency's efforts to develop tools for resilience planning, such as performance measures for resilience, a framework for resilience planning, and additional information on the cost of long-term power outages. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In June 2021, DOE officials told us that its Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) is establishing a plan of action for energy sector risk management, building on several completed and ongoing elements led by DOE program offices for resilience planning, including tools for resilience planning, frameworks for resilience planning, and information on the long-term costs of power outages. In January 2024, DOE-CESER told us it aims to complete this plan by September 30, 2024, pending availability of funds." "Electricity Grid Resilience: Climate Change Is Expected to Have Far-reaching Effects and DOE and FERC Should Take Actions",GAO-21-346,"Mar 10, 2021","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should develop and implement a department-wide strategy to coordinate its efforts that defines goals and measures progress to enhance the resilience of the electricity grid to the risks of climate change. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOE agreed with our recommendation. In August 2022, DOE officials briefed Congress on recent updates to the Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI) strategy. The strategy includes an all-hazards approach to characterize and implement system resilience, but it does not prioritize climate change over other threats. According to DOE, the GMI strategy will serve as the foundation for the departmentwide climate change strategy that GAO recommended. As of January 2024, the Office of Management and Budget was reviewing the GMI strategy. To fully address our recommendation, DOE's climate change strategy should define goals and measure progress to enhance the resilience of the electricity grid to the risks of climate change." "Weapon Systems Cybersecurity: Guidance Would Help DOD Programs Better Communicate Requirements to Contractors",GAO-21-179,"Mar 4, 2021","William Russell","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should develop guidance for acquisition programs on how to incorporate tailored weapon systems cybersecurity requirements, acceptance criteria, and verification processes into contracts. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"The Navy concurred with our recommendation. In April 2022, the Navy issued an updated instruction governing the Department's program acquisition and sustainment policies and procedures. The instruction includes a new enclosure on cybersecurity requirements, which reinforces the importance of cybersecurity as a design and systems engineering consideration throughout the program lifecycle. However, the instruction does not address contracting for cybersecurity requirements. In February 2023, Navy officials stated that they were developing a new instruction on technology and program protection management, which will include more specific language related to contracting for cybersecurity requirements. Officials stated that they expect to finalize the new instruction by December 2023." "Weapon Systems Cybersecurity: Guidance Would Help DOD Programs Better Communicate Requirements to Contractors",GAO-21-179,"Mar 4, 2021","William Russell","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should take steps to ensure the Marine Corps develops guidance for acquisition programs on how to incorporate tailored weapon systems cybersecurity requirements, acceptance criteria, and verification processes into contracts. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"The Navy partially concurred with our recommendation, stating that a separate recommendation to the Marine Corps was unnecessary given that the Navy and Marine Corps operate under a single acquisition construct. We determined that separate recommendations to each component were appropriate because each maintains independent policies and guidance relevant to weapon systems cybersecurity. In April 2022, the Navy issued an updated instruction governing the Department's program acquisition and sustainment policies and procedures. The instruction includes a new enclosure on cybersecurity requirements, which reinforces the importance of cybersecurity as a design and systems engineering consideration throughout the program lifecycle. However, the instruction does not address contracting for cybersecurity requirements. In February 2023, Navy officials stated that they were developing a new instruction on technology and program protection management, which will include more specific language related to contracting for cybersecurity requirements. Officials stated that they expect to finalize the new instruction by December 2023." "Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs",GAO-21-123,"Feb 24, 2021","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should conduct a risk assessment of its overtime and augmentation use, including identifying risks to staff, inmates, and institution security; and determining actions to respond, as appropriate. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"BOP concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps to address it. In June 2021, BOP reported that it hired a contractor to assist the agency in assessing the risk of overtime and augmentation usage and develop an overtime calculation tool. In August 2022, the contractor finalized its risk assessment of overtime and augmentation use. The study concluded that there were few risks of overtime and augmentation, for example, related to sick leave, vacancies, or inmate and staff incidents. However, the study was based on limited data, and, in March 2024, BOP officials acknowledged that there are likely additional risks to overtime and augmentation than what was found in the contractor's report, but they do not have plans to pursue an additional study on the risks. Related to the same August 2022 contractor study, BOP reported that the contractor created a tool to retroactively track overtime spending. In March 2023, BOP reported that the contractor had finished the analysis and that BOP had been tracking overtime and augmentation usage and trends for several months. In March 2024, BOP reported that it has continued to track overtime and augmentation usage monthly and acknowledged that BOP needs to reduce its reliance on overtime and augmentation. Continued tracking will illuminate drivers and trends of overtime and augmentation usage and help BOP invest in short and longer-time solutions to mitigate associated risks. We will continue to monitor BOP's progress in addressing our recommendation." "Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs",GAO-21-123,"Feb 24, 2021","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should assess the outcomes of the staffing incentives it utilizes by developing performance measures and goals, measuring outcomes against them, and adjusting incentives, as appropriate. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"BOP concurred with this recommendation and reported in February 2022 that its contractor was finalizing a risk analysis of the agency's current use of staffing incentives. In August 2022, the contractor finalized its analysis of staffing incentives. In March 2023, BOP stated that, based on the assessment, the contractor continued its work to standardize incentive usage, including working with BOP Executive Staff and other Human Resources staff to identify performance measures and goals for its use of incentives. In June 2023, BOP released its Incentives Playbook, with the intended purpose of standardizing BOP's approach to staffing incentives. The Incentives Playbook also includes performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the incentives. In March 2024, BOP reported that it will have sufficient data to be able to measure the outcomes of performance metrics in 2025. This ongoing work should help BOP determine the effectiveness of staffing incentives." "Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs",GAO-21-123,"Feb 24, 2021","Gretta L. Goodwin","(202) 512-8777","Bureau of Prisons","The Director of BOP should develop and implement a reliable method, or amend existing methods, for calculating staffing levels at BOP institutions. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"BOP concurred with this recommendation and has begun taking steps to address it. In June 2021, BOP reported that it hired a contractor to assist the agency in calculating staffing levels at BOP institutions and, in August 2022, BOP reported that the contractor had completed its assessment and developed a new automated staffing tool prototype. BOP reported that the intent of the new tool is to address BOP staffing challenges by providing an updated, standardized, and transparent view of staffing guidelines, and also for assessing staffing levels. BOP also reported in August 2022 that the contractor was testing the new tool prototype, primarily focusing on correctional services positions, in one of BOP's regions before expanding it to additional regions. In March 2023, BOP reported that the contractor was testing a prototype of the tool in three of BOP's six regions, primarily focusing on positions in the correctional services discipline. BOP anticipated that the tool would be rolled out to all six BOP regional offices by June 2023, followed by positions from additional BOP disciplines. In March 2024, BOP reported that the tool will be fully implemented by October 2024, covering all regions and all position disciplines. We will continue to monitor BOP's progress toward addressing this recommendation by assessing (1) the extent to which the tool's test shows that it can effectively calculate staffing levels based on its expanded usage in more regions and all position disciplines, and (2) the implementation of the tool for all positions, so that BOP can address total staffing needs." "Southwest Border Security: Actions Are Needed to Address the Cost and Readiness Implications of Continued DOD Support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection",GAO-21-356,"Feb 23, 2021","Elizabeth Field","(202) 512-2775","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security, together with the Secretary of Defense, should define a common outcome for DOD's support to DHS, consistent with best practices for interagency collaboration, and articulate how that support will enable DHS to achieve its southwest border security mission in fiscal year 2021 and beyond. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"DHS agreed with the recommendation and stated in its response that it will continue to use the RFA process to define and articulate a common outcome. However, as we stated in our report, the RFA process has not enabled DOD and DHS to agree to a common outcome for DOD's support, because it focuses on meeting DHS's operational requirements over a short period of time. In March 2023, DHS shared positive steps toward implementing our recommendation, including a multi-year DOD drawdown plan that identifies investments to address capability gaps currently filled by DOD personnel. Then in November 2023, DHS provided GAO an update that Customs and Border Protection will continue to coordinate with DOD to define ""End of Mission"" section of DHS's fiscal year 2024 Request for Assistance, so it clearly states how both agencies will know when the mission has been completed. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation." "Southwest Border Security: Actions Are Needed to Address the Cost and Readiness Implications of Continued DOD Support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection",GAO-21-356,"Feb 23, 2021","Elizabeth Field","(202) 512-2775","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense, together with the Secretary of Homeland Security, should define a common outcome for DOD's support to DHS, consistent with best practices for interagency collaboration, and articulate how that support will enable DHS to achieve its southwest border security mission in fiscal year 2021 and beyond. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"DOD did not concur with this recommendation. DOD disagreed that it would be appropriate to develop a common outcome with DHS for DOD support beyond fiscal year 2021 and stated that agreeing to this recommendation would represent a more permanent and enduring commitment of its resources and may create an impression that DOD has a border security mission. We agree that DOD is not responsible for the border security mission and stated this point throughout our report. However, DOD and DHS's disagreement on the outcome for support in fiscal year 2021 and beyond is not consistent with the operational reality that DOD has actively supported DHS at the southern border in varying capacities since DHS's inception nearly two decades ago. In February 2023, DOD continued to disagree with this recommendation, citing that it does not commit to Defense Support of Civil Authorities missions for multiple years, especially if that support may be provided without reimbursement. DOD further stated that DHS reliance on its support presents a national security risk should DOD forces, capabilities, and resources be necessary for a major overseas contingency. However, DOD also provided examples of actions it took consistent with our recommendation. Specifically, DOD and DHS established a joint working group in June 2021, which developed a border security mitigation plan in August 2021. Then in July 2022 DOD approved DHS's fiscal year 2023 request for assistance under the condition that DHS engage with the Executive Office of the President and its congressional oversight committees to develop a plan and implement solutions to staffing and funding shortfalls to maintain border security absent the continued use of DOD personnel and resources starting in FY 2024. We believe this recommendation is still relevant and will continue to monitor the status, especially given that DOD has agreed to support DHS at the southwest border at least through fiscal year 2023 and approved a temporary increase in the number of service members supporting DHS in May 2023." "COVID-19: Critical Vaccine Distribution, Supply Chain, Program Integrity, and Other Challenges Require Focused Federal Attention",GAO-21-265,"Jan 28, 2021","A. Nikki Clowers","(202) 512-7114","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of Health and Human Services should develop and make publicly available a comprehensive national COVID-19 testing strategy that incorporates all six characteristics of an effective national strategy. Such a strategy could build upon existing strategy documents that the Department of Health and Human Services has produced for the public and Congress to allow for a more coordinated pandemic testing approach. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"HHS partially agreed with our recommendation. In January 2021, HHS agreed that the department should take steps to more directly incorporate some of the elements of an effective national strategy, but expressed concern that producing such a strategy at this time could be overly burdensome on the federal, state, and local entities that are responding to the pandemic, and that a plan would be outdated by the time it was finalized or potentially rendered obsolete by the rate of technological advancement. In March 2022, the White House updated its general COVID-19 strategy, which provided new strategic elements related to testing, but does not contain all of the elements of an effective national strategy, such as clearly defined performance metrics and benchmarks. As of February 2024, HHS had not fully addressed this recommendation." "Department of Defense: Actions Needed to Improve Accounting of Intradepartmental Transactions",GAO-21-84,"Jan 14, 2021","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should develop a strategy to identify short-term solutions that can be implemented in advance of the full implementation of G-Invoicing to address the intradepartmental eliminations material weakness. Such solutions should include documented procedures to (1) identify the causes for intradepartmental differences, (2) monitor the results of action plans prepared by components, and (3) measure whether implemented action plans are effective in addressing the causes for intradepartmental differences. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) concurred with this recommendation and stated that to address the intradepartmental eliminations material weakness, the Office of Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) (Comptroller) (1) established the Trading Partners Elimination working group to identify and develop procedure to reduce interdepartmental differences; (2) will request components provide an action plan for reducing intradepartmental differences; and (3) will develop a dash-boarding tool to track the status of reconciliations and eliminations. In April 2022, DOD developed a corrective action plan which included actions for analyzing on a quarterly basis the ""Journal Voucher (JV) Action Plans"" database in Advana and assess if progress has been made to resolve interdepartmental variances. Specifically, assess quarterly, the number of (1) unsupported JV line items and (2) milestones completed and outstanding by component. The expected completion timeframe for these actions is October 2025. We will continue to follow up with DOD on the status of this recommendation." "Department of Energy Contracting: Improvements Needed to Ensure DOE Assesses Its Full Range of Contracting Fraud Risks",GAO-21-44,"Jan 13, 2021","Rebecca Shea, Allison Bawden","(202) 512-6722, (202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Office of the Chief Financial Officer should expand its methodology for developing its agency-wide fraud risk assessment to ensure that all inherent fraud risks—not limited to top fraud risks—facing DOE programs are fully assessed and documented in accordance with leading practices. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In response to our recommendation, DOE has updated its risk profile template so that reporting entities assess the likelihood and impact of every risk identified in their risk profiles and the extent to which controls mitigate those risks, consistent with leading practices. To fully address our recommendation, DOE needs to take additional actions to document the agency's fraud risk tolerance. DOE told us it recently established a risk tolerance and plans to document this risk tolerance in risk profiles by March 2024. By addressing our recommendation, DOE will better ensure its fraud risk assessment is complete and fully documented." "DHS Employee Morale: Some Improvements Made, but Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Employee Engagement",GAO-21-204,"Jan 12, 2021","Christopher P. Currie","(404) 679-1875","Department of Homeland Security","DHS OCHCO should monitor components' implementation of the OPM action planning cycle to ensure the components review and assess the results of their actions to adjust, reprioritize, and identify new actions needed to improve employee engagement. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In January 2021, we found that OCHCO did not ensure that components review and assess the results of their actions and then use this information to adjust, reprioritize, and identify new actions needed to improve employee engagement. We also found that with the information collected through the employee engagement steering committee, working group, and annual reviews of component action plans, OCHCO is in a unique position to monitor the implementation and results of the component action planning process and provide feedback to components on any areas where components have not achieved intended goals for employee engagement. As a result, we recommended that OCHCO should monitor components' implementation of the OPM action planning cycle to ensure the components review and assess the results of their actions to adjust, reprioritize, and identify new actions needed to improve employee engagement. In response, in March 2021, OCHCO issued written guidance for the DHS component employee engagement action planning process that includes mechanisms for OCHCO to monitor components implementation of the OPM action planning cycle. DHS OCHCO reviewed components' 2023 engagement plans and assessed the extent to which components are reviewing and assessing the results of their employee engagement action planning efforts. Overall, DHS components have made progress responding to OCHCO's written assessment of components' plans. OCHCO's assessments help ensure components monitor and document the results of their employee engagement action planning efforts. However, for the 2023 action planning cycle, DHS OCHCO continued to assess the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plan at the level of ""approved with reservations,"" partly because the plan lacked information about tracking and documenting results over time. According to OCHCO's assessment, limited personnel and other resource constraints have presented challenges for implementing and evaluating ICE's planned actions and action plan since 2021. OCHCO noted that with additional time, ICE may be better positioned to address some of these issues by the 2024 mid-cycle update, which is scheduled for April 2024 (Two other components' plans lacked information about tracking and documenting results over time, in part because their 2021 plans had deficiencies in metrics and were therefore ""approved with reservations."" These two components improved their plans in 2023 in response to OCHCO's 2021 assessment and are, therefore, better positioned to track and document results over time.) To fully address this recommendation, all components must review and assess the results of their actions to adjust, reprioritize, and identify new actions needed to improve employee engagement." "Hanford Cleanup: DOE's Efforts to Close Tank Farms Would Benefit from Clearer Legal Authorities and Communication",GAO-21-73,"Jan 7, 2021","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should direct the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Management to obtain the assistance of an independent, third-party mediator to help reach agreement with the State of Washington's Department of Ecology on a process for assessing the contaminated soil and what role NRC should play in this process. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In a December 2020 letter signed by the Senior Advisor for Environmental Management that provided agency comments on our draft report, DOE stated that it has engaged in mediated negotiations with EPA and Ecology since June 2020 and that these current actions satisfy our recommendation. As of December 2023, parties are still engaged in these negotiations. DOE also told us that the ongoing negotiations are also intended to enhance the integration of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) into remediation of soil surrounding the tanks in the Hanford tank farms, and that, in the event that on-going negotiations are not successful at resolving issues, DOE is open to future mediated negotiations with EPA and Ecology. However, we believe that DOE has not yet satisfied this recommendation. DOE must still resolve the significant disagreement with Ecology regarding how to address contamination in the soil under the Tri-Party Agreement, including what role NRC should play, regardless of the process DOE must follow under CERCLA." "Drinking Water: EPA Could Use Available Data to Better Identify Neighborhoods at Risk of Lead Exposure",GAO-21-78,"Dec 18, 2020","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water should develop a strategic plan that meets the WIIN Act requirement for providing targeted outreach, education, technical assistance, and risk communication to populations affected by the concentration of lead in public water systems, and that is fully consistent with leading practices for strategic plans. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In March 2023, EPA reiterated its disagreement with our recommendation and stated that it believes the agency has satisfied WIIN Act requirements. However, we maintain that the recommendation is still warranted because EPA's Strategic Plan for Targeted Outreach to Populations Affected by Lead does not address all of the WIIN Act's requirements and does not meet leading practices for strategic plans. For example, EPA's plan does not address education, technical assistance, or risk communication. Rather, the plan only discusses actions to disseminate information to households after EPA has learned of certain lead action level exceedances. EPA officials stated that the agency had also developed a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation to implement ways to protect citizens from lead in drinking water. However, the proposed regulation is not a strategic plan and does not include all of the elements required by the WIIN Act for the strategic plan. Implementing our recommendation would give EPA greater assurance that it has effectively planned for how to communicate to the public the risks of lead in drinking water." "Automated Technologies: DOT Should Take Steps to Ensure Its Workforce Has Skills Needed to Oversee Safety",GAO-21-197,"Dec 18, 2020","Heather Krause","(202) 512-2834","Department of Transportation","The Director of DOT's Department of Human Resources should assess skill gaps in key occupations that are involved in overseeing the safety of automated technologies. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOT agreed with this recommendation. As of March 2024, DOT officials noted that the agency had finished identifying which of its positions that oversee the safety of automated technologies require cybersecurity skills. DOT officials also noted that they developed a tool to assess competencies and skill gaps within these positions and would deploy that tool and analyze the results by June 2024. While cybersecurity skills are important for overseeing the safety of automated technologies, other skills-such as data analysis-are also important. To fully implement this recommendation, DOT needs to complete its plan to assess skill gaps related to cybersecurity and to also assess skill gaps in relevant data analysis positions. Implementing this recommendation would help DOT better understand the expertise that exists within its workforce and enable DOT to address any gaps to ensure that its workforce can effectively oversee the safety of automated technologies. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's efforts to implement this recommendation." "Chemical Assessments: Annual EPA Survey Inconsistent with Leading Practices in Program Management",GAO-21-156,"Jan 19, 2021","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Administrator of EPA should include in ORD's strategic plan (or subsidiary strategic plans) identification of EPA's universe of chemical assessment needs; how the IRIS Program is being resourced to meet user needs; and specific implementation steps that indicate how IRIS will achieve the plan's objectives, such as specific metrics to define progress in meeting user needs. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"As of December 2023, this recommendation remains open. EPA told us in November 2023 that officials from EPA's Chemical and Pollutant Assessment Division (CPAD)-a part of the Office of Research and Development-were working to update their analysis of the resources needed to produce chemical assessments, including IRIS assessments and Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values, for FY24. The original analysis, delivered in February 2023, examined budget and human capital resources allocated to CPAD for producing chemical assessments, including the skills and competencies needed to produce different types of assessments and the current staffing levels under each skill set. CPAD's analysis also examined the role of contractors and how they could assist agency staff in producing chemical assessments. The analysis concluded that CPAD is under-resourced and that the agency expects its assessment workload to continue to increase in coming years, thereby worsening the gap between what EPA offices need and what CPAD can produce. Based on feedback from GAO, CPAD is preparing an update to the FY23 analysis to meet the targets established in EPA's strategic action plans. We will re-evaluate the status of this recommendation after we receive and review CPAD's updated analysis and assess the extent to which EPA management used CPAD's analysis to balance its workload with available resources. This would also help to ensure that EPA, through CPAD, is better able to identify and meet user needs." "Intelligence Community: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Workforce Diversity Planning and Oversight",GAO-21-83,"Dec 17, 2020","Brian M. Mazanec","(202) 512-5130","Office of the Director of National Intelligence","The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the department secretary or head of the IC element, as appropriate, and consistent with the Director of National Intelligence's authority, should issue new or update existing guidance to require all IC elements to maintain current and complete diversity strategic plans that contain specific objectives, timeframes, and responsibilities. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In its December 2020 response to our report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) concurred with this recommendation. In its response, ODNI noted that specific, time-bound initiatives are not publicly available but are instead internal working documents. ODNI stated that specific and time-bound initiatives have been developed but internal working documents and are not publicly available. In August 2023, ODNI provided an update on the status of this recommendation. ODNI noted that the Intelligence Community (IC) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Office distributed a questionnaire to all IC elements in 2022 to obtain IC-wide inputs that would allow ODNI to identify DEIA challenge areas and develop solutions. In the questionnaire, ODNI asked the IC elements whether they had a DEIA strategic plan that included goals, timelines, and responsibility allocation for developing and managing a diverse workforce. ODNI noted that eight elements responded that they had a current strategic plan, while six reported that their plans were in different stages of development. ODNI noted that two IC elements did not have strategic plans but instead complied with the plan of their parent agency. This effort to distribute a questionnaire and understand whether DEIA strategic plans existed across the IC was a positive step in tracking IC-wide diversity efforts. ODNI further noted that the IC DEIA office developed an IC DEIA Maturity Model, which is a tool intended to help modernize, innovate, and advance DEIA goals across the IC. The model will allow ODNI to take a more targeted approach for holding IC elements accountable for enhancing DEIA and providing needed resources and support. However, ODNI has not taken steps to issue new or update existing guidance to require that IC elements maintain current and complete diversity strategic plans that contain specific objectives, timeframes, and responsibilities. As such, we will continue to monitor ODNI's efforts in response to providing guidance to require current and complete diversity strategic plans across the IC." "Intelligence Community: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Workforce Diversity Planning and Oversight",GAO-21-83,"Dec 17, 2020","Brian M. Mazanec","(202) 512-5130","Office of the Director of National Intelligence","The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the department secretary or head of the IC element, as appropriate, and consistent with the Director of National Intelligence's authority, should issue new or update existing guidance to ensure that IC elements develop performance measures to assess the contribution of activities toward achieving diversity goals and overall progress. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In its December 2020 response to our report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) concurred with this recommendation. In August 2023, ODNI provided an update on the status of this recommendation. ODNI noted that the Intelligence Community (IC) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Office distributed a questionnaire to all IC elements in 2022 to obtain IC-wide inputs that would allow ODNI to identify DEIA challenge areas and develop solutions. In the questionnaire, ODNI asked the IC elements whether they had performance measures to assess progress in achieving the diversity and inclusion goals in their respective DEIA strategic plans. ODNI noted that ten elements responded indicating that they used performance measures, such as workforce demographic and DEIA assessment survey data and recruitment and hiring trends to assess progress toward meeting diversity goals. The remaining IC elements noted that the either had performance measures in development or deferred to their parent agencies. This effort to distribute a questionnaire and understand whether IC elements developed performance measures to assess progress toward achieving diversity goals. ODNI further noted that the IC DEIA office developed an IC DEIA Maturity Model, which will allow ODNI to promote greater accountability in holding IC elements accountable and in achieving the intent of this recommendation. However, ODNI has not taken steps to issue new or update existing guidance to ensure that IC elements develop performance measures to assess the contribution of activities toward achieving diversity goals and overall progress. As such, we will continue to monitor ODNI's efforts in response to developing the maturity model and providing guidance to require current and complete diversity strategic plans across the IC." "Intelligence Community: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Workforce Diversity Planning and Oversight",GAO-21-83,"Dec 17, 2020","Brian M. Mazanec","(202) 512-5130","Office of the Director of National Intelligence","The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the department secretary or head of the IC element, as appropriate, and consistent with the Director of National Intelligence's authority, should establish specific implementation objectives and timeframes for the IC elements that support IC-wide diversity goals to ensure IC elements are held accountable for making progress. (Recommendation 7)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In its December 2020 response to our report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) concurred with this recommendation. In August 2023, ODNI provided an update on the status of this recommendation. ODNI noted that the Intelligence Community (IC) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Office distributed a questionnaire to all IC elements in 2022 to obtain IC-wide inputs that would allow ODNI to identify DEIA challenge areas and develop solutions. In the questionnaire, ODNI asked the IC elements about whether they had specific policies and practices in place to ensure supervisors and managers were responsible for managing diversity and inclusion. ODNI noted that thirteen IC elements required diversity and inclusion performance measures for managers, eleven required diversity and inclusion training, and two provided compensation based on achievement of diversity and inclusion goals. ODNI also noted that six IC elements reported employing additional policies and practices, such as the incorporation of a question relayed to DEIA investments on applications for management and senior executive positions. In addition, ODNI's IC DEIA office developed an IC DEIA Maturity Model to establish a baseline assessment of where each IC element stands in meeting requirements outlined in Executive Orders, identify challenges and barriers to allocate resources and support, track and assess progress over time, and justify DEIA-related budget needs. The model includes 12 core dimensions of diversity that ODNI can apply across the IC. Through the development and implementation of the maturity model, which ODNI plans to revisit annually, ODNI will better be able to hold IC elements accountable for making progress in achieving diversity goals. However, the mode does not outline timeframes that support IC-wide diversity goals to ensure IC elements are held accountable for making progress. As such, we will continue to monitor ODNI's efforts in response to developing the maturity model and providing guidance to require current and complete diversity strategic plans across the IC." "Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Improve National Vessel Documentation Center Operations",GAO-21-100,"Dec 16, 2020","Nathan Anderson","(206) 287-4804","United States Coast Guard","The Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy to ensure that NVDC conducts a full cost study of NVDC's commercial and recreational user fees. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In November 2020, DHS stated that the NVDC will conduct a full cost study of its commercial and recreational user fees, with oversight provided as needed by the Director of Operations Resource Management for the Deputy Commandant for Operations. DHS stated that the NVDC will do so after the Coast Guard develops a new information technology system to allow the NVDC to accurately assess the actual costs of providing services to the public, including new information technology support costs. The Coast Guard has delayed this effort and, as of February 2024, estimates completing it by March 2026. For example, in December 2021, Coast Guard officials told us that they adjusted the delivery date for the new information technology system from March 31, 2022 to August 31, 2022. As a result, they adjusted the estimated completion date for completing the cost study from December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2023. In February 2022, Coast Guard officials told us that they remained on track to meet the estimated completion date. However, in February 2023, Coast Guard officials told us that the delivery date for the new information technology system has been delayed for an unknown period of time due to technical issues. They told us that they did not have an estimated completion date for conducting the full cost study. In December 2023, Coast Guard officials told us the estimated completion date of the study is March 2026. In February 2024, Coast Guard officials told us that they remained on track to meet the estimated completion date. We continue to monitor Coast Guard's progress." "NASA Human Space Exploration: Significant Investments in Future Capabilities Require Strengthened Management Oversight",GAO-21-105,"Dec 15, 2020","William Russell","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","We recommend that the NASA Administrator ensure that the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate establish cost and schedule baselines for SLS Block 1B, SLS Block 2, Mobile Launcher 2, and Orion Docking System at their preliminary design reviews or as soon as practicable in advance of critical design reviews. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"NASA agreed with this recommendation. In April 2021, NASA officials stated that it was on track to establish a baseline for SLS Block 1B and a separate baseline for Mobile Launcher 2 by September 30, 2021. As of February 2023, however, NASA had not released cost and schedule baselines for either effort. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA will need to provide documentation that it established cost and schedule baselines for all four systems-including SLS Block 2-before their respective critical design reviews. Establishing cost and schedule baselines for these programs will provide decision makers an important oversight tool to monitor program performance." "Tax Administration: Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax Gap",GAO-21-102,"Jan 14, 2021","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should research, evaluate, and develop potential recommendations to expand third-party information reporting to include more information on sole proprietor's income and expenses. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"IRS neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. IRS officials reported that IRS will further research and evaluate the tax administration benefits and taxpayer burdens of expanding third-party information reporting for sole proprietors' income and expenses. As of February 2024, IRS reported that it continues to make progress on its research, but needed additional time to complete the analysis and develop the summary report, which it expects to complete in September 2024. In April 2022, IRS officials reported that the agency is compiling a list of ideas that were proposed in the past but were never adopted, and soliciting additional ideas within IRS. According to IRS, two key recommendations from IRS's actions have already been addressed by statute. The first is a reduction in the reporting thresholds for Form 1099K; and the second, clarifying third-party reporting related to virtual currency. Continued efforts to research expanding third-party reporting will help IRS develop additional recommendations. According to IRS, upon conclusion of its research and evaluation, IRS will also prepare a briefing document for Treasury and offer its support in developing any recommendations that Treasury chooses to pursue. To fully implement this recommendation, IRS needs to complete its research on options and develop potential recommendations to increase information reporting for sole proprietorships. Without options to help improve compliance for sole proprietorships, IRS is missing an opportunity to help address a significant part of the tax gap." "Tax Administration: Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax Gap",GAO-21-102,"Jan 14, 2021","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should revise the 2017 Information Returns Systems Modernization plans by evaluating changes in the environment, assessing risks to systems and programs, and detailing how the agency plans to address issues in the intake, processing, and use of information returns across business units. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"IRS neither agreed nor disagreed with recommendations 6 and 7, which are related. Officials reported that IRS will submit an Information Return System Modernization plan to Congress that leverages the 1099 Internet Platform required by section 2102 of the Taxpayer First Act as the foundation of information return modernization efforts. As of February 2023, IRS reported that it rolled out the release of an internet platform that allows small businesses to electronically file information returns in the 1099 Form family for the 2023 filing season. In March 2023, IRS officials also reported that future releases of this system will modernize the intake and processing of other information return forms, such as those that are currently submitted through IRS's Filing Information Returns Electronically system. Officials noted that once the future releases are operational, the system will allow IRS to be more flexible and responsive by integrating legislative and other changes to information returns in a quicker and more efficient manner. However, IRS officials said they are still developing the specifics plans related to the specific resources needed, scope and schedule of the future releases. Further, officials stated that they have a goal to integrate the modernized intake and processing system into more modernized compliance systems. IRS officials reported that more specific plans are being developed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act strategic operating plan, which is not yet complete. As part of the agency's broader modernization effort, it is important that IRS can explain to Congress and other decision makers the critical need to modernize the information reporting system, as well as the proposed scope, schedule, and resource requirements needed to implement such a project. To fully implement these recommendations, IRS should establish a plan that provides an overall picture of what IRS is investing in as well as the benefits expected from such an investment. Since some of the costs being incurred by IRS today are for foundational modernization efforts, it is even more important that the agency develop a strategy explaining the long-term benefits expected from this work." "Tax Administration: Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax Gap",GAO-21-102,"Jan 14, 2021","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should submit a revised information returns system modernization plan to Congress that describes how it integrates with IRS's broader IT modernization efforts, the resources needed to achieve effective and timely modernization, and the proposed schedule and scope of the effort. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"IRS neither agreed nor disagreed with recommendations 6 and 7, which are related. Officials reported that IRS will submit an Information Return System Modernization plan to Congress that leverages the 1099 Internet Platform required by section 2102 of the Taxpayer First Act as the foundation of information return modernization efforts. As of February 2023, IRS reported that it rolled out the release of an internet platform that allows small businesses to electronically file information returns in the 1099 Form family for the 2023 filing season. In March 2023, IRS officials also reported that future releases of this system will modernize the intake and processing of other information return forms, such as those that are currently submitted through IRS's Filing Information Returns Electronically system. Officials noted that once the future releases are operational, the system will allow IRS to be more flexible and responsive by integrating legislative and other changes to information returns in a quicker and more efficient manner. However, IRS officials said they are still developing the specifics plans related to the specific resources needed, scope and schedule of the future releases. Further, officials stated that they have a goal to integrate the modernized intake and processing system into more modernized compliance systems. IRS officials reported that more specific plans are being developed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act strategic operating plan, which is not yet complete. As part of the agency's broader modernization effort, it is important that IRS can explain to Congress and other decision makers the critical need to modernize the information reporting system, as well as the proposed scope, schedule, and resource requirements needed to implement such a project. To fully implement these recommendations, IRS should establish a plan that provides an overall picture of what IRS is investing in as well as the benefits expected from such an investment. Since some of the costs being incurred by IRS today are for foundational modernization efforts, it is even more important that the agency develop a strategy explaining the long-term benefits expected from this work." "Tax Administration: Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax Gap",GAO-21-102,"Jan 14, 2021","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should develop a plan and schedule to systematically evaluate the suite of information returns with a goal of improving compliance, and reducing fraud and reporting burden. The evaluation should consider factors such as filing requirement thresholds, deadlines for filing, corrections and amendment data, and the potential to consolidate similar forms and include recommendations for needed changes. (Recommendation 8)",Open,Yes,"IRS neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. However, in July 2021, IRS agreed to conduct an evaluation of a select group of third-party submitted information returns. IRS plans to use the results of the study to determine if these forms continue to provide value and if changes to the current form revision processes are needed. For each of the selected returns, IRS will examine the revisions IRS considered and those it made, and categorize each of them according to the factors we recommended. As of February 2024, IRS reported it needed additional time to complete this analysis and expects to complete this evaluation by September 2024. To fully implement this recommendation, IRS needs to complete its review of the selected returns and establish a systematic review of the remaining suite of information returns. Without completing this comprehensive evaluation of information returns or their characteristics, IRS risks gathering information that it cannot use effectively in some areas and burdening filers and taxpayers and not gathering enough information for enhancing compliance in other areas." "Tax Administration: Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax Gap",GAO-21-102,"Jan 14, 2021","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should develop a collaborative mechanism to coordinate among the internal stakeholders who are responsible for the intake, processing, and use of information returns, as well as to improve outreach to external stakeholders in relation to information returns. (Recommendation 9)",Open,Yes,"IRS neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. In July 2021, IRS reported that the new organizational structure described in its January 2021 Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress would provide for collaboration and coordination on the delivery of IRS-wide programs, such as those involving information returns. According to the report, IRS will consolidate compliance functions currently dispersed across multiple business units into a single division, which may help identify compliance related trends across taxpayer segments. IRS aims for this consolidation to reduce duplicative activities related to case selection and performance monitoring, among others. As of February 2024, IRS has not finalized a deadline to complete the reorganization. Until then, IRS reported that in the interim, the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement is to facilitate coordination among internal stakeholders. Until IRS implements a collaborative mechanism with a coordinated approach to using information returns, IRS risks missing opportunities to improve the effectiveness of its development, intake, processing, and use of information returns." "Medicaid: CMS Needs More Information on States' Financing and Payment Arrangements to Improve Oversight",GAO-21-98,"Dec 7, 2020","Carolyn L. Yocom","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should collect and document complete and consistent provider-specific information about Medicaid payments to providers, including new state-directed managed care payments, and states' sources of funding for the nonfederal share of these payments. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"HHS neither agreed nor disagreed with our recommendation but acknowledged the need for additional state Medicaid financing and payment data to oversee the Medicaid program. Regarding state directed managed care payments, HHS noted that CMS has begun work to improve the collection of financing and payment information through a revised data collection form and that CMS would explore additional actions to do so. In February 2024, CMS officials said the agency has developed the tools and process for collecting standardized information on state directed payments, including on the source of funding of the nonfederal share. However, the standardized information on state directed payments and source of funding is not always provider specific. Regarding supplemental payments, in December 2021, CMS issued guidance on new reporting requirements beginning with information about payments made on or after October 1, 2021. In February 2024, CMS officials said states have begun reporting supplemental payments. CMS officials also confirmed the new state reporting does not include information on the sources of funds used to finance the nonfederal share of Medicaid payments. To fully implement our recommendation, HHS needs to demonstrate how its ongoing and planned actions in this area will ensure complete, consistent, and sufficiently documented provider-specific information about sources of funding for the nonfederal share of these payments." "2020 Census: Census Bureau Needs to Assess Data Quality Concerns Stemming from Recent Design Changes",GAO-21-142,"Dec 3, 2020","J. Christopher Mihm, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-6806, (202) 512-9342","Department of Commerce","The Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau should update and implement assessments, evaluations, and coverage measurement efforts to address the effects of the Bureau's response to COVID-19 that we identified, including data quality concerns and potential operational benefits from innovations. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Commerce agreed with our recommendation. In May 2021, agency officials provided us with updates of their template and guidance for the Bureau's planned operational assessments demonstrating that authors of the assessments were to include descriptions of changes to operations made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as schedule changes. The updates provided concern only the operational assessments, and call for itemized operational changes, but do not include any analysis of the effects of those changes on data quality. In September 2021, Bureau officials indicated that they would be preparing a thematic report on implementation of late design changes once key operational assessments are complete. In July 2023 officials provided us an outline and proof of concept for how this report would be written. In another step demonstrating partial implementation of and commitment to the recommendation, in November 2023 the Bureau demonstrated how it is accounting for COVID-19-related changes to its Demographic Analysis and Post-Enumeration Survey releases, in addition to its evaluations and experiments. In order to fully implement this recommendation, the Bureau will need to release its thematic report on COVID-19 operational changes and show how the potential data quality concerns we identified, as well as any operational benefits, were addressed." "Federal Buying Power: OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and Training",GAO-21-40,"Nov 30, 2020","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should ensure that designated Senior Accountable Officials have the authority necessary to hold personnel accountable for defining requirements for common products and services as well as contracting activities. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"OMB agreed with the substance of our recommendation, and provided an update on efforts to address it in May 2023. Of the 28 agencies tracked under the category management initiative, 25 agencies have designated Senior Accountable Officials with authority over requirements personnel. To address this recommendation, OMB should complete actions it plans to take in the coming year to designate Senior Accountable Officials with authority over requirements personnel at the remaining three agencies." "Federal Buying Power: OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and Training",GAO-21-40,"Nov 30, 2020","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should report cost savings from the category management initiative by agency. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) agreed with this recommendation and in May 2023, the Government-Wide Category Management Program Management Office (PMO) provided an update on planned actions to address it. The annual key performance indicator definition for cost avoidance-reported by OMB as savings-was updated to include savings beyond those calculated when agencies use Best-In-Class (BIC) contracts. Officials were also assessing which BIC contracts could provide agency-specific savings reporting and agencies' capabilities to report non-BIC cost savings to the PMO. In addition, the PMO was developing a process for standardizing how agencies would submit savings data and plans for how to report that information visually. Going forward, PMO officials said they will work to improve cost avoidance data and to report on cost avoidance. These actions may meet the intent of GAO's recommendation if future savings reporting includes agency-specific breakdowns for BIC savings, as well as savings achieved by activities other than using BIC contracts. Reporting on cost savings by agency should increase agencies' support for the initiative by more clearly demonstrating the benefits of category management to key agency leadership. Further, reporting on savings beyond BIC savings will more comprehensively account for the billions of additional dollars in savings that agencies are identifying through the use of non-BIC contracts and other category management activities, which OMB does not currently report on." "Federal Buying Power: OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and Training",GAO-21-40,"Nov 30, 2020","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should work with the Category Management Leadership Council and the Performance Improvement Council to establish additional performance metrics for the category management initiative that are related to agency requirements. (Recommendation 6)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) agreed with this recommendation, and in March 2023, the Government-Wide Category Management Program Management Office (PMO) explained steps it plans to take to further analyze requirements related data it recently collected from federal agencies. The PMO previously updated the annual agency plan it uses to collect key category management information from agencies to include requirements related information that could be used to identify new requirements-related metrics. GAO believes these actions may address the recommendation if OMB establishes new metrics related to its ongoing requirements assessments. Until OMB establishes requirements-related metrics, agency officials responsible for category management implementation will continue to focus on contracting activities at the expense of activities addressing requirements, and miss opportunities to achieve greater savings and efficiencies." "Federal Buying Power: OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and Training",GAO-21-40,"Nov 30, 2020","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should, in coordination with the Category Management Leadership Council and the Chief Data Officer Council, establish a strategic plan to coordinate agencies' responses to government-wide data challenges hindering implementation of the category management initiative, including challenges involving prices-paid and spending data. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"OMB agreed with the substance of our recommendation, and in March 2023, the Government-Wide Category Management Program Management Office (PMO) summarized actions previously taken in response to the recommendation. To address this recommendation, OMB should take additional actions, including pursuing a strategic plan for addressing government-wide data challenges." "COVID-19: Urgent Actions Needed to Better Ensure an Effective Federal Response",GAO-21-191,"Nov 30, 2020","A. Nikki Clowers","(202) 512-7114","Department of Labor","The Secretary of Labor should ensure the Office of Unemployment Insurance pursues options to report the actual number of distinct individuals claiming benefits, such as by collecting these already available data from states, starting from January 2020 onward. (Recommendation 8)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOL partially agreed with our recommendation and provided documentation of actions taken. In a letter dated March 30, 2021, DOL stated that it had begun developing a new state report that would capture data related to distinct individuals claiming regular UI benefits. As of June 2023, DOL continues to work on developing a new state report to collect data on distinct individuals claiming regular UI benefits and other information, including the causes of claims processing backlogs such as ID verification issues. DOL officials said their work on the new data collection report has been delayed until the agency finalizes guidance on appropriate ID verification procedures, and as of June 2023 efforts are on hold. DOL stated previously that after developing the report, the agency would seek state input and subsequently submit the new requirements for public notice, comment, and clearance. DOL has continued to express concerns about the feasibility of states' reporting this information retroactively, including for the pandemic UI programs, without detracting from their primary obligation for timely and accurate claims processing and without extensively burdening states. We maintain that DOL should pursue options to report the actual number of distinct individuals claiming UI benefits, retroactive to January 2020, in the most feasible and least burdensome way. Given the substantial investment in UI programs during the pandemic, an accurate accounting of the size of the population supported by this funding may be critical to understanding the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's response to unemployment during the pandemic and may help DOL and policy makers identify lessons learned about the administration and use of regular and expanded UI benefit programs." "Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports: Access and Quality Problems in Managed Care Demand Improved Oversight",GAO-21-49,"Dec 16, 2020","Carolyn L. Yocom","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should develop and implement a national strategy for monitoring MLTSS programs and ensuring that states and MCOs resolve identified problems. Among other things, this strategy should address state implementation of beneficiary protection and monitoring requirements. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"CMS did not concur with our recommendation. However, in June 2022 CMS took a number of steps to enhance oversight. CMS issued a new technical assistance toolkit for states to use in overseeing MLTSS programs, as well as an updated Managed Care Program Annual Report template, which requires states to report a number of different data on MLTSS, including on beneficiary protection systems and on certain appeals and grievances. As of February 2024, CMS reported that it continues to assess states' submission of the annual reports for completeness and reasonableness. Once CMS finds that data is sufficiently complete it will establish a strategy for analyzing and following up on specific information and for assessing the nature of access and quality issues identified. The agency indicated that it is reassessing the use of the appeals and grievance reporting template and may combine it with another template being tested to produce a more effective single data collection tool. We will continue to monitor CMS actions on this recommendation, including any evidence of a strategy for resolving identified problems with state MLTSS programs." "Air Pollution: Opportunities to Better Sustain and Modernize the National Air Quality Monitoring System",GAO-21-38,"Dec 7, 2020","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, in consultation with state and local agencies, should develop, make public, and implement an asset management framework for consistently sustaining the national ambient air quality monitoring system. Such a framework could be designed for success by considering the key characteristics of effective asset management described in our report, such as identifying the resources needed to sustain the monitoring system, using quality data to manage infrastructure risks, and targeting resources toward assets that provide the greatest value. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In written comments on the report, EPA agreed with the recommendation and said that the agency would work with state, local, and tribal partners on its implementation. According to EPA officials, in the fall of 2022, the agency drafted an asset management framework and sought feedback on it from state, local, and tribal agencies. As of December 2023, according to the officials, EPA was wrapping up a pilot of an asset management process with state, local, and tribal air agencies and plans to make the process permanent in 2024. We will continue to monitor EPA's progress on the implementation of this recommendation." "Air Pollution: Opportunities to Better Sustain and Modernize the National Air Quality Monitoring System",GAO-21-38,"Dec 7, 2020","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, in consultation with state and local agencies and other relevant federal agencies, should develop and make public an air quality monitoring modernization plan to better meet the additional information needs of air quality managers, researchers, and the public. Such a plan could address the ongoing challenges in modernizing the national ambient air quality monitoring system by considering leading practices, including establishing priorities and roles, assessing risks to success, identifying the resources needed to achieve goals, and measuring and evaluating progress. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In written comments on the report, EPA agreed with the recommendation and said that the agency would work with state, local, and tribal partners on its implementation. As of December 2023, EPA officials said that the agency will continue its work with stakeholders to establish an approach, goals, and priorities for an air quality monitoring modernization plan. In addition, according to EPA officials, the agency is using appropriations it received through the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act to enhance monitoring of certain air pollutants and fund air monitoring projects in communities across the United States. The officials said that these investments will help to address the air quality monitoring information needs identified in our report. We will continue to monitor EPA's progress on the implementation of this recommendation." "DOD Financial Management: Continued Efforts Needed to Correct Material Weaknesses Identified in Financial Statement Audits",GAO-21-157,"Oct 13, 2020","Asif A. Khan","(202) 512-9869","Department of Defense","ODCFO should incorporate appropriate steps to improve its CAP review process, including ensuring that (1) data elements not included in CAPs are appropriately identified and communicated to components and resolved, (2) NFRs are appropriately linked to the correct CAPs to address them, and (3) components document their rationale for accepting the risk associated with certain deficiencies and appropriately identify such instances in the NFR Database. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DOD partially concurred with this recommendation and stated that it ensures that a Notice of Findings and Recommendations (NFR) is appropriately linked to the right Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and that data elements missing from CAPs are identified and communicated to components through its CAP quality and monthly data control review processes. However, based on our testing of CAPs associated with NFRs included in a generalizable sample, we found that NFRs were not always linked to the correct CAP in the NFR Database. For example, one NFR we reviewed was linked to three CAPs-one that was not related to the NFR, another that had been superseded, and another that actually addressed the NFR. We also found that the CAPs for more than half of these NFRs were missing at least one of the data elements defined in the Implementation Guide for OMB Circular A-123. Further, DOD stated that its quality review process ensures that components document their rationale for accepting risk, risk response, and risk identification for deferring remediation activity associated with low-impact deficiencies. However, we found that DOD components did not prepare CAPs for 16 of the 98 NFRs in our sample because they accepted the risks associated with the deficiencies the auditors identified. However, the components did not document their rationale for accepting such risks and a clear risk-mitigation strategy for 3 of these 16 NFRs. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD's Chief Financial Officer needs to improve DOD's review process to ensure that CAPs include all data elements defined in the Implementation Guide for OMB Circular A-123; update its review checklist to include questions specifically related to whether CAPs were linked to the right audit findings in the NFR Database; and review the components' risk acceptance rationale for reasonableness and appropriateness. As of January 2023, DOD had not provided us with documents to support the addition of appropriate steps to improve the monthly data controls review process to ensure risk acceptance rationale documentation is included in the NFR Database. Without implementation of this recommendation, DOD and its components may lack the assurance that appropriate corrective actions are being taken to address identified deficiencies in a timely manner. We will continue to monitor DOD's efforts to address this recommendation." "DOD Financial Management: Continued Efforts Needed to Correct Material Weaknesses Identified in Financial Statement Audits",GAO-21-157,"Oct 13, 2020","Asif A. Khan","(202) 512-9869","Department of Defense","ODCFO should update DOD guidance to instruct DOD and components to document root-cause analysis when needed to address deficiencies auditors identified. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation and stated that it will update the appropriate DOD guidance to specifically instruct that a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) include documented evidence that a root-cause analysis was conducted and an explanation as to how it was conducted. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD needs to update the DOD Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Guide, which was last issued in May 2018, to instruct DOD and its components to document root-cause analysis when needed. As of January 2023, DOD had not provided us with updated DOD guidance specifically instructing that CAPs include documented evidence that a root-cause analysis was conducted and an explanation as to how it was conducted. Without implementation of this recommendation, DOD lacks assurance that its components are taking appropriate actions to resolve the underlying causes associated with the Notice of Findings and Recommendations and related material weaknesses that collectively prevent the auditability of its financial statements. We will continue to monitor DOD's progress in this area." "Open Data: Agencies Need Guidance to Establish Comprehensive Data Inventories; Information on Their Progress is Limited",GAO-21-29,"Oct 8, 2020","Michelle Sager","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should comply with its statutory requirement to issue implementation guidance to agencies to develop and maintain comprehensive data inventories. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In March 2024, OMB told us that action to address this recommendation was in progress. To address the first recommendation, OMB needs to issue guidance to federal agencies to help them develop and maintain comprehensive data inventories. Without this guidance, agencies do not have clarity on timeframes for meeting their requirements under the OPEN Government Data Act or guidance to help prioritize data assets for publication in their data inventories, which could delay their progress in meeting their requirements under the act. We will continue to monitor OMB's efforts to implement this recommendation." "Financial Management: DOD Needs to Implement Comprehensive Plans to Improve Its Systems Environment",GAO-20-252,"Sep 30, 2020","Kevin Walsh, Asif A. Khan","(202) 512-6151, 202-512-9869","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should direct the Chief Management Officer and other entities, as appropriate, to ensure that the department limits investments in financial management systems to only what is essential to maintain functioning systems and help ensure system security until it implements the other recommendations in this report. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"As of August 2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not addressed this recommendation. Specifically, DOD stated that, in January 2022, the Chief Information Officer published the Capability Planning Guidance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-2028. DOD stated that this guidance included specific language on DOD's financial management goals that is intended to streamline the business systems environment, reduce interface complexity, and improve data integrity and the security of DOD's financial information. Among other things, DOD stated that the department also plans to issue FY 2024 financial management systems review instructions by October 2023. In addition, the department stated that it plans to complete and submit a closure package to GAO by October 2023. We will continue to follow up on the department's efforts to fully implement this recommendation." "Veterans Community Care Program: Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Access to Care",GAO-20-643,"Sep 28, 2020","Sharon M. Silas","(202) 512-7114","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Under Secretary of Health should align its monitoring metrics with the time frames established in the VCCP scheduling process. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA initially did not agree with our recommendation, but since February 2022 has started to address it. Between VHA Directive 1232, Consult Processes and Procedures, and the Consult Timeliness Standard Operating Procedure, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has defined some time frames for VHA medical centers to follow when scheduling appointments under the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP). However, VHA has not yet defined a timeliness standard for when a veteran's appointment should occur. Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, on December 29, 2022, which requires the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) ensure the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) third-party administrators furnish care within the eligibility standards of the Program. This requirement aligns with one of our recommendations to establish a performance metric for receipt of community care under the VCCP. Once established, VA can takes steps to ensure they align their monitoring metric for receipt of care to that timeliness standard. In February 2024, VA officials stated that the current contracts with the VCCP third-party administrators have established network adequacy standards that are different than the VCCP eligibility standards; therefore, VA is not able to readily change these standards under the current contract. VA officials stated they are exploring the potential for legislative change of section 125 of the Act, but do not currently have a time frame for this." "Taxpayer Service: IRS Could Improve the Taxpayer Experience by Using Better Service Performance Measures",GAO-20-656,"Sep 23, 2020","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should identify agency-wide and division performance goals that align with IRS's strategic service goals and objectives for an improved taxpayer experience. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"IRS generally agreed with the recommendation. In its January 2021 Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress, IRS identified a new framework of strategic goals and objectives for improving the taxpayer experience and some high-level service performance measures with targets for improving the taxpayer experience. However, the report did not specify related performance goals aligned with strategic goals for assessing progress in improved taxpayer experience outcomes, particularly in the divisions that provide taxpayer services. As of March 2022, IRS officials said that the fiscal year 2022-2026 IRS Strategic Plan being developed would include strategic goals and objectives and agency-wide and division performance goals that align with IRS's service goals for improving the taxpayer experience. The Plan, which was published in July 2022, set forth two strategic goals to provide a better service experience, but did not identify agency-wide and division performance goals for improvements in the taxpayer experience that align with those strategic goals. As of January 2023, IRS officials said they were working to connect strategic goals and objectives of the Treasury and IRS Strategic Plan to the IRS Taxpayer Experience Strategy; and to connect these strategic priorities to Inflation Reduction Act service-related priorities. IRS's Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan, which was published in April 2023, incorporates and supersedes prior strategies, according to IRS officials, and includes two taxpayer experience-related strategic objectives to improve services to help taxpayers meet their obligations and quickly resolve taxpayer issues when they arise. For these objectives, the Plan identified several initiatives and articulated desired results. In February 2024, we informed IRS that these desired results could be developed into performance goals that are near-term, quantifiable, and objective goals against which progress in improving the taxpayer experience could be assessed. These potential performance goals include increased service levels; increased taxpayer service options and increased access to those options; decreased filing burdens for taxpayers; and faster resolution of compliance issues after filing. However, the Plan and related documents IRS provided in October 2023, did not clearly identify any performance goals. IRS officials said in December 2023, that delays in staffing the Taxpayer Experience Office delayed progress on actions to implement this recommendation. Regardless, without clear performance goals, IRS divisions that provide services to taxpayers do not have a clear picture of what specific actions would improve the taxpayer experience and would align with IRS's strategic objectives and vision for serving taxpayers as articulated in the Strategic Operating Plan. Nor do managers and staff responsible for taxpayer service clearly know how their day-to-day activities can help ensure a focus on improving the taxpayer experience and achieving IRS's mission to provide taxpayers top-quality service. We will update this status after we complete review of any IRS documentation on the timing of specific actions taken or planned to implement the recommendation, as we requested that IRS provide in February 2024." "Taxpayer Service: IRS Could Improve the Taxpayer Experience by Using Better Service Performance Measures",GAO-20-656,"Sep 23, 2020","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should identify performance measures with targets for improving the taxpayer experience that link with the related performance goals. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"IRS generally agreed with this recommendation. IRS's January 2021 Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress did not link measures with targets to performance goals aligned with strategic goals for improving taxpayer services. As of March 2022, IRS officials said that the fiscal year 2022-2026 IRS Strategic Plan being developed would include strategic goals, objectives, and supporting measures for agency-wide and division performance goals that align with IRS's taxpayer service goals. The Plan, which was published in July 2022, set forth two strategic goals to provide a better service experience. However, the Plan did not identify agency-wide and division performance goals for improvements in the taxpayer experience and specify their related measures with targets. As of January 2023, IRS said it was using the measures framework in the Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress as a foundation and would identify agency-wide and division performance goals iteratively over fiscal years 2023 and 2024. IRS's Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan, which was published in April 2023, incorporates and supersedes prior strategies, according to IRS officials, and includes two taxpayer experience-related strategic objectives to improve services to help taxpayers meet their obligations and quickly resolve taxpayer issues when they arise. Although IRS officials provided documentation in October 2023, and met with GAO in December 2023, to describe efforts to identify or develop taxpayer experience performance measures, the lack of performance goals make it unclear how any measures would link to such goals. IRS officials said that delays in staffing the Taxpayer Experience Office delayed progress on actions to implement this recommendation. Regardless, without clear linkages between performance measures and related performance goals, IRS managers and staff who provide taxpayer service lack roadmaps showing how their daily activities can contribute to goals that relate to improving the taxpayer experience as envisioned in the Strategic Operating Plan. Without targets for the measures, Congress, IRS, and taxpayers are challenged to know whether performance is improving to desired levels as articulated in the Plan. We will update this status after we complete review of any IRS documentation on the timing of specific actions taken or planned to implement the recommendation, as we requested that IRS provide in February 2024." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Treasury Needs to Improve Tracking of Financial Sector Cybersecurity Risk Mitigation Efforts",GAO-20-631,"Sep 17, 2020","Nick Marinos, Michael Clements","(202) 512-9342, (202) 512-7763","Department of the Treasury","Regarding financial sector cyber risk mitigation efforts, we recommend that the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal and nonfederal sector partners, track the content and progress of sectorwide cyber risk mitigation efforts, and prioritize their completion according to sector goals and priorities in the sector-specific plan. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"Treasury generally agreed with this recommendation, but had concerns with its authority to implement it, due to its limited authority to require regulators to supply data on cyber risk mitigation efforts, and legal and trust concerns with getting information from firms voluntarily. We responded to these concerns in our report, stating that Treasury is ideally positioned to secure voluntary agreement from these groups to provide focused information on their cyber risk mitigation efforts, which would help Treasury track and prioritize progress toward sector goals. In January 2023, Treasury reported that it plans to discuss with the financial services sector the development of metrics on sector risk mitigation efforts and on the sector's adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity framework. Treasury also stated it plans to develop metrics on the sector's sharing of cyber threat information and measures regarding their effectiveness. As of May 2023, Treasury said it is planning implementation of a tool that may enable it to track and record risks and resulting efforts, but that the tool's capabilities and uses were still in development. Without tracking and prioritizing efforts based on sector goals and priorities, Treasury and the financial sector will remain unable to determine the effectiveness of their efforts." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Treasury Needs to Improve Tracking of Financial Sector Cybersecurity Risk Mitigation Efforts",GAO-20-631,"Sep 17, 2020","Nick Marinos, Michael Clements","(202) 512-9342, (202) 512-7763","Department of the Treasury","Regarding the financial sector-specific plan, we recommend that the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal and nonfederal sector partners, update the financial services sector-specific plan to include specific metrics for measuring the progress of risk mitigation efforts and information on how the sector's ongoing and planned risk mitigation efforts will meet sector goals and requirements, such as requirements for the financial services sector in the National Cyber Strategy Implementation Plan. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"Treasury generally agreed with the recommendation, but believed it should not be implemented until the Department of Homeland Security updates the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, now called the National Plan, to establish cross-sector priorities and provide guidance on sector-specific plans. However, we reported in February 2023 that there was no deadline for the National Plan to be updated. As of May 2023, Treasury officials said they do not see a benefit in updating their sector specific plan in the interim. Nevertheless, we believe it would be feasible and beneficial for Treasury to develop an interim update to the current sector-specific plan on how ongoing efforts meet sector goals and priorities. Without sufficiently creating and documenting appropriate metrics, it will be difficult for Treasury to determine whether the financial sector's risk mitigation efforts will improve its cyber resilience." "Defense Real Property: DOD-Wide Strategy Needed to Address Control Issues and Improve Reliability of Records",GAO-20-615,"Sep 9, 2020","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should, in collaboration with the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment), develop department-wide instructions for performing the E&C verifications. (Recommendation 2).",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD officials stated that they are committed to placing increased leadership emphasis on real property asset policies and instructions to ensure, among other things, that field teams perform consistent and repeatable existence and completeness verifications. In January 2023, DOD estimated that by September 2023, it would have a working group in place to monitor progress of key corrective actions related to real property existence and completeness verifications. In October 2023, DOD told us that after general counsel review is completed, implementation is expected in November 2023. We will monitor this working group, once it is established, to assess the degree to which it supports department-wide implementation of our recommendation." "Defense Real Property: DOD-Wide Strategy Needed to Address Control Issues and Improve Reliability of Records",GAO-20-615,"Sep 9, 2020","Kristen Kociolek","(202) 512-2989","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should, in collaboration with the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment), develop and implement a DOD-wide strategy to remediate real property asset control issues. (Recommendation 1).",Open,Yes,"DOD agreed with this recommendation. In January 2023, DOD stated that it was reviewing and updating policies and procedures to include the necessary controls to ensure that real property is accounted for accurately throughout the real property asset lifecycle. Implementation of this recommendation would better position DOD to develop sustainable, routine processes that help ensure accurate real property records and, ultimately, auditable information for financial reporting for the department. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD needs to develop and implement a department-wide real property strategy to enable DOD to identify common control issues and then develop solutions that are not limited to an individual military service. In October 2023, DOD told us that executive review and implementation of updated policies is expected to be complete by March 2024." "Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Should Further Develop Cost, Schedule, and Risk Information for the W87-1 Warhead Program",GAO-20-703,"Sep 23, 2020","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","National Nuclear Security Administration","The NNSA Administrator should direct the Office of Defense Programs to revise its program execution instruction to require that design studies for warhead life extension and replacement programs follow AOA best practices, such as by having a study plan, or to justify and document deviations from best practices. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"NNSA generally agreed with our recommendation and stated that it would revise its program execution instruction to clarify that design studies conducted in the first phase of NNSA's process--known as concept assessment--for warhead modernization activities should incorporate AOA best practices. In September 2021, NNSA issued a revised version of the program execution instruction that partially addressed our recommendation. Specifically, NNSA incorporated references to AOA best practices in some portions of the document, but had not consistently integrated those references throughout, resulting in some ambiguity about how such guidance would be implemented. In April 2022, NNSA officials agreed to further revise the program execution instruction to fully integrate references to AOA best practices, but they could not estimate when the next revision would be published. When NNSA issues its next revision of the program execution instruction, we will evaluate it for consistency with our recommendation." "Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Should Further Develop Cost, Schedule, and Risk Information for the W87-1 Warhead Program",GAO-20-703,"Sep 23, 2020","Allison Bawden","(202) 512-3841","National Nuclear Security Administration","The NNSA Administrator should direct the Office of Defense Programs' plutonium program office to ensure that the integrated master schedule in development for pit production meets NIMS standards, consistent with best practices for schedule development. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In October 2021, NNSA officials stated that NNSA implemented an integrated master schedule for pit production on October 1, 2021. However, in January 2023, GAO found that NNSA's pit production schedule does not meet minimum qualifications to be considered an integrated master schedule, according to GAO's Schedule Guide. In response, NNSA stated that it will continue to refine its integrated master schedule for plutonium pit production to align it with GAO best practices. We will continue to evaluate NNSA's efforts to develop a pit production schedule that meets GAO best practices." "Laboratory Safety: FDA Should Strengthen Efforts to Provide Effective Oversight",GAO-20-594,"Oct 8, 2020","Mary Denigan-Macauley","(202) 512-7114","Food and Drug Administration","The Commissioner of FDA should, as part of the agency's efforts to update OLS's strategic plan for overseeing agency-wide laboratory safety, resolve agency-wide disagreements on the roles and responsibilities for the centers and OLS in implementing laboratory safety reforms. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"HHS agreed with and partially addressed our recommendation. In December 2020, FDA initiated a third-party review of its laboratory safety program, and the review was completed in March 2021. In keeping with our recommendation, the third-party reviewer recommended that FDA finalize the identification of roles and responsibilities for agency-wide safety initiatives. As of February 2022, FDA stated that its leadership and safety staff, through the existing Laboratory Science and Safety Council, were reviewing and developing updates to Staff Manual Guides related to FDA's safety program, including to further clarify laboratory safety roles and responsibilities across FDA's centers and offices. As of January 2023, FDA stated that it is developing documents outlining the roles and responsibilities of the components within FDA's safety program. According to FDA, these documents will be shared with the FDA Commissioner and other FDA leadership for review and approval. In February 2024, FDA stated that it plans to complete these updates by the end of the year. These documents will inform the agency in its update to the OLS strategic plan. We will update the status of this recommendation when we receive additional information regarding the finalization and implementation of these documents, including an updated OLS strategic plan." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-20-586,"Aug 25, 2020","Dawn B. Simpson","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","We recommend that the Secretary of the Treasury ensure that the Fiscal Assistant Secretary enhances Treasury's procedures for the aggregate analysis to consider the impact of all amounts not obtained from significant entity audited financial statements on the reliability of the CFS and use the results to determine if audit coverage is needed for any information. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury made improvements to its procedures including adding steps to evaluate narrative information and improving note table tracing spreadsheets. However, we determined that Treasury's corrective actions were not sufficient. For example, in Treasury's note analysis, (a) unaudited sources were sometimes listed as audited such as in the case of the Department of Education and in the Oil and Gas section and (b) source and other decision information was not fully documented. In addition, Treasury did not develop sufficient procedures for using the note tracing results to determine if additional audit coverage is needed. Therefore, this recommendation remains open." "Navy Shipyards: Actions Needed to Address the Main Factors Causing Maintenance Delays for Aircraft Carriers and Submarines",GAO-20-588,"Aug 20, 2020","Diana Maurer, Asif A. Khan","(202) 512-9627, (202) 512-9869","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Naval Sea Systems Command develop and implements goals, action plans, milestones, and a monitoring process for its Shipyard Performance to Plan initiative to address the main factors contributing to maintenance delays and improving the timely completion of ship maintenance at Navy shipyards. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Navy concurred with our recommendation. Naval Sea Systems Command stated in December 2020 that to address this recommendation, the command had developed metrics for the identified drivers of maintenance delays and was working to identify levers that it can use to facilitate improvements. As of February 2023, the Navy has developed goals, milestones, and monitoring for the top-tier performance metrics it has identified. The Navy should fully develop action plans to address the main factors contributing to maintenance delays. As of March 2024, the Navy has not provided any updates on its efforts to develop these action plans. Implementing our recommendation could increase the overall availability of aircraft carriers and submarines to perform needed training and operations in support of their various missions and improve readiness." "Natural Gas Exports: Updated Guidance and Regulations Could Improve Facility Permitting Processes",GAO-20-619,"Aug 6, 2020","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","The Administrator of PHMSA should conduct a standards-specific review of regulations that incorporate standards and, if necessary, update the regulations or document its decision for not updating them. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"PHMSA agreed with this recommendation. As of January 2023, DOT officials told us that the agency is continuing to work toward implementing GAO's recommendation. DOT officials plan to develop a proposed rule that will incorporate updated standards. DOT's regulatory agenda indicates that it will issue its proposed rule in July 2023." "Homelessness: Better HUD Oversight of Data Collection Could Improve Estimates of Homeless Population",GAO-20-433,"Aug 13, 2020","Alicia Puente Cackley","(202) 512-8678","Department of Housing and Urban Development","HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs should conduct quality assurance checks on the PIT count methodology data it requires CoCs to submit and take actions as appropriate to ensure that HUD's standards for conducting valid and reliable PIT counts are met. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In 2023, HUD provided updated guidance to CoCs on count methodology and responded to CoC questions on enumeration issues, such as rural counting and counting tents and vehicles as part of its standard periodic update to HUD's PIT count notice. HUD also updated its PIT count methodology submission questions. In February 2024, HUD officials told us they review CoCs responses to the questions with their PIT count methodology submissions to assess the quality of CoCs' data. In addition, HUD officials told us they evaluate CoCs' data submissions for year-to-year variation and whether any data submission validation flags are being triggered and consult with CoCs that have submissions that raise any data quality questions. To fully implement this recommendation, HUD needs to provide evidence it has assessed the quality of the methodology underlying the information CoCs submit, such as by reviewing such submissions for soundness and accuracy. Without implementing quality assurance checks for its PIT count methodology data, HUD risks counts that underestimate the number of persons experiencing homelessness and that show fluctuations that do not accurately reflect the changes in the homeless population." "Homelessness: Better HUD Oversight of Data Collection Could Improve Estimates of Homeless Population",GAO-20-433,"Aug 13, 2020","Alicia Puente Cackley","(202) 512-8678","Department of Housing and Urban Development","HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs should assess and enhance the usefulness of its assistance to CoCs' data collection efforts. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In March 2023, HUD officials told us they were developing an outreach strategy to work with CoCs on PIT count methodologies. The intent of this outreach strategy is to talk to CoCs about their methodologies, answer questions, and determine if additional guidance or assistance is needed. As of February 2024, officials told us they still intend to assess their outreach efforts but their ability to fully implement this effort is currently limited. Meanwhile, HUD provided evidence it has developed a random sample of CoCs to provide one-on-one outreach and assistance on PIT count data and methodology submissions. HUD also provided evidence of consultations between the Office of Special Needs and Assistance Programs with CoCs seeking additional guidance or clarification of PIT count methodologies, as well as exceptions to use alternative data source in a CoC's PIT count data submission. We will continue to monitor HUD's progress in implementing this recommendation." "Sexual Harassment: Inconsistent and Incomplete Policies and Information Hinder VA's Efforts to Protect Employees",GAO-20-387,"Jul 15, 2020","Cindy Brown Barnes","(202) 512-7215","Department of Veterans Affairs","VA's Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness should realign VA's EEO Director position to adhere to the applicable EEOC directive by ensuring the position is not responsible for personnel functions. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"VA did not agree with our recommendation. Nevertheless, in September 2020, VA met with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to discuss, among other things, alignment of VA's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Director position. In July 2022, VA said it had no plans for realignment and it believed the integrity of its EEO process was maintained. In December 2022, legislation was enacted that included a provision for the Secretary of VA to ensure that the official who serves as the department's EEO Director does not also serve in a position that has responsibility over personnel functions of the department within 90 days of enactment. In March 2024, VA said it was assessing what changes it may need to make to implement the new law. We will close this recommendation when VA realigns its EEO Director position and it is appropriately aligned." "Sexual Harassment: Inconsistent and Incomplete Policies and Information Hinder VA's Efforts to Protect Employees",GAO-20-387,"Jul 15, 2020","Cindy Brown Barnes","(202) 512-7215","Department of Veterans Affairs","VA's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Resolution Management should complete VA's EEO Program Manager realignment initiative at VBA and VHA in accordance with VA policy. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"VA agreed with our recommendation. In January 2023, VA said VBA had realigned most of its EEO Program Managers and proposed plans to complete the remaining realignment. VA stated that it planned to realign VHA EEO Program Managers in fiscal year 2024, pending passage of legislation to fund such realignment. However, VA has not provided documentation of its realignment plans. In December of 2022, legislation was enacted that included a provision that within one year of enactment, the Secretary of VA shall ensure that each EEO Program Manager at the facility level reports to the Director of the Office of Resolution Management, or such successor office established. In March 2024, VA stated that the VHA EEO Program Manager realignment would be completed in fiscal year 2024 pending Congressional approval in raising the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion's reimbursable cap. To implement our recommendation, VA needs to complete the EEO Program Manager realignment at VBA and VHA to help ensure there is not potential conflict of interest." "Cybersecurity: Selected Federal Agencies Need to Coordinate on Requirements and Assessments of States",GAO-20-123,"May 27, 2020","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-6240","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should take steps to ensure that CMS, FBI, IRS, and SSA coordinate, where feasible, on assessments of state agencies' cybersecurity, which may include steps such as leveraging other agencies' security assessments or conducting assessments jointly. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"While OMB did not agree or disagree with GAO's recommendation, the agency noted steps it is taking to address the recommendation. In March 2022, OMB stated that it has continued to review the recommendation with the Federal Chief Information Officer Council, Federal Chief Information Security Officer Council, and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, but had no new information to provide. As of December 2022, OMB stated that it is comparing the recommendations with recent actions, guidance, and policy memoranda issued since the recommendations were made. To fully address this recommendation, OMB needs to determine and implement an approach that encourages agencies to coordinate on assessments of state agencies' cybersecurity where feasible. As of February 2024, OMB has not completed these actions. Until OMB does so, it will not have reasonable assurance federal agencies are leveraging compatible assessments where practicable that could lead to fragmented assessments across federal agencies." "Cybersecurity: Selected Federal Agencies Need to Coordinate on Requirements and Assessments of States",GAO-20-123,"May 27, 2020","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-6240","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should revise its assessment policies to maximize coordination with other federal agencies to the greatest extent practicable. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"CMS agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2024, CMS stated that it would accept results of a recent, independent, third-party assessment conducted for another federal agency. CMS also stated that it would work to revise its assessment policies to maximize coordination with other federal agencies to the greatest extent possible but has not yet provided documentation. In addition, CMS stated that the Office of Management and Budget would need to be involved in developing a standardized process for sharing independent security assessments performed by the states with other federal agencies. To fully implement this recommendation, CMS needs to determine what changes it can make to its assessment policies and implement those changes. Maximizing coordination with other federal agencies would help provide reasonable assurance that CMS is leveraging compatible assessments with other agencies and may help reduce federal resources associated with their implementation. We will continue to monitor the agency's progress in implementing this recommendation." "Cybersecurity: Selected Federal Agencies Need to Coordinate on Requirements and Assessments of States",GAO-20-123,"May 27, 2020","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-6240","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should ensure that CMS, FBI, IRS, and SSA are collaborating on their cybersecurity requirements pertaining to state agencies to the greatest extent possible and direct further coordination where needed. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"While OMB did not agree or disagree with GAO's recommendation, the agency noted steps it is taking to address the recommendation. In March 2022, OMB stated that it has continued to review the recommendation with the Federal Chief Information Officer Council, Federal Chief Information Security Officer Council, and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, but had no new information to provide. As of December 2022, OMB stated that it is comparing the recommendations with recent actions, guidance, and policy memoranda issued since the recommendations were made. To fully address this recommendation, OMB needs to determine and implement an approach that encourages federal agencies to collaborate, or direct agencies to further coordinate. As of February 2024, OMB has not completed these actions. Without OMB's involvement and encouragement that federal agencies collaborate to make their cybersecurity requirements for state agencies consistent to the greatest extent possible, federal agencies are less likely to prioritize such efforts that could lead to greater fragmentation of cybersecurity policies for states." "Indian Education: Actions Needed to Ensure Students with Disabilities Receive Special Education Services",GAO-20-358,"Jun 5, 2020","Melissa Emrey-Arras","(617) 788-0534","Bureau of Indian Education","The Director of BIE should establish consistent requirements for schools on making up missed special education and related services and monitor schools to ensure that they follow these requirements. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"BIE agreed with this recommendation. BIE acknowledged that it must refine the guidance provided by its special education subject matter experts to ensure that guidance on missed special education related services is consistent. In January 2022, BIE reported it was developing policy and guidance for schools that would include requirements on making up missed special education and related services. As of January 2023, BIE had drafted a special education policy and handbook that includes consistent requirements for schools on making up missed special education and related services. Agency officials said they planned to finalize and issue the policy and handbook after consulting with Tribes and then would take steps to monitor schools to ensure they follow the requirements for making up missed services. We will continue to track the agency's efforts to implement the recommendation." "Female Active-Duty Personnel: Guidance and Plans Needed for Recruitment and Retention Efforts",GAO-20-61,"May 19, 2020","Brenda S. Farrell","(202) 512-3604","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness provides guidance to the services, for example, in its forthcoming diversity and inclusion strategic plan, to develop plans, with clearly defined goals, performance measures, and timeframes, to guide and monitor recruitment and retention efforts of female active-duty servicemembers in the military. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. In May 2020, the department noted that it would provide guidance to the military services in its forthcoming DOD Diversity and Inclusion Instruction and its Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan. In September 2020, DOD issued DOD Instruction 1020.05, DOD Diversity and Inclusion Management Program and in September 2022 issued its new strategic plan, Department of Defense Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2022-2023. DOD stated that its strategic plan will mitigate barriers that exist for underrepresented groups by ensuring tighter integration between diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility goals and initiatives and the various offices that handle aspects of the employee experience. However, given this broad emphasis on all underrepresented groups, neither document included the requisite guidance to the military services to specifically address recruitment and retention challenges of female active-duty service members. Subsequently, in July 2023, DOD provided additional documentation with explanatory language to identify and crosswalk its efforts to address gender-related issues across a number of documents. These documents included the aforementioned strategic plan, as well as the implementation plan for its National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, and a September 2021 Secretary of Defense Memorandum on Commencing DOD Actions and Implementation to Address Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the Military, among other things. Although these documents identify the department's current and future initiatives to address a range of issues impacting female service members, they do not serve as guidance to the services to develop their own plans, with clearly defined goals, performance measures, and timelines to address as outlined in the recommendation. Therefore, as of August 2023, DOD has not provided sufficient documentation to demonstrate that it has implemented this recommendation. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD should provide guidance to the military services to develop plans with clearly defined goals, performance measures, and time frames that would guide and monitor their efforts to recruit and retain female active-duty service members. Implementing our recommendation would assist DOD with achieving its goals of maintaining a ready force that includes the best and the brightest. We will continue to monitor DOD's efforts to address this recommendation and will update the status as more information becomes available." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Actions Needed to Enhance DHS Oversight of Cybersecurity at High-Risk Chemical Facilities",GAO-20-453,"May 14, 2020","Nathan Anderson, Nick Marinos","(206)287-4804, (202) 512-9342","Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency","The Assistant Director of the Infrastructure Security Division should develop a workforce plan that addresses the program's cybersecurity-related needs, which should include an analysis of any gaps in the program's capacity and capability to perform its cybersecurity-related functions, and human capital strategies to address them. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"In June 2023 DHS issued new guidance to assist with chemical security workforce planning. However, fully addressing this recommendation by developing a workforce plan that includes analysis of any gaps in the chemical security program's capacity and capability to perform its cybersecurity-related functions, and human capital strategies to address them, will help the program ensure that it has the appropriate number of staff to carry out cybersecurity-related efforts. As of July 28, 2023, Congress has allowed the statutory authority for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program (6 CFR Part 27) to expire. Therefore, further updates are pending the program being reauthorized." "Infectious Disease Modeling: Opportunities to Improve Coordination and Ensure Reproducibility",GAO-20-372,"Jun 4, 2020","Timothy M. Persons","(202) 512-6888","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of Health and Human Services should develop a mechanism to routinely monitor, evaluate, and report on coordination efforts for infectious disease modeling across multiple agencies. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"HHS agreed with and has begun taking steps to implement this recommendation. HHS stated that, as of February 2024, it is developing a process whereby it will coordinate its efforts in infectious disease modeling across its components, which will include monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on such coordination. To fully address this action, HHS needs to finish developing and implementing this process, and provide relevant documentation, while ensuring that the process routinely monitors, evaluates, and reports on coordination of infectious disease modeling efforts across multiple agencies. Successful completion of this effort could help HHS better identify any duplication and overlap among agencies, which could help them to better plan for and respond to disease outbreaks." "Infectious Disease Modeling: Opportunities to Improve Coordination and Ensure Reproducibility",GAO-20-372,"Jun 4, 2020","Timothy M. Persons","(202) 512-6888","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct CDC to establish guidelines that ensure full reproducibility of CDC's research by sharing with the public all permissible and appropriate information needed to reproduce research results, including, but not limited to, model code. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concurred with and has begun taking steps to implement this recommendation. As of February 2024, CDC stated it was making progress toward improving the speed, quality, and timeliness of its shared data. It stated it has worked to prioritize and drive high-impact, high quality science to better inform federal, state, and local decision-making efforts. Additionally, CDC stated it has implemented system efficiencies and process improvements to improve data clearance efficiency. To fully address this action, CDC needs to finish updating and provide its policies and guidelines and modernize its information sharing processes. This could help to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated to the public, such as by modifying its guidelines to include language relating to model reproducibility, including, but not limited to, model code. Successful completion of this effort could help CDC ensure that its models are reproducible, a key characteristic of reliable, high-quality scientific research." "Hanford Waste Treatment Plant: DOE Is Pursuing Pretreatment Alternatives, but Its Strategy Is Unclear While Costs Continue to Rise",GAO-20-363,"May 12, 2020","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should direct the Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management to ensure that EM's final AOA for HLW pretreatment at the Hanford Site includes a definition of mission need and life-cycle cost estimates for the baseline or status quo alternative, as called for in the best practices for an AOA process we have identified and DOE guidance. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In January 2023, DOE released its AOA for HLW treatment. DOE also announced in 2023 that holistic negotiations with the state of Washington had concluded but has not yet announced details of the agreement. We will review this agreement once it is made public and assess whether the steps taken by DOE satisfy this recommendation." "Pedestrian Safety: NHTSA Needs to Decide Whether to Include Pedestrian Safety Tests in Its New Car Assessment Program",GAO-20-419,"Apr 23, 2020","Andrew Von Ah","(202) 512-2834","National Highway Traffic Safety Administration","The Administrator of NHTSA should document the overall process for making changes to NCAP, including established criteria and milestones for decisions, and share this process with external stakeholders. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of March 2024, NHTSA has updated its website to identify four prerequisites NHTSA considers when determining whether to update the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Those prerequisites include criteria for decisions such as whether the proposed NCAP update would improve safety and whether an objective test procedure exists for the update. The revised webpage also describes NHTSA's process for requesting public comments on proposed changes through the Federal Register before issuing a final decision on NCAP changes. In addition, NHTSA previously requested public comments on proposed changes to NCAP that would establish a 10-year roadmap for future updates to the program. According to NHTSA, the roadmap will set forth near-term and longer-term strategies for upgrading the program gradually. Such a roadmap would provide milestones for future updates to external stakeholders. However, as of March 2024, NHTSA has yet to finalize its roadmap and publish it for external stakeholders. According to NHTSA, it plans to publish the final 10-year roadmap later in 2024. By issuing a final roadmap for updates to NCAP, NHTSA should have an effective tool to ensure its safety tests are regularly updated and communicated to the general public and industry stakeholders. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's progress in addressing this recommendation." "Pedestrian Safety: NHTSA Needs to Decide Whether to Include Pedestrian Safety Tests in Its New Car Assessment Program",GAO-20-419,"Apr 23, 2020","Andrew Von Ah","(202) 512-2834","National Highway Traffic Safety Administration","The Administrator of NHTSA should decide whether to include pedestrian safety tests in NCAP and NHTSA should communicate this decision and rationale to relevant stakeholders and the public. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, NHTSA has not made or communicated a decision on whether to include pedestrian safety tests in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). NHTSA previously requested comments from the public on several proposed changes to NCAP, including a proposal to add a testing procedure to NCAP for a technology in many new vehicles that can stop a vehicle before a collision occurs . This technology is known as ""pedestrian automatic emergency braking."" NHTSA officials told GAO that they received more than 4,000 comments on the proposed changes that they are in the process of analyzing. NHTSA officials stated that they intend to publish a final decision for including these pedestrian safety tests along with its 10-year roadmap for future NCAP updates in 2024. In addition, NHTSA has also separately requested comments on a proposal to update NCAP to provide consumers with information about crashworthiness pedestrian protection of new vehicles. In this proposal, NHTSA proposes to test vehicles using four test devices that are currently used in in the European NCAP. These testing procedures are designed to assess the severity of pedestrian injuries caused by vehicles and encourage automakers to employ crash mitigation features that could reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries. According to NHTSA, it received over 2,800 comments to this proposal from safety advocates, trade groups, research organizations, and individuals. NHTSA officials told us that they plan to issue a final decision on these crash worthiness tests in 2024, separate from its final decision on pedestrian automatic emergency braking tests. In the absence of a decision on including pedestrian safety tests in NCAP and rationale for that decision, stakeholders and the general public lack clarity on whether NHTSA is using all of the policy tools at its disposal to address emerging safety risks and achieve its strategic objectives. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's progress in addressing this recommendation." "K-12 Education: Education Needs to Address Significant Quality Issues with its Restraint and Seclusion Data",GAO-20-345,"Apr 21, 2020","Jacqueline M. Nowicki","(617) 788-0580","Office for Civil Rights for the Department of Education","The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should identify the factors that cause underreporting and misreporting of restraint and seclusion and take steps to help school districts overcome these issues. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"Education agreed with this recommendation and stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. In February 2023, Education reported that its Office for Civil Rights is developing a plan to engage some districts in a series of listening sessions in order to help determine what is driving the under and misreporting . The listening sessions are to take place throughout 2023. In July 2023, Education reported that it intends to gather information from at least 9 voluntary school districts, due to limited resources and the OMB process required whenever an agency seeks the same information from ten or more people or entities. The projected completion date is October 31, 2024. We will continue to monitor progress on this recommendation." "Cybersecurity: DOD Needs to Take Decisive Actions to Improve Cyber Hygiene",GAO-20-241,"Apr 13, 2020","Joe Kirschbaum, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9971, (202) 512-9342","Office of the Secretary of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the DOD CIO takes appropriate steps to ensure implementation of the DC3I tasks. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOD partially agreed with this recommendation. In its comments on our report, the department agreed that two of the seven tasks should be implemented but that the remaining five tasks were either implemented or have been overcome by events. However the department did not provide information demonstrating how tasks encouraging a cybersecurity culture had become overcome by events. Subsequently, between 2020 and 2023, the department issued three issuances that the DOD CIO's office believes implements one of the seven outstanding tasks-including DOD Directive 8140.01, DOD Instruction 8140.02, and DOD Manual 8140.03. With regard to the remaining tasks associated with this recommendation, the DOD CIO's office stated that it requested input about actions taken from U.S. Cyber Command, Joint Forces Headquarters-DOD Information Network, and the Joint Staff, but had not received a response in time for this report. We continue to believe that implementation of this recommendation is important. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD should complete the remaining tasks in the Cybersecurity Culture and Compliance Initiative." "Cybersecurity: DOD Needs to Take Decisive Actions to Improve Cyber Hygiene",GAO-20-241,"Apr 13, 2020","Joe Kirschbaum, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9971, (202) 512-9342","Office of the Secretary of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that DOD components develop plans with scheduled completion dates to implement the four remaining CDIP tasks overseen by DOD CIO. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In 2020, DOD partially agreed with this recommendation. However, in January 2023, DOD CIO officials stated that the office no longer agrees with the recommendation and does not intend on taking any further action to implement it. As we stated in our 2020 report, we believe DOD should be taking action to implement the four tasks, as doing so would better position DOD to meet the Deputy Secretary of Defense's goal of removing preventable vulnerabilities from DOD's network. Such vulnerabilities could allow adversaries to compromise information and information systems." "Cybersecurity: DOD Needs to Take Decisive Actions to Improve Cyber Hygiene",GAO-20-241,"Apr 13, 2020","Joe Kirschbaum, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9971, (202) 512-9342","Office of the Secretary of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Deputy Secretary of Defense identifies a DOD component to oversee the implementation of the seven CDIP tasks not overseen by DOD CIO and report on progress implementing them. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DOD did not agree with this recommendation when we issued our report, and the department reiterated this position in January 2023. We continue to believe that implementation of this recommendation is important, as several of these tasks are the same or similar to the cybersecurity standards that DOD plans to apply to certain defense contractors in future contract awards to protect DOD information that is stored or transits through their networks as a part of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification framework. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD should identify a DOD component to oversee the seven tasks in the Cybersecurity Discipline Implementation Plan that are not overseen by the CIO and report on their progress. If the department implements this recommendation, it will have more assurance that it addresses cybersecurity vulnerabilities promptly and securely configures systems." "Cybersecurity: DOD Needs to Take Decisive Actions to Improve Cyber Hygiene",GAO-20-241,"Apr 13, 2020","Joe Kirschbaum, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9971, (202) 512-9342","Office of the Secretary of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should direct a component to monitor the extent to which practices are implemented to protect the department's network from key cyberattack techniques. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"DOD did not agree with this recommendation in its comments on our report but subsequently revised its position in January 2023 to agreed with the recommendation. The office of the DOD CIO acknowledged that U.S. Cyber Command and one of its subordinate commands has operational responsibilities associated with DOD networks. We acknowledge that U.S. Cyber Command and its subordinate command have operational responsibilities (to include defensive cyber operations). We are also aware that the DOD CIO is responsible for all matters relating to cybersecurity. DOD CIO officials did not clarify whether any DOD official or component is monitoring the extent to which the department is implementing protective key cyberattack techniques. To implement this recommendation, DOD should direct a component to monitor the extent to which the department implements practices to protect the department's network from cyberattack techniques. Taking action to implement our recommendation would help address that gap." "Cybersecurity: DOD Needs to Take Decisive Actions to Improve Cyber Hygiene",GAO-20-241,"Apr 13, 2020","Joe Kirschbaum, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9971, (202) 512-9342","Office of the Secretary of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the DOD CIO assesses the extent to which senior leaders' have more complete information to make risk-based decisions—and revise the recurring reports (or develop a new report) accordingly. Such information could include DOD's progress on implementing (a) cybersecurity practices identified in cyber hygiene initiatives and (b) cyber hygiene practices to protect DOD networks from key cyberattack techniques. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"DOD partially agreed with this recommendation, but in January 2023, it did not report taking any further action to implement it. To provide an update for our 2023 priority recommendation letter, DOD reported that the services, agencies, field activities, and combatant commands are required to provide input to one scorecard that measures cybersecurity across the department. However, the CIO's office did not discuss any efforts to assess whether senior leaders receive information to make risk-based decisions about the cyber hygiene issues we reported in 2020. To implement this recommendation, the CIO should assess the extent that senior leaders have information on DOD's progress implementing cyber hygiene initiatives and practices to protect DOD networks from key cyberattack techniques." "Aviation: FAA Needs to Better Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Fraud and Abuse Risks in Aircraft Registration",GAO-20-164,"Mar 25, 2020","Rebecca Shea","(202) 512-6722","Office of the Administrator","The Administrator of FAA should verify aircraft registration applicants' and dealers' eligibility and information. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"The agency agreed with this recommendation. In March 2021, FAA reported that it plans to include verification of eligibility for individuals and entities as part of the Civil Aviation Registry Electronic Services (CARES) system. In March 2022, FAA reported that it is partnering with external government agencies to identify ways to share data and verify eligibility. In March 2023, FAA reported that CARES Aircraft system was released in December 2022, using third party service to verify applicant information. However, submitted data--beyond individual name, physical address, and citizenship attestation--are not permanently saved in CARES. FAA reported that the agency anticipates to initiate rulemaking to collect additional data for verification purposes by December 2023. In February 2024, FAA officials reported that their efforts related to collecting additional data and validating applicant information against reliable sources were ongoing. Additional data collection for corporations and limited liability companies was being prepared for internal review under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Officials further reported that FAA was exploring options involving third-party software as well as data sharing agreements with law enforcement agencies for applicant identity validation purposes. We will continue to monitor FAA's progress in this area." "Aviation: FAA Needs to Better Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Fraud and Abuse Risks in Aircraft Registration",GAO-20-164,"Mar 25, 2020","Rebecca Shea","(202) 512-6722","Office of the Administrator","The Administrator of FAA should increase aircraft registration and dealer fees to ensure the fees are sufficient to cover the costs of FAA efforts to collect and verify applicant information while keeping pace with inflation. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"The agency agreed with this recommendation. In March 2021, FAA reported that the agency will need a minimum of six months of recordation data, from the time the Civil Aviation Registry Electronic Services (CARES) system is live, to assess and inform new fee amounts. In March 2023, FAA reported that the agency deployed the CARES system in December 2022 with limited capabilities. In February 2024, FAA officials told us they created a registry fee cost model that would achieve full cost recovery and be sustainable with inflation. According to FAA, the cost model uses a formula-based approach to calculate cost rates for fee activities and is consistent with generally accepted accounting principles and the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-25. FAA is evaluating next steps for this cost model to include rulemaking. We will continue to monitor FAA's progress in this area." "Navy Shipbuilding: Increasing Focus on Sustainment Early in the Acquisition Process Could Save Billions",GAO-20-2,"Mar 24, 2020","Shelby S. Oakley","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should change its definition for setting operational availability for ships in its Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System policy by adding information that defines the operational availability requirement by mission area in addition to the ship level and includes all equipment failures that affect the ability of a ship to perform primary missions. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) agreed with GAO's March 2020 recommendation, and in February 2024, officials said they planned to include revisions to the operational availability requirement in a forthcoming update to the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System policy, which is expected to be completed in 2024. In the meantime, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued interim guidance in January 2023 directing the Navy to rely on factors other than category 4 casualty reports when establishing the basis for shipbuilding programs' operational availability requirements. As we found in our March 2020 report, the use of such casualty reports was one of the reasons the Navy's operational availability requirements did not effectively account for all equipment failures that could affect a ship's ability to perform primary missions. GAO will continue to monitor DOD's efforts to implement this recommendation." "Navy Shipbuilding: Increasing Focus on Sustainment Early in the Acquisition Process Could Save Billions",GAO-20-2,"Mar 24, 2020","Shelby S. Oakley","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should direct the ASN (RD&A) to ensure all shipbuilding programs develop and update LCSPs, in accordance with DOD policy, that demonstrate how a ship class can be affordably operated and maintained while meeting sustainment requirements, including associated business case analyses and identifying sustainment risk. (Recommendation 7)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Navy agreed with our recommendation and, in April 2022, updated its acquisition policy to reiterate that all large acquisition programs--such as shipbuilding programs--were required to develop and regularly update a life-cycle sustainment plan (LCSP). The updated policy also clarified which Navy officials were responsible for drafting and approving the LCSP. Additionally, according to existing DOD policy and guidance, LCSPs should include business case analyses and discussions of sustainment risks. Officials stated the Navy plans to update the LCSPs for all of its shipbuilding programs and ensure they include all required elements, as we recommended. However, given the number of LCSPs that need to be updated, officials estimate it will take the Navy several years to complete this effort. As of February 2024, officials stated the Navy was developing a schedule for updating shipbuilding programs' LCSPs. GAO will continue to monitor the Navy's plan to update all shipbuilding program's LCSPs and its actions to ensure any new or revised LCSPs align with policy requirements." "Information Management: Selected Agencies Need to Fully Address Federal Electronic Recordkeeping Requirements",GAO-20-59,"Mar 30, 2020","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Office of the Director","The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should establish a time frame to update its policies and procedures to include all of the required electronic information system functionalities for recordkeeping systems. (Recommendation 24)",Open,Yes,"The Office of Management and Budget concurred with our recommendation. In March 2022, in response to our recommendation, OMB noted that the Executive Office of the President's Office of Administration is responsible for records management for all Executive Office components and has procedures that incorporate the management of electronic records into their records management program. However, OMB did not provide a time frame or evidence that its policies and procedures were updated to include all of the required electronic information system functionalities for recordkeeping systems." "Information Management: Selected Agencies Need to Fully Address Federal Electronic Recordkeeping Requirements",GAO-20-59,"Mar 30, 2020","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Office of the Director","The Director of the Office of Personnel Management should establish a time frame to develop a plan to manage permanent electronic records. (Recommendation 32)",Open,Yes,"In response to our recommendation, in March 2022, OPM began taking steps to manage all of its permanent records in an electronic format. Specifically, OPM stated that the agency was in process of procuring a contract that will, among other things, help OPM maintain all permanent records electronically by December 2022. To fully address the recommendation, OPM will need to provide GAO with the plan or schedule on the management of permanent electronic records." "Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Organizational Changes and Determine Workforce Needs",GAO-20-223,"Feb 26, 2020","Nathan Anderson","(202) 512-3841","United States Coast Guard","The Commandant of the Coast Guard should update its April 2018 Manpower Requirements Plan to include time frames and milestones for completing manpower requirements analyses and determinations for all positions and units. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Coast Guard concurred with this recommendation and said it would update its Manpower Requirements Plan during the next required periodic report submission to Congress, in fiscal year 2022. The Coast Guard stated that this would be completed by March 31, 2022. In June 2022, it stated that it estimated submitting the updated plan to Congress by the end of December 2022. In March 2023, Coast Guard provided its Manpower Requirements Plan to Congress. However, the plan did not include milestones or timeframes for completing manpower requirements analysis and determinations for all positions and units, as Coast Guard had previously stated it would do to implement the recommendation. Therefore, the plan submission did not meet the intent of our recommendation. In May 2023, Coast Guard officials told us it had been difficult to develop accurate timeframes and milestones, in part because the service did not have adequate resources to complete the necessary MRDs. Coast Guard officials told us that they could develop an estimate of how many positions it plans to assess in the next five years given their current resource constraints and agency priorities. In September 2023, Coast Guard officials provided a memorandum outlining its manpower study intent for fiscal years 2023 to 2028. According to this August 2023 document, the Coast Guard intends to begin or complete manpower requirement analysis for about 20 units, subject to resource availability, shifting priorities, and other factors. We will continue to monitor actions Coast Guard takes to fully implement this recommendation." "Black Lung Benefits Program: Improved Oversight of Coal Mine Operator Insurance Is Needed",GAO-20-21,"Feb 26, 2020","Cindy Brown Barnes, Alicia Puente Cackley","(202) 512-7215, (202) 512-8678","Office of Workers' Compensation Programs","The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs should develop and implement procedures for coal mine operator self-insurance renewal that clarifies how long an operator is authorized to self-insure; when an operator must submit its renewal application and supporting documentation; and the conditions under which an operator's self-insurance authority would not be renewed. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOL agreed with this recommendation and said it is acting to implement it to achieve further improvements in ensuring the effective oversight of coal mine operator insurance. In December 2021, however, we reported that while DOL took initial steps to implement GAO's recommendation, its reform effort was hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a review of the program by the current administration, according to DOL officials. After completing the review of the program, DOL officials published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register in January 2023 that proposed revisions to the process for coal mine operators to apply for authorization to self-insure and the amount of security self-insured operators must provide. GAO can close this recommendation once DOL has established policies and procedures to monitor and oversee self-insured coal mine operators." "Black Lung Benefits Program: Improved Oversight of Coal Mine Operator Insurance Is Needed",GAO-20-21,"Feb 26, 2020","Cindy Brown Barnes, Alicia Puente Cackley","(202) 512-7215, (202) 512-8678","Office of Workers' Compensation Programs","The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs should develop and implement procedures for self-insured coal mine operator appeals that identify time lines for self-insured operators to submit documentation supporting their appeals and that identify a goal for how much time DOL should take to make appeals decisions. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOL agreed with this recommendation and said it is acting to implement it to achieve further improvements in ensuring the effective oversight of coal mine operator insurance. In December 2021, however, we reported that while DOL took initial steps to implement GAO's recommendation its reform effort was hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a review of the program by the current administration, according to DOL officials. After completing the review of the program, DOL published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register in January 2023 that proposed revisions to the process for operators to appeal determinations made by OWCP. GAO can close this recommendation once DOL has established policies and procedures to monitor and oversee self-insured coal mine operators, including operator appeals." "National Biodefense Strategy: Additional Efforts Would Enhance Likelihood of Effective Implementation",GAO-20-273,"Feb 19, 2020","Christopher P. Currie, Mary Denigan-Macauley","(404) 679-1875, (202) 512-7114","Office of the Secretary for HHS","The Secretary of HHS should direct the Biodefense Coordination Team to establish a plan that includes change management practices—such as strategies for feedback, communication, and education—to reinforce collaborative behaviors and enterprise-wide approaches and to help prevent early implementation challenges from becoming institutionalized. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"HHS agreed with our recommendation and described actions taken in collaboration with federal departments and agencies to manage and advance key cultural aspects of the enterprise-wide approach needed to implement the National Biodefense Strategy. For example, HHS provided evidence of regular Biodefense Coordination Team meetings, after action reports and corrective action summaries intended to guide the Strategy's implementation, and a communications plan designed to provide consistent messaging across the biodefense enterprise. These actions are examples of change management practices we described in our report. However, HHS did not provide a plan, as we recommended, to reinforce collaborative behaviors and enterprise-wide approaches to manage the change from a mission stovepipe orientation to an enterprise wide homeland and national security focus on biodefense preparedness. HHS reported in May 2023 that by mid-2021, it and partner agencies were involved in the National Security Council led process to update the National Biodefense Strategy. As such, HHS reported that the governance bodies established in 2018 to implement the Strategy took no further efforts to implement this recommendation. Because of the complex nature of managing risk across a multi-agency, multi-sectoral enterprise, a plan for managing change that includes strategies for feedback, communication, and education to reinforce collaborative behaviors and enterprise-wide approaches is as relevant under the updated National Biodefense Strategy (2022) as it was in February 2020 when we made this recommendation. We believe that continued oversight is needed as agencies with biodefense work together to implement the updated Strategy. As such, as of February 2024, we have ongoing work assessing the updated National Biodefense Strategy to determine whether any of its associated plans include change management practices to fully address the intent of our recommendation." "National Biodefense Strategy: Additional Efforts Would Enhance Likelihood of Effective Implementation",GAO-20-273,"Feb 19, 2020","Christopher P. Currie, Mary Denigan-Macauley","(404) 679-1875, (202) 512-7114","Office of the Secretary for HHS","The Secretary of HHS should direct the Biodefense Coordination Team to clearly document guidance and methods for analyzing the data collected from the agencies, including ensuring that nonfederal resources and capabilities are accounted for in the analysis. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"HHS agreed with our recommendation and in 2021 described that standard operating procedures were in development to further codify the annual assessment process. However, in 2023, HHS reported that while information for the annual assessment was collected in the fall of 2021, an analysis of the data was not conducted, as efforts to revise the Strategy and governance structure were well underway. HHS stated that by fall 2021, it was clear that future efforts to assess biodefense capabilities would be significantly different, but would draw on lessons learned and the experiences of the Biodefense Coordination Team during previous assessments. In May 2023, HHS said the governance bodies that were created to implement the 2018 National Biodefense Strategy, including the Biodefense Coordination Team that we reference in our recommendation, no longer exist. However, we continue to believe that as agencies with biodefense responsibilities conduct annual assessments of biodefense capabilities under the updated Strategy, oversight will be important to help ensure nonfederal resources and capabilities are accounted for, as many of the nation's biodefense capabilities are not at the federal level. As of February 2024, as part of our ongoing assessment of the 2022 National Biodefense Strategy, we will assess the extent to which the updated Strategy and implementation guidance meet the intent of our recommendation." "Southwest Border: Actions Needed to Improve DHS Processing of Families and Coordination between DHS and HHS",GAO-20-245,"Mar 18, 2020","Rebecca S. Gambler","(202) 512-8777","Department of Homeland Security","The Secretary of Homeland Security, jointly with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, should collaborate to address information sharing gaps identified in this report to ensure that ORR receives information needed to make decisions for UAC, including those apprehended with an adult. (Recommendation 8)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Since our report, DHS and HHS have taken a number of steps to share information on unaccompanied children. For example, DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in coordination with HHS and other agencies, has implemented the Unified Immigration Portal (UIP). The UIP provides authorized users a means to view and access certain immigration-related data from each of the respective agencies from a single interface. The UIP also provides real time data, including biographic information, to help track unaccompanied children from the time of DHS apprehension to their referral and placement in HHS-funded facilities. In addition, HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is continuing to implement its case management system, the UC Portal, which is integrated with UIP. This helps officials retrieve data regarding a child's status in a more automated manner. However, as of March 2024, the information gaps we highlighted in our report continue to exist. In particular, according to ORR officials, they do not consistently receive information from DHS components about the adults and, as applicable, the other children who arrived with unaccompanied children, which would help ORR make placement and release decisions. ORR officials stated that this includes information on the individuals within a family unit, whether a family separation occurred, and details of any such separation. Additionally, these officials stated they are not consistently receiving the necessary biographical information about unaccompanied children, or their parents/legal guardians. In the fall of 2023, DHS and ORR reported that they are working on a new interagency agreement to govern information sharing. As part of the new agreement, ORR stated the agencies are working to define exact data elements to be shared. DHS stated it anticipates concluding work on the new agreement by August 2024. To fully address this recommendation, DHS and HHS should collaborate to address the information-sharing gaps identified in our report to ensure that HHS receives information needed to make decisions for unaccompanied children, including those apprehended with an adult." "Southwest Border: Actions Needed to Improve DHS Processing of Families and Coordination between DHS and HHS",GAO-20-245,"Mar 18, 2020","Rebecca S. Gambler","(202) 512-8777","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of Health and Human Services, jointly with the Secretary of Homeland Security, should collaborate to address information sharing gaps identified in this report to ensure that ORR receives information needed to make decisions for UAC, including those apprehended with an adult. (Recommendation 9)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Since our report, DHS and HHS have taken a number of steps to share information on unaccompanied children. For example, DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in coordination with HHS and other agencies, has implemented the Unified Immigration Portal (UIP). The UIP provides authorized users a means to view and access certain immigration-related data from each of the respective agencies from a single interface. The UIP also provides real time data, including biographic information, to help track unaccompanied children from the time of DHS apprehension to their referral and placement in HHS-funded facilities. In addition, HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is continuing to implement its case management system, the UC Portal, which is integrated with UIP. This helps officials retrieve data regarding a child's status in a more automated manner. However, as of March 2024, the information gaps we highlighted in our report continue to exist. In particular, according to ORR officials, they do not consistently receive information from DHS components about the adults and, as applicable, the other children who arrived with unaccompanied children, which would help ORR make placement and release decisions. ORR officials stated that this includes information on the individuals within a family unit, whether a family separation occurred, and details of any such separation. Additionally, these officials stated they are not consistently receiving the necessary biographical information about unaccompanied children, or their parents/legal guardians. In the fall of 2023, DHS and ORR reported that they are working on a new interagency agreement to govern information sharing. As part of the new agreement, ORR stated the agencies are working to define exact data elements to be shared. DHS stated it anticipates concluding work on the new agreement by August 2024. To fully address this recommendation, DHS and HHS should collaborate to address the information-sharing gaps identified in our report to ensure that HHS receives information needed to make decisions for unaccompanied children, including those apprehended with an adult" "Virtual Currencies: Additional Information Reporting and Clarified Guidance Could Improve Tax Compliance",GAO-20-188,"Feb 12, 2020","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should clarify the application of reporting requirements under FATCA to virtual currency. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"IRS disagreed with this recommendation. In an August 2020 letter, IRS said it intends to focus on developing guidance regarding information reporting on certain virtual currency transactions involving U.S. businesses instead of clarifying the application of reporting requirements under FATCA to virtual currency. IRS stated that additional guidance on FATCA requirements may be appropriate in the future as the workings of foreign virtual currency exchanges become more transparent over time. We found that many virtual currency stakeholders were uncertain about how, if at all, FATCA requirements apply to virtual currency and would benefit from clarifications to the guidance. In March 2023, IRS informed us that it submitted a proposal, which was included in the Department of the Treasury's General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2024 Revenue Proposals, to require reporting by certain taxpayers of foreign digital asset accounts under Section 6038D of the Internal Revenue Code. If adopted, the proposal would address the intent of our recommendation by clarifying the application of reporting requirements under FATCA to virtual currency. IRS could also implement this recommendation by providing taxpayers with a clear statement about the current requirements under FATCA related to foreign virtual currency holdings. Lack of clarity about these requirements could lead to underreporting, which deprives IRS of data needed to address offshore tax evasion, or overreporting, which creates unnecessary burdens and costs for taxpayers. As of February 2024, IRS had not taken action to provide taxpayers with information about the current FATCA requirements." "Small Business Administration: Disaster Loan Processing Was Timelier, but Planning Improvements and Pilot Program Evaluation Needed",GAO-20-168,"Mar 9, 2020","William B. Shear","(202) 512-8678","Small Business Administration","The Associate Administrator for the Office of Disaster Assistance should identify and document risks associated with its disaster response and plans to mitigate these risks in its disaster planning documentation. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"SBA agreed with the recommendation. SBA noted that relevant agency offices would collaborate to identify and document known risks associated with SBA's disaster response and implement a risk-informed approach to its direct response and recovery operations. According to SBA in December 2022, the agency has been meeting regularly with its Office of Continuous Operations and Risk Management, and expects to fully incorporate regional risks in its 2023 Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan." "Federal Real Property: GSA Should Improve Accuracy, Completeness, and Usefulness of Public Data",GAO-20-135,"Feb 6, 2020","Lori Rectanus","(202) 512-9847","General Services Administration","The Administrator of GSA should coordinate with agencies to ensure that street address information in the public database is complete and correctly formatted. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"GSA agreed with the recommendation. GSA continues to implement several efforts to improve the reliability of federal real property data in FRPP, but it continues to rely on agencies to submit reliable information. On August 4, 2023, GSA reported the following progress. GSA's effort to flag anomalous location data increased the ability to map building locations by 7 percent in 2022 according to GSA. In addition, GSA partnered with the Office of Management and Budget to create an agency scorecard for federal agencies that tracks five metrics related to data reliability. It shows that numerous agencies continue to struggle in their attempts to submit reliable data to FRPP. GAO will continue to monitor GSA's efforts in these areas." "Identity Theft: IRS Needs to Better Assess the Risks of Refund Fraud on Business-Related Returns",GAO-20-174,"Mar 2, 2020","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should designate a dedicated entity to provide oversight of agency-wide efforts to detect, prevent, and resolve business IDT, consistent with leading practices. This may involve designating one business unit as a lead entity or leveraging cooperative relationships between business units to establish a business IDT leadership team. This entity should have defined responsibilities and authority for managing fraud risk. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"IRS agreed with the recommendation, but it has provided conflicting information on its implementation plans. In September 2020, IRS initially assigned oversight of its agency-wide efforts on business IDT to an executive steering committee. However, in February 2021, IRS officials stated that the agency is restructuring this executive steering committee and the restructured executive steering committee had not assumed the oversight role for business IDT. In May 2021, IRS officials stated that the committee would continue to serve as an interim oversight body on business IDT until IRS fully establishes the role of Chief of Identity Theft and Fraud, a new role described in its January 2021 Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress. As of May 2022, IRS has not shown how the executive steering committee serves as the oversight body for business IDT. Instead, IRS described work developing fraud filters at the business unit level. Although IRS characterized this as a coordinated approach, these units have limited authority to oversee business IDT, as we reported in January 2020. IRS officials stated that transitioning oversight to the new chief position may take up to 2 years. In March 2023, IRS officials stated that the status of this recommendation has not changed since its last update in May 2022. As of March 2024, IRS reported that it continues to evaluate the optimal structure to address business IDT and that Return Integrity and Compliance Services will continue to be the principal office in addressing business IDT. To fully implement this recommendation, IRS needs to demonstrate that the new leadership position has defined responsibilities and authority for managing fraud risk. We continue to monitor whether IRS is providing centralized oversight consistent with leading practices for fraud risk management in the interim. IRS's continued attention is important for coordinating its efforts to combat the evolving threat of business IDT." "Water Infrastructure: Technical Assistance and Climate Resilience Planning Could Help Utilities Prepare for Potential Climate Change Impacts",GAO-20-24,"Feb 13, 2020","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Director of Water Security of EPA, as Chair of the Water Sector Government Coordinating Council, should work with the council to identify existing technical assistance providers and engage these providers in a network to help drinking water and wastewater utilities incorporate climate resilience into their projects and planning on an ongoing basis. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of July 2023, EPA officials told us they continue to work with providers to improve technical assistance to utilities. In addition, officials highlighted EPA's Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative as a means to provide practical tools, training, and assistance to water utilities to increase their resilience to climate change and other hazards and to identify potential long-term adaptation options related to implementation and infrastructure financing. Officials said that EPA will consider an approach of working with stakeholders and integrating technical assistance providers to further assist utilities in incorporating resilience into infrastructure project planning and execution. This is an important recognition that EPA should continue to work with its providers to improve technical assistance to utilities. However, EPA has not indicated how it will work with agencies and the water sector to organize a network of technical assistance or how it will expand the assistance provided to the many water and wastewater utilities across the United States. We will continue to assess EPA's actions to integrate technical assistance providers in a network to help the nation's water utilities better manage climate change risks." "2019 Tax Filing: IRS Successfully Implemented Tax Law Changes but Needs to Improve Service for Taxpayers with Limited-English Proficiency",GAO-20-55,"Jan 15, 2020","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should direct the Wage and Investment division to develop and implement a strategy, in collaboration with its strategic workforce planning initiative, for the efficient use of overtime. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"IRS agreed with our January 2020 recommendation but stated, in December 2021, that its existing process within the Wage and Investment division for the use and approval of overtime is sufficient and it would not take any further action. However, as we reported in January 2020, offices in the Wage and Investment division had exceeded their overtime allocations in several of the preceding years. Further, we reported in April 2022 that IRS's use of overtime doubled during fiscal year 2021 compared to the prior year. In December 2022, we reported that IRS used its direct-hire authorities to help meet urgent staffing needs and address its backlog of returns. Although those helped IRS to meet its 2022 fiscal year hiring goal, many new hires were not trained on time for the filing season. As a result, IRS continued to use a mix of mandatory and voluntary overtime during the 2022 filing season to reduce its backlog. For each of the 2023 and 2024 filing seasons, IRS used Inflation Reduction Act funds to help hire more than 5,000 new customer service representatives, and continued its use of direct-hire authority to hire staff to support the filing season. Even with the influx of new staff, IRS officials told us in February 2024 that the agency will use overtime for the 2024 filing season to work through the backlog of correspondence. Dependence on overtime can contribute to skills gaps and negatively affect employee morale. We continue to believe that a strategy, in collaboration with IRS's strategic workforce planning initiative, would help ensure efficient use of overtime." "NASA Lunar Programs: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Analyses and Plans for Moon Landing",GAO-20-68,"Dec 19, 2019","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","The NASA Administrator should ensure that the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations creates a life-cycle cost estimate for the Artemis III mission. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"NASA agreed with the recommendation. Officials stated that NASA would provide a preliminary cost estimate for the Artemis III mission by the end of calendar year 2020. However, NASA has not yet created this cost estimate. NASA officials previously told us that a 5-year funding plan provided to Congress in September 2020 serves as the agency's cost estimate through the Artemis III mission, which was at the time planned for 2024. The officials stated that the agency would establish cost and schedule commitments for projects but not the overall mission. In February 2023, NASA officials added that they are developing a methodology to provide Congress with an assessment of each Artemis mission's costs. NASA officials stated that the mission estimates will include the cost of hardware production, integration costs, and operations costs, but did not provide a time frame for when this would be completed." "Tax Administration: Taxpayer Input Could Strengthen IRS's Online Services",GAO-20-71,"Dec 19, 2019","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of the IRS should work with relevant officials to set a target to reduce taxpayer burden through the development of new online services. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"IRS did not agree with this recommendation, stating that its taxpayer burden measurement methodology is not designed to evaluate the effect of specific online services. We continue to believe that IRS should set a target. IRS's customer experience plan for fiscal year 2023 (posted on Performance.gov) states that officials are working to measure the time saving resulting from online services, and that a target or projection will be announced this fiscal year. The additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 makes it important that IRS address this recommendation. IRS's Strategic Operating Plan contains an objective to improve services to taxpayers -- including online services -- with a goal of decreasing filing burdens for taxpayers. However, without targets for reducing taxpayer burden, IRS cannot determine the success of new online services in helping drive progress toward this goal." "Tax Administration: Taxpayer Input Could Strengthen IRS's Online Services",GAO-20-71,"Dec 19, 2019","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of the IRS should direct the Commissioner of W&I to work with the Director of OLS to ensure that future decisions regarding whether to renew the Free File agreement incorporate findings from a comprehensive examination of the benefits and costs of the agreement as it relates to long term plans for IRS's online services, including plans to file amended returns electronically. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"IRS agreed with this recommendation. A March 2021 IRS analysis addressed a portion of the recommendation by identifying potential benefits, such as lower costs of processing electronic returns compared to paper ones. However, IRS did not discuss how the Free File program should be coordinated with online services offered to taxpayers, such as online accounts. In August 2022, Congress provided IRS with $15 million in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to study the possibility of an IRS-run online filing system. In May 2023, IRS issued its report to Congress on a potential free direct file system. IRS concluded that there is taxpayer interest in an IRS-run free direct file option and IRS is technically capable of delivering such a system. IRS also plans to use a pilot program to gather data to assess issues identified in the report before deciding whether to deploy a full-scale direct file system. To fully implement this recommendation, IRS needs to evaluate the results of its planned direct file pilot as part of a benefit-cost analysis of the current Free File agreement. Without a more rigorous examination, IRS is not positioned to manage the risks of its reliance on the Free File agreement nor consider how Free File fits within its portfolio of IRS-provided online services." "Customs and Border Protection: Risk Management for Tariff Refunds Should Be Improved",GAO-20-182,"Dec 17, 2019","Kimberly Gianopoulos","(202) 512-8612","Office of the Commissioner","The Commissioner of CBP should ensure that the Office of Trade assesses the feasibility of flagging excessive export submissions across multiple claims and takes cost-effective steps, based on the assessment, to prevent over claiming. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"CBP agreed with GAO's December 2019 recommendation and described steps it is taking to address it. In March 2023, CBP drafted a white paper examining the feasibility of attaching a unique identifier to exported merchandise in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and mandating a uniform reporting requirement of the exported merchandise's unique identifier. Based on the assessment, CBP determined that tracking export submissions across drawback claims is not feasible because current law, ACE programming, and staff resources do not support the uniform reporting requirement CBP was considering. In February 2024, CBP officials said that tracking export submissions across drawback claims would require a long-term plan to develop ACE capabilities, set priorities, and align resources. GAO will review CBP's plan once finalized to determine whether CBP has implemented GAO's recommendation. Because claimants could over claim drawback refunds by using nonexistent, insufficient, or falsified export documentation, or by reusing export documentation across multiple claims for merchandise that was never exported, having the ability to flag excessive export submissions across multiple claims would enhance CBP's protection against over claiming." "Customs and Border Protection: Risk Management for Tariff Refunds Should Be Improved",GAO-20-182,"Dec 17, 2019","Kimberly Gianopoulos","(202) 512-8612","Office of the Commissioner","The Commissioner of CBP should ensure that the Office of Trade develops a plan, with time frames, to establish a reliable system of record for proof of export. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"CBP agreed with GAO's December 2019 recommendation and described steps it is taking to address it. In November 2023, CBP drafted a white paper examining the suitability of the Automated Export System (AES) as an electronic means of establishing proof of export. Based on the assessment, CBP determined that AES cannot support electronic proof of export for drawback claims in its current state. In February 2024, CBP officials said that establishing a reliable system of record for proof of export would require a long-term plan to develop AES capabilities, set priorities, and align resources. GAO will review CBP's plan once finalized to determine whether CBP has implemented GAO's recommendation. Until CBP implements effective control activities for the drawback program, the U.S. government may be subject to revenue loss through duplicate or excessive claims for drawback related to export information." "Improving Program Management: Key Actions Taken, but Further Efforts Needed to Strengthen Standards, Expand Reviews, and Address High-Risk Areas",GAO-20-44,"Dec 13, 2019","Yvonne Jones","(202) 512-6806","Deputy Director for Management","The Deputy Director for Management of OMB should clarify for agencies how the different definitions of a ""program"" relate to each other in OMB guidance. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"OMB disagrees with GAO that action is needed. As of December 2022, OMB indicated that it plans to take no action on this recommendation." "Improving Program Management: Key Actions Taken, but Further Efforts Needed to Strengthen Standards, Expand Reviews, and Address High-Risk Areas",GAO-20-44,"Dec 13, 2019","Yvonne Jones","(202) 512-6806","Deputy Director for Management","The Deputy Director for Management of OMB should convene trilateral meetings between OMB, relevant agencies, and us for addressing all high-risk areas during each two-year high-risk cycle (Recommendation 6).",Open,Yes,"In June 2021 we added this recommendation as a priority in our OMB priority recommendation letter. The letter states: OMB should convene trilateral meetings between OMB, relevant agencies, and GAO for addressing all areas on our High Risk List during each two-year high-risk cycle. Doing so would better position OMB to enhance the leadership commitment needed to make greater progress on high-risk areas. Meetings with senior OMB and agency officials on individual high-risk areas have proven in the past to be helpful to making progress. These meetings would also help OMB meet statutory requirements to conduct portfolio reviews of programs on GAO's high-risk list. As of December 2022, several meetings have taken place with OMB, the agencies, and GAO. However, not all high-risk areas have been covered." "Cloud Computing Security: Agencies Increased Their Use of the Federal Authorization Program, but Improved Oversight and Implementation Are Needed",GAO-20-126,"Dec 12, 2019","Gregory C. Wilshusen","(202) 512-6244","Office of the Director","The Director of OMB should establish a process for monitoring and holding agencies accountable for authorizing cloud services through FedRAMP. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In May 2023, OMB stated that it has established a process for holding agencies accountable for authorizing cloud services through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). Specifically, GSA's FedRAMP program management office (PMO) performs analysis of the agencies' data submitted through the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) reporting process to determine whether agencies have appropriately relying on FedRAMP authorized cloud services. If the agencies reported that they were using cloud services that were not FedRAMP authorized, the PMO reaches out to agencies through the FedRAMP agency liaison program to address this issue. Once the PMO has completed the analysis, OMB reviews the metrics data and the analysis. If agencies have not resolved any issues and other discrepancies after meeting with the PMO, OMB follows up with the agencies Chief Information Officer to resolve any issues. Currently, OMB is working with the FedRAMP PMO to ensure that this process is documented. There is no specific date as to when this process will get documented. We will update the status of this recommendation when OMB provides information on its corrective actions." "Federal Research: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Public Access to Research Results",GAO-20-81,"Nov 21, 2019","John Neumann",(202)512-4645,"Office of Science and Technology Policy","As the Subcommittee on Open Science moves forward, the Office of Science and Technology Policy co-chair, in coordination with other co-chairs and participating agencies, should take steps to fully implement leading practices that enhance and sustain collaboration. (Recommendation 32)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"OSTP initially disagreed with GAO's November 2019 recommendation, stating that the subcommittee had already taken steps to implement the leading practices GAO identified; however, OSTP officials did not provide documentation of these efforts and GAO continues to believe the recommendation is warranted. In January 2022, OSTP provided an update on information it previously provided in October 2020 and May 2021 on steps the subcommittee has taken to address issues associated with public access to federally funded research results, including certain areas GAO identified as presenting challenges to public access plan implementation in the November 2019 report. In August 2022, the subcommittee released a new charter that outlines its functions, its member agencies including co-chairs, and identifies certain activities that may be needed to implement its functions such as convening meetings and gathering input from stakeholders. However, the charter does not fully address the three leading practices GAO evaluated in the 2019 report. For example, the charter does not discuss how the results of the subcommittee's collaborative efforts will be monitored, evaluated, and reported. In February 2023, OSTP provided additional information on the subcommittee's efforts including identifying the focus areas of the subcommittee's six subgroups and detailing the subcommittee's current agency members. However, it is not yet clear from the information OSTP provided how the subcommittee is fully implementing certain practices GAO evaluated, such as defining and articulating common outcomes and developing mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results. We will continue to collect and evaluate additional information to determine the extent to which the subcommittee's work processes incorporate leading practices for interagency collaboration that GAO has identified. By taking steps to fully implement the relevant leading practices GAO has identified, the subcommittee and its member agencies could better marshal their collective efforts to support public access to research results." "Information Technology: Agencies Need to Fully Implement Key Workforce Planning Activities",GAO-20-129,"Oct 30, 2019","Carol C. Harris",(202)512-4456,"Office of Personnel Management","The Director of the Office of Personnel Management should ensure that the agency fully implements each of the eight key IT workforce planning activities it did not fully implement. (Recommendation 15)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"OPM agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2023, OPM has implemented five of the eight recommended IT workforce planning activities-developing competency and staffing requirements, assessing gaps in competencies and staffing, developing strategies and plans to address gaps in competencies and staffing; monitoring reporting on progress in addressing gaps; and reporting to agency leadership on progress in addressing gaps. However, in February 2023, OPM stated that it does not have a workforce plan. In addition, while OPM provided positional descriptions for certain IT workforce roles, it had not provided documentation of its competency requirements. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to develop a workforce planning process that addresses each of the eight key IT workforce planning activities, identify competency requirements, and assess competency needs regularly. Doing so would provide OPM greater assurance that it has the IT staff with the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to support its mission and goals." "Veterans Health Care: VA Needs to Improve Its Allocation and Monitoring of Funding",GAO-19-670,"Sep 23, 2019","Sharon M. Silas","(202) 512-7114","Veterans Health Administration","The VA Under Secretary of Health should revise its existing guidance to require VISNs—in conjunction with medical centers—to develop and submit approaches to improve efficiency at medical centers with declining workload that received adjusted funding levels. These approaches could include adjusting the level of services offered. (Recommendation 4)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA agreed in principle with our recommendation. In January 2023, VHA said that it instructed medical center, VISN, and VA central office leadership to develop a prioritized list of facility investment opportunities, some of which are based on recommendations in the market assessments completed in March 2022. According to VHA, this work will help inform investments in new facilities that are aligned with veteran demand, allow for utilization of modern healthcare technologies, and improve efficiency across the VA healthcare system. Furthermore, VHA said that the implementation of prioritized investments would improve efficiency at medical centers with declining workload by right-sizing, adjusting to appropriate service offerings, and modernizing those locations. In November 2023, VHA provided documentation to show that medical facilities have taken some steps to improve efficiency, such as by reducing underutilized clinic space. VHA officials also stated that VHA has efforts underway to modernize and realign VA's infrastructure that are being led at the enterprise level, which, as of February 2024, were ongoing. We will continue to monitor the extent to which these efforts result in medical centers adjusting their level of services based on workload." "Head Start: Action Needed to Enhance Program Oversight and Mitigate Significant Fraud and Improper Payment Risks",GAO-19-519,"Oct 2, 2019","Seto J. Bagdoyan","(202) 512-6722","Office of Head Start","The Director of OHS should perform a fraud risk assessment for the Head Start program, to include assessing the likelihood and impact of fraud risks it faces. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of February 2024, HHS told us that its Fraud Risk Assessment approach is still under development and that a timeline for completing this work had not been established. We will continue to monitor HHS's efforts in this area." "Foreign Assistance: State Department Should Take Steps to Improve Timeliness of Required Budgetary Reporting",GAO-19-600,"Sep 9, 2019","Jason L. Bair","(202) 512-6881","Department of State","The Secretary of State should ensure that the Director of State's Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources conducts a review of the Section 653(a) process to identify process steps that can be streamlined or eliminated and determine the time frame needed to prepare the annual Section 653(a) report. If State determines that the time frame exceeds 30 days, the office should coordinate with other appropriate officials to submit a legislative proposal to Congress to extend the mandated time frame for submitting Section 653(a) reports. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"According to State officials, they will submit a legislative proposal to Congress to extend the mandated time frame for submitting Section 653(a) reports after they complete planned improvements to their Foreign Assistance Coordination and Tracking System. These system improvements will give State a better understanding of the time needed to complete the process before submitting a legislative proposal to Congress, according to State officials. In February 2023, GAO received information from State saying the department reviewed the Section 653(a) process and implemented numerous changes as an outcome of that review, including automating much of the process in their budget data system. The Office of Foreign Assistance (F) has conducted after-action reviews of the first year in the new system, but believe it is prudent to further analyze those benefits before formally submitting a legislative proposal to Congress to extend the mandated time frame for submitting section 653(a) reports. GAO is awaiting confirmation that State submitted a legislative proposal to Congress to extend the mandated time frame for submitting Section 653(a) reports. As of February 2024, the agency has not taken any action." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Actions Needed to Address Significant Cybersecurity Risks Facing the Electric Grid",GAO-19-332,"Sep 25, 2019","Frank Rusco, Nick Marinos","(202) 512-3841, (202) 512-9342","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with DHS and other relevant stakeholders, should develop a plan aimed at implementing the federal cybersecurity strategy for the electric grid and ensure that the plan addresses the key characteristics of a national strategy, including a full assessment of cybersecurity risks to the grid. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"According to DOE officials, the department is (1) examining cybersecurity risks to the electricity grid as part of an overall risk characterization effort that will also consider other threats and hazards, and (2) evaluating combined physical-cyber attack scenarios to address GAO's recommendation. As of February 2023, DOE did not have an estimated date for issuing a plan related to addressing all of the key characteristics needed to implement a national strategy, such as fully assessing cybersecurity risks to the electricity grid. DOE needs to develop a plan for implementing the federal cybersecurity strategy for the electric grid, ensure that the plan addresses the key characteristics of a national strategy, and coordinate that plan with the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant stakeholders." "Medicaid: Additional CMS Data and Oversight Needed to Help Ensure Children Receive Recommended Screenings",GAO-19-481,"Sep 16, 2019","Carolyn L. Yocom","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should work with states and relevant federal agencies to collect accurate and complete data on blood lead screening for Medicaid beneficiaries in order to ensure that CMS is able to monitor state compliance with its blood lead screening policy, and assist states with planning improvements to address states' compliance as needed. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In February 2024, CMS stated that it continues to remind states of Medicaid's universal blood lead screening and has encouraged state Medicaid agencies and health departments to establish data sharing agreements with other state agencies, in order to have more complete data. In addition, CMS added a lead screening measure to the Child Core Set, which is a set of quality measures reported by states that is used, among other things, to monitor performance at the state level. States began reporting this measure in late 2023 and CMS expects these data to be available in late 2024. CMS also said it expects to release updated guidance on blood lead screening by the end of 2024. CMS has previously said the updated guidance will emphasize the importance of complete and accurate data. These are positive steps that can assist CMS as it continues to consider how to help address known limitations in the current blood lead screening data, such as the under-counting of blood lead screening tests not paid for by Medicaid (and therefore which are not included in the current data). We will continue to monitor CMS's issuing of the guidance and update its status accordingly. To implement this recommendation, CMS should fully address limitations in blood lead screening data to better monitor compliance with the agency's blood lead screening policy." "Intelligence Community: Actions Needed to Improve Planning and Oversight of the Centers for Academic Excellence Program",GAO-19-529,"Aug 1, 2019","Brian M. Mazanec","(202) 512-5130","Office of the Director of National Intelligence","The Director of National Intelligence should establish and document results-oriented goals that include specific targets or milestones for the IC CAE program. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) concurred with this recommendation. In an October 2022 response, ODNI noted that the Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) Program Office developed overarching IC CAE guidance documents to ensure measurable actions and processes were in place to attract and train a diverse pool of candidates for future IC careers. ODNI provided its completed Business Operations Plan that highlights each goal and includes key IC CAE activities with timelines for execution in each Fiscal Year through 2023 to ensure compliance with congressional and policy mandates and federal grant regulations. According to ODNI officials, progress against the Business Operations Plan is continuously assessed and incorporated into the annual IC CAE Program Performance Report. However, we are still waiting for additional documentation, to include overarching guidance, to ensure measurable actions and processes are in place. We have requested additional documentation from ODNI to support these actions, but as of June 2023, we have not received any additional documentation As such, this recommendation remains open and we will continue to monitor the status of the recommendation." "Intelligence Community: Actions Needed to Improve Planning and Oversight of the Centers for Academic Excellence Program",GAO-19-529,"Aug 1, 2019","Brian M. Mazanec","(202) 512-5130","Office of the Director of National Intelligence","The Director of National Intelligence should clearly define IC elements' roles and responsibilities for participation in the IC CAE program to better facilitate interagency collaboration in support of the program. (Recommendation 7)",Open,Yes,"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) concurred with this recommendation. In an October 2022 response, ODNI noted that initial efforts to better define IC element roles and to increase collaboration included establishment of the Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) Ambassadors Network, which allows IC officers at any career level volunteer to support IC CAE school-hosted events and mentor IC CAE Scholars seeking employment in the Community. Moreover, the IC CAE Program Office is developing a Strategic Plan that will include defined roles and responsibilities for IC elements. As of June 2023, ODNI had not provided additional information specific to this recommendation. As such, we will continue to monitor the status of these efforts to fully address this recommendation." "Foreign Assistance: Federal Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines Incorporate Most but Not All Leading Practices",GAO-19-466,"Jul 31, 2019","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of the Office of Management of Budget should update the Guidelines to include GAO's leading practices of developing monitoring plans that are based on risks, ensuring that monitoring staff have appropriate qualifications, establishing procedures to close-out programs, developing staff skills regarding evaluations, and establishing mechanisms for following up on evaluation recommendations. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"OMB disagreed with the recommendation and suggested it would be more effective to remind agencies that, in addition to the guidelines, they should follow all other relevant OMB guidance affecting monitoring and evaluation. OMB asserted that this guidance contains provisions relevant to our leading practices not included in the Foreign Assistance Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines. However, we continue to believe that it is important for OMB to incorporate this other guidance into the Foreign Assistance Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines, if only by reference, to emphasize the importance of these practices in the context of monitoring and evaluation of foreign assistance. As of February 2024, OMB had not taken any actions to address this recommendation and has indicated that it does not plan to take any action, but GAO will continue to monitor this issue." "Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Establish Risk Management Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-19-384,"Jul 25, 2019","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should develop a cybersecurity risk management strategy that includes the key elements identified in this report. (Recommendation 8)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of Energy concurred with this recommendation. In March 2022, DOE provided an Enterprise Cybersecurity Program Plan, which officials stated can be used as a template for its departmental elements' programs, and tailored to their needs as necessary. DOE also noted that departmental elements may choose to develop their own cybersecurity program plans, and provided several examples. However, while the Enterprise Cybersecurity Program Plan and its supplemental guidance include key elements such as how risks should be assessed, risk response strategies, and a discussion of risk monitoring, neither it nor most of the departmental element plans we reviewed discuss in detail organizational risk tolerance. As of February 2023, DOE had not provided additional evidence to show that it had incorporated a details of its approach to risk tolerance in its enterprise cybersecurity program plan. We intend to follow up with DOE regarding this recommendation and verify whether implementation has occurred." "Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Establish Risk Management Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-19-384,"Jul 25, 2019","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Department of Transportation","The Secretary of Transportation should fully develop a cybersecurity risk management strategy that includes the key elements identified in this report. (Recommendation 26)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Transportation concurred with this recommendation. As of June 2022, the department stated that it is working toward implementation of this recommendation and plans to complete its efforts by November 2022. However, as of February 2023 we had not received documentation of these efforts. Once the department has provided evidence of these actions, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Establish Risk Management Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-19-384,"Jul 25, 2019","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Environmental Protection Agency","The Administrator of EPA should establish a process for conducting an organization-wide cybersecurity risk assessment. (Recommendation 40)",Open,Yes,"The Environmental Protection Agency did not state whether or not it concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2023, EPA stated that it planned to leverage an independent security assessment from the Federal Aviation Administration to augment its current risk assessment process. We are continuing to follow up with EPA to verify whether implementation has occurred." "Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Establish Risk Management Programs and Address Challenges",GAO-19-384,"Jul 25, 2019","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Office of Personnel Management","The Director of OPM should establish a process for conducting an organization-wide cybersecurity risk assessment. (Recommendation 54)",Open,Yes,"OPM concurred with this recommendation. In February 2023, OPM stated that it is finalizing an organizational risk assessment plan to outline the agency's approach to planning and conducting an organization-wide cyber risk assessment. Once the agency has provided evidence of these actions, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred." "2017 Disaster Relief Oversight: Strategy Needed to Ensure Agencies’ Internal Control Plans Provide Sufficient Information",GAO-19-479,"Jun 28, 2019","Beryl (Berri) H. Davis",2025122623,"Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB, after consulting with key stakeholders (e.g., the Chief Financial Officers Council), should develop a strategy for ensuring that agencies communicate sufficient and timely internal control plans for effective oversight of disaster relief funds. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) disagreed with our recommendation. In its agency comments, OMB staff stated that OMB did not believe the sufficiency or timeliness of control plans present material issues that warranted OMB action. While OMB acknowledged that almost all agency control plans were submitted after the statutory deadline, OMB staff stated that this delay in itself neither indicated the absence of controls nor the effectiveness of those controls. Further, OMB staff stated that it is agency management and not OMB that has responsibility for ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. While agencies were responsible for submitting their internal control plans, federal law placed the responsibility of establishing the criteria for the internal control plans with OMB. Therefore, we believe that our recommendation is warranted. As of March 2024, OMB did not indicate any change in its position. We will continue to monitor OMB's actions to address this recommendation." "Veterans Health Administration: Regional Networks Need Improved Oversight and Clearly Defined Roles and Responsibilities",GAO-19-462,"Jun 19, 2019","Debra A. Draper","(202) 512-7114","Office of the Under Secretary for Health","The Under Secretary for Health should establish a comprehensive policy that clearly defines VISN roles and responsibilities for managing and overseeing medical centers. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"VHA concurred in principle with our recommendation and provided regular updates on its progress in implementing it. In February 2020, VHA told us they were realigning Central Office in addition to making changes to the governance structure to support clarity of roles and responsibilities. In August 2020, VHA established new leadership positions that included the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Operations to oversee the VISNs. In December 2020, VHA reported continued development of the policies to clarify organizational roles and responsibilities. The new leadership team and Governance Board plan to examine policy options that define management and governance roles and responsibilities including VISNs' roles and responsibilities for managing and overseeing medical centers. The timeline was extended due to COVID-19. In September 2021, VHA issued Directive 1217.01 which outlined the roles, responsibilities, and decision rights for the VHA Governance Board. This directive outlined delegated authority and defined Governance Board responsibilities. In May 2023, VHA reported this directive is currently under review to include the roles and responsibilities of VISNs and medical centers as part of a set of core functions tailored to differentiate the authority and span of control for all VHA operational units to include management and oversight responsibilities. The publication is expected by March 2024. Additionally, VHA reported that in April 2023 a VISN Organizational Structure Workgroup was chartered to enhance the effectiveness of VHA oversight and governance. This workgroup will evaluate current inconsistencies across VISNs and propose unified recommendations for realignment to ensure standardized execution of the VHA mission, strategies, goals, and objectives. VHA's target completion date is March 2024. For closure, VHA will need to provide documentation that shows the policy (e.g., Directive 1217.01) that outlines VISN level responsibilities for management and oversight of medical centers." "Nursing Homes: Improved Oversight Needed to Better Protect Residents from Abuse",GAO-19-433,"Jul 23, 2019","John Dicken","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The administrator of CMS should require that abuse and perpetrator type be submitted by state survey agencies in CMS's databases for deficiency, complaint, and facility-reported incident data, and that CMS systematically assess trends in these data. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"HHS concurred with this recommendation. In February 2020, HHS said CMS is developing the ability to review survey trends related to alleged perpetrator and alleged abuse types and aims to implement this recommendation by December 2020. In March 2021, HHS said that, due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, much of the regulatory work related to nursing homes that was being undertaken by CMS has had to slow down due to shifting priorities in responding to the pandemic. As of February 2022, HHS had not reported any additional actions taken to address this recommendation. In October 2022, CMS issued updated guidance to state survey agencies that requires surveyors to enter the abuse and perpetrator type into CMS's deficiencies database. CMS officials said the agency is monitoring trends in abuse deficiencies and reviewing the types of perpetrators. However, as of February 2024, CMS did not require that state surveyors enter the abuse or perpetrator type for complaint and facility-reported incident data." "Military Justice: DOD and the Coast Guard Need to Improve Their Capabilities to Assess Racial and Gender Disparities",GAO-19-344,"May 30, 2019","Brenda S. Farrell",(202)512-3604,"Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military services and the Secretary of Homeland Security, should conduct an evaluation to identify the causes of any disparities in the military justice system, and take steps to address the causes of these disparities as appropriate. (Recommendation 11)",Open,Yes,"DOD partially concurred with this recommendation, agreeing with the content, but requesting that we modify the recommendation to direct it to more appropriate entities. We made that change before the report was issued. DOD's Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) contracted with a federally funded research and development center to conduct a study, which ODEI officials said was completed in July 2022. According to ODEI officials, the multidisciplinary study team used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop a comprehensive picture of military justice outcomes and make recommendations for data collection and policy formulation. ODEI officials said that they plan to use the findings and recommendations from this study to identify the causes of any disparities and steps to take to address those causes, as noted in our recommendation. As of August 2023, ODEI officials told us that the Secretaries of the military departments expect to collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security to explore solutions to these disparities by June 2025. To fully implement GAO's recommendation, DOD should use the results of the study to take actions to address the causes of any disparities in the military justice system that have been identified, so that DOD, DHS, and the military services can help ensure that the military justice system is fair and just." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's Fiscal Year 2018 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-19-185,"May 15, 2019","J. Lawrence Malenich","(202) 512-3406","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","We recommend that the Commissioner of Fiscal Service design and implement procedures to evaluate risks and monitor internal controls over financial reporting relevant to the Schedules of the General Fund. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, Fiscal Service has taken corrective actions regarding its procedures to evaluate risks and monitor the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting relevant to the Schedules of the General Fund. For example, Fiscal Service implemented an MFC, Deficiency, and Identified Risk Tracker that it updates quarterly to monitor internal control gaps. However, we continue to find deficiencies in this area, such as identifying relevant controls that were omitted from or not sufficiently tested as part of Fiscal Service's monitoring process. Fiscal Service has stated its commitment to continue addressing the remaining control deficiencies in this area." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's Fiscal Year 2018 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-19-185,"May 15, 2019","J. Lawrence Malenich","(202) 512-3406","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should develop and implement a mechanism to reasonably assure that all the journal entries recorded in the Schedules of the General Fund general ledgers can be readily identified and traced, such as through a unique identifier, to determine the effect of a transaction on all applicable general ledger accounts and line items of the Schedules of the General Fund, including the budget deficit. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Fiscal Service has developed a long-term strategy to address this recommendation that primarily includes developing new reporting mechanisms for federal entities to report transactions and reclassifications at the appropriate level of detail for traceability. As part of this strategy, in January 2023, Fiscal Service completed a system upgrade to enable federal entities to report transfers and non-cash (TANC) transactions at the appropriate level of detail. As of February 2024, only one entity has been approved to use and is using this new reporting mechanism (known as the TANC module) to report TANC transactions. Furthermore, Fiscal Service's ability to address this finding is contingent on (1) converting any remaining entities to full CARS reporters, which is dependent on entity cooperation, or (2) working with those entities to report the necessary detail rather than converting to full CARS reporters. Fiscal Service anticipates resolution of this recommendation in fiscal year 2027." "Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service's Fiscal Year 2018 Schedules of the General Fund",GAO-19-185,"May 15, 2019","J. Lawrence Malenich","(202) 512-3406","Bureau of the Fiscal Service","The Commissioner of Fiscal Service should develop and implement additional reporting requirements with related guidance for federal agencies that better align with the General Fund financial reporting objectives and enable Fiscal Service to capture the effect of a transaction on all applicable general ledger accounts and line items of the Schedules of the General Fund, including the budget deficit. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, Fiscal Service continued to educate and encourage federal entities to fully implement the new Business Event Type Codes (BETC) for reporting direct and guaranteed loan financing activity. Additionally, Fiscal Service is still in the process of reviewing line items related to federal debt securities and other General Fund activity to determine the reporting requirements needed to capture the effect of this activity on the Schedules of the General Fund. Further, Fiscal Service continues to encourage federal entities to fully implement the new BETCs designed to distinguish between disbursements of appropriated and non-appropriated funds. Fiscal Service anticipates resolution of this recommendation in fiscal year 2025." "Federal Retirement: OPM Actions Needed to Improve Application Processing Times",GAO-19-217,"Jun 14, 2019","Yvonne Jones","(202) 512-6806","Office of Personnel Management","The Associate Director of OPM's Retirement Services, working in coordination with the Chief Information Officer, should develop, document, and implement a Retirement Services IT modernization plan for initial project phases that is consistent with key aspects of IT project management, such as determining objectives, costs, and time frames for each initial phase. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"OPM partially agreed with this recommendation. In March 2022, OPM stated that it was developing a Retirement Services IT modernization plan, which it planned to finalize in June 2022. As of February 2023, OPM has not provided documentation of its IT modernization plan. OPM stated that it is working on Retirement Services IT modernization initiatives and seeking funding to modernize IT infrastructure. However, OPM did not provide any supporting documentation or further explain these efforts. To implement this recommendation, OPM needs to develop, document, and implement a Retirement Services IT modernization plan that is consistent with key aspects of IT project management, such as determining objectives, costs, and time frames. Having such a plan is especially important since OPM anticipates that implementing the plan will be an iterative, multiyear effort." "Taxpayer Information: IRS Needs to Improve Oversight of Third-Party Cybersecurity Practices",GAO-19-340,"May 9, 2019","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should develop a governance structure or other form of centralized leadership, such as a steering committee, to coordinate all aspects of IRS's efforts to protect taxpayer information while at third-party providers. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In its initial response to our draft report, IRS disagreed with this recommendation. In November 2019, IRS said that it agreed with the intent of the recommendation, but did not agree to implement it. In February 2024, IRS executives reiterated the agency's stance. In a documented risk assessment tool, executives cited the need for additional explicit authority to establish security requirements for the information systems of paid preparers and others who electronically file. IRS reported that to effectively establish data safeguarding policies and implement strategies enforcing compliance with those policies, a centralized leadership structure requires the statutory authority that clearly communicates the authority of the IRS to do so. Without such authority, implementing the recommendation would be an inefficient, ineffective, and costly use of resources, according to IRS. We continue to believe that IRS could implement this recommendation without additional statutory authority. We also disagree that convening a governance structure or other centralized form of leadership would be inefficient, ineffective, or costly. To fully implement this recommendation, IRS needs to demonstrate a structure to coordinate across seven different offices working on information security-related activities, such as updating existing standards, monitoring Authorized e-file Provider program compliance, and tracking security incident reports. Without this structure, it is unclear how IRS will adapt to changing security threats in the future and ensure those threats are mitigated." "F-35 Aircraft Sustainment: DOD Needs to Address Substantial Supply Chain Challenges",GAO-19-321,"Apr 25, 2019","Diana Maurer","(202) 512-9627","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, together with the F-35 Program Executive Officer, the Secretaries of the Air Force and Navy, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, clearly defines the strategy by which DOD will manage the F-35 supply chain in the future and update key strategy documents accordingly, to include any additional actions and investments necessary to support that strategy. (Recommendation 8)",Open,Yes,"DOD agreed with this recommendation. In January 2023, the department provided a plan on transferring planning, management, and execution of F-35 sustainment (and acquisition) from the F-35 Joint Program Office to the military departments, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. DOD's report emphasizes the importance of (1) the military departments having a greater degree of ownership and accountability in planning, managing, and executing the sustainment functions for the F-35, (2) the military departments leveraging their existing expertise, capability, and capacity in the sustainment of the F-35, and (3) the department normalizing F-35 sustainment through reinforcing departmental best practices and integrating them with established departmental processes. However, DOD's plan provided no additional details regarding the military departments' plans to manage or resource supply support and the F-35 supply chain. As of March 2024, DOD remains in discussion about how it will manage sustainment for the F-35. including its supply chain. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD should clearly define the strategy by which it will manage the F-35 supply chain in the future and update key strategy documents accordingly. This definition should include determining the roles of both the prime contractor and DOD in managing the supply chain and the investments in technical data needed to support DOD-led management. Until DOD implements our recommendation and clearly defines its strategy for managing the F-35 supply chain in the future-to include any additional actions and investments necessary to support that strategy-the F-35 program will lack the certainty and unity of effort needed to meaningfully improve supply chain performance and reduce costs." "Medicaid Demonstrations: Approvals of Major Changes Need Increased Transparency",GAO-19-315,"May 17, 2019","Carolyn L. Yocom","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should develop and communicate a policy whereby applications for section 1115 demonstration amendments that may have significant impact are subject to transparency requirements comparable to those for new demonstrations and extensions. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"HHS stated that it plans to implement a policy applying state public input processes and application criteria to amendments proposing significant or substantial changes in the same manner as for new demonstrations. In December 2020, CMS reiterated that the agency plans to develop criteria for determining whether an amendment application proposes a substantial change to an existing demonstration and to include this in guidance by early 2021. As of February 2024, HHS officials have not informed us of any additional actions taken to implement this recommendation. We will continue to monitor CMS's actions in this area and will close this recommendation once this policy guidance is issued." "Combating Nuclear Terrorism: NRC Needs to Take Additional Actions to Ensure the Security of High-Risk Radioactive Material",GAO-19-468,"Apr 4, 2019","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","The Chairman of NRC should direct NRC staff to consider socioeconomic consequences and fatalities from evacuations in the criteria for determining what security measures should be required for radioactive materials that could be used in an RDD. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, NRC continues to disagree with this recommendation. NRC maintains that the current regulatory requirements provide for the safe and secure use of all radioactive materials, regardless of category and there is no technical basis to go back and revisit those decisions. We disagree with NRC's assessment. We continue to believe that by implementing our recommendation NRC would have better assurance that it was considering more likely and more significant consequences of an RDD when establishing its security requirements for this material. We encourage NRC to take action to implement this recommendation." "Combating Nuclear Terrorism: NRC Needs to Take Additional Actions to Ensure the Security of High-Risk Radioactive Material",GAO-19-468,"Apr 4, 2019","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","The Chairman of NRC should require additional security measures for high-risk quantities of certain category 3 radioactive material, and assess whether other category 3 materials should also be safeguarded with additional security measures. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, NRC continues to neither explicitly agree nor disagree with this recommendation. NRC is considering strengthen licensing; however, it is not considering requiring additional security measures for high-risk quantities of category 3 materials. We continue to believe that implementing our recommendation would provide greater assurance that NRC's requirements are sufficient to help ensure all high-risk radioactive material are protected from theft and use in an RDD. We encourage NRC to take action to implement this recommendation." "Medicare and Medicaid: CMS Should Assess Documentation Necessary to Identify Improper Payments",GAO-19-277,"Mar 27, 2019","Carolyn L. Yocom, James Cosgrove","(202) 512-7144, (202) 512-7144","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should institute a process to routinely assess, and take steps to ensure, as appropriate, that Medicare and Medicaid documentation requirements are necessary and effective at demonstrating compliance with coverage policies while appropriately addressing program risks. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Health and Human Services concurred with this recommendation. In February 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) noted that it had clarified and amended several Medicare documentation requirements as part of an agency initiative to assess such requirements. CMS further stated that Medicaid documentation requirements are generally established at the state level, and that the agency has taken steps to identify best practices for documentation requirements and share them with states. However, we believe that CMS still needs to take steps to assess documentation requirements in both programs to better understand how the variation in the programs' requirements affects estimated improper payment rates. Without an assessment of how the programs' documentation requirements affect estimates of improper payments, CMS may not have the information it needs to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid documentation requirements are effective at demonstrating compliance and appropriately address program risks. As of February 2024, CMS stated that the agency is reviewing and assessing how to best implement this recommendation. We will update the status of this recommendation when we receive additional information." "Internal Revenue Service: Strategic Human Capital Management is Needed to Address Serious Risks to IRS's Mission",GAO-19-176,"Mar 26, 2019","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of the IRS should fully implement the workforce planning initiative, including taking the following actions: (1) conducting enterprise strategy and planning, (2) conducting workforce analysis, (3) creating a workforce plan, (4) implementing the workforce plan, and (5) monitoring and evaluating the results. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"IRS agreed with and has taken some steps to implement its workforce planning initiative. In December 2020, IRS reported it had established a workforce plan, including an enterprise strategy, and had initiated the associated workforce analysis. GAO's review of the workforce plan found that IRS was scheduled to implement the plan and have a process to monitor and evaluate the results of the effort in December 2021. However, IRS reported in December 2021 that it was providing additional time to facilitate concurrence with key stakeholder organizations across IRS, among other reasons. As of February 2024, IRS provided information stating it would complete implementation of the initiative in March 2024. We will review related information we will receive in April 2024 to determine if IRS has fully implemented this recommendation. Full implementation of a workforce plan that provides a comprehensive inventory of its current workforce will allow IRS to develop competency and staffing requirements to conduct agency-wide activities associated with identifying and addressing skills gaps." "Real Estate Assessment Center: HUD Should Improve Physical Inspection Process and Oversight of Inspectors",GAO-19-254,"Mar 21, 2019","Dan Garcia-Diaz","(202) 512-8678","Department of Housing and Urban Development","The Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Real Estate Assessment Center should conduct a comprehensive review of the physical inspection process. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"REAC agreed with this recommendation. As of April 2021, REAC provided a copy of an internal audit, which focused on five areas that REAC describes as physical assessment business line areas. REAC officials have described this audit as a comprehensive review of the inspection program process, but it is too narrowly scoped to be considered a comprehensive review. For example, the review did not address the actual physical inspection process, including the inspection standards or the scoring and sampling models used. REAC provided a separate document in which it says that a senior leadership team has conducted a wholesale reexamination of the physical inspection process, but the document contained no documentation or description of the specific tasks that were performed for this reexamination. REAC officials told us that they have been transitioning to a new physical inspection process. However, it is unclear the extent to which the new process is grounded in the results of a comprehensive review. We will continue to monitor REAC's implementation of a comprehensive review of its inspection process, including any steps it takes to inform the design of its new inspection program. To fully implement this recommendation, REAC needs to take additional actions to complete a comprehensive review, or provide documentation that one has been completed." "Cybersecurity Workforce: Agencies Need to Accurately Categorize Positions to Effectively Identify Critical Staffing Needs",GAO-19-144,"Mar 12, 2019","Gregory C. Wilshusen","(202) 512-6244","Department of Defense","To complete the appropriate assignment of codes to their positions performing IT, cybersecurity, or cyber-related functions, in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015, the Secretary of Defense should take steps to review the assignment of the ""000"" code to any positions in the department in the 2210 IT management occupational series, assign the appropriate NICE framework work role codes, and assess the accuracy of position descriptions. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense concurred with the recommendation. In September 2020, DOD stated that it had taken steps to decrease the number of positions that were assigned inappropriate codes and were continuing to monitor and track coding with the aim of addressing the recommendation by September 2022. As of February 2024, DOD had not yet provided sufficient evidence that it had implemented the recommendation. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD will need to provide evidence that it has assigned appropriate National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education framework work role codes to its positions in the 2210 Information Technology management occupational series and assessed the accuracy of position descriptions." "Cybersecurity Workforce: Agencies Need to Accurately Categorize Positions to Effectively Identify Critical Staffing Needs",GAO-19-144,"Mar 12, 2019","Gregory C. Wilshusen","(202) 512-6244","Department of State","To complete the appropriate assignment of codes to their positions performing IT, cybersecurity, or cyber-related functions, in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015, the Secretary of State should take steps to review the assignment of the ""000"" code to any positions in the department in the 2210 IT management occupational series, assign the appropriate NICE framework work role codes, and assess the accuracy of position descriptions. (Recommendation 15)",Open,Yes,"The Department of State concurred with the recommendation. In January 2020, we confirmed that State had assigned National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) framework work role codes to its positions in the 2210 IT management occupational series. As of September 2023, State has taken steps to assess its position descriptions to ensure that they are coded accurately, but has not yet provided sufficient evidence showing that it has completed this effort. When we receive supporting documentation from the department, we will review it to determine whether it has completed assessing the accuracy of position descriptions." "Cybersecurity Workforce: Agencies Need to Accurately Categorize Positions to Effectively Identify Critical Staffing Needs",GAO-19-144,"Mar 12, 2019","Gregory C. Wilshusen","(202) 512-6244","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","To complete the appropriate assignment of codes to their positions performing IT, cybersecurity, or cyber-related functions, in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should take steps to review the assignment of the ""000"" code to any positions at NASA in the 2210 IT management occupational series, assign the appropriate NICE framework work role codes, and assess the accuracy of position descriptions. (Recommendation 24)",Open,Yes,"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) concurred with our recommendation and stated that it would complete a review of the assignment of the ""000"" code to its positions in the 2210 IT management occupational series, assign the appropriate NICE framework work role codes, and assess the accuracy of position descriptions. As of April 2022, NASA has provided evidence showing that it has assigned appropriate NICE framework role codes to its positions in the 2210 IT management occupational series. However, as of February 2023, NASA had not yet provided sufficient evidence that it had assessed the accuracy of position descriptions. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA will need to provide evidence that it has assessed the accuracy of position descriptions." "Veterans Health Administration: Greater Focus on Credentialing Needed to Prevent Disqualified Providers from Delivering Patient Care",GAO-19-6,"Feb 28, 2019","Kathy Larin","(202) 512-5045","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Under Secretary for Health should develop policies and guidance regarding DEA registrations, including the circumstances in which Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) waivers may be required, the process for requesting them, and a mechanism to ensure that facilities follow these policies. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"As of February 2024, this recommendation remains open. VA officials told us that VHA has drafted a VHA Directive and will issue an Under Secretary for Health (USH) Memorandum once the Directive is published. They said that both the VHA Directive and the USH Memorandum include guidance regarding when a DEA employment waiver may be necessary and how to request a waiver. VA officials told us that the target completion date is June 2024. To fully implement this recommendation, VA needs to provide evidence of actions taken to ensure that DEA requirements regarding DEA registrations and employment waivers are met. Such actions include developing policies regarding when a DEA employment waiver may be necessary and guidance about how to request such a waiver." "Coast Guard Shore Infrastructure: Applying Leading Practices Could Help Better Manage Project Backlogs of at Least $2.6 Billion",GAO-19-82,"Feb 21, 2019","Nathan Anderson","(202) 512-3841","United States Coast Guard","The Commandant of the Coast Guard should employ models for its asset lines for predicting the outcome of investments, analyzing trade-offs, and optimizing decisions among competing investments. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In 2019, GAO reported that the Coast Guard generally has not employed models for predicting the outcome of maintenance investments and optimizing among competing investments, as called for in leading practices. GAO found that, in one instance, the Coast Guard used a model to optimize maintenance for its aviation pavement and, according to Coast Guard officials, found that it could save nearly $14 million by accelerating investment in this area (e.g., paving runways) sooner rather than deferring such maintenance. Coast Guard officials told GAO that such modeling could be applied within and across all of its shore infrastructure asset types, but the Coast Guard did not implement the results of this model and does not require their use. Employing models to predict the future condition and performance of facilities could potentially identify and achieve cost savings, according to leading practices. The Coast Guard concurred with GAO's recommendation that it employ models for its asset lines for predicting the outcome of investments, analyzing trade-offs, and optimizing decisions among competing investments. The Coast Guard selected a model, but as of November 2023, the Coast Guard informed GAO that it will take around five years to complete and analyze facility conditions using the model. The Coast Guard should endeavor to use its model to predict the outcome of investments and analyze trade-offs as soon as possible, efforts which we will continue to monitor. Optimizing decisions among competing investments would better position the Coast Guard to improve its operations and achieve cost savings over time." "Army Modernization: Steps Needed to Ensure Army Futures Command Fully Applies Leading Practices",GAO-19-132,"Jan 23, 2019","Jon Ludwigson","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Army","The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Commanding General of Army Futures Command applies leading practices as they relate to technology development, particularly that of demonstrating technology in an operational environment prior to starting system development. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"The Army agreed with this recommendation. Army officials acknowledged the importance of the recommendation and said they have taken actions to identify and remove infeasible or immature technologies consistent with leading practices for acquisition. However, in February 2023, Army officials stated that implementation of this recommendation can only be achieved with advanced component development and prototype funding, which the Army Futures Command no longer manages. In 2022, the Secretary of the Army tasked the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology with oversight of Army research and development, including associated resourcing decisions. We acknowledge that circumstances have changed since the report was issued in January 2019 but note that the Army Futures Command can still partially address the recommendation by providing a list of technologies that are at, or past, system development and by identifying the technology readiness level they achieved prior to entering system development. To fully implement this recommendation, the Army will need to demonstrate that the technologies it is developing are matured in accordance with leading practices. By doing so, the Army will be better able to reduce the risk that technologies will not operate as intended or desired. This recommendation remains open." "Financial Technology: Agencies Should Provide Clarification on Lenders' Use of Alternative Data [Reissued with revisions on Mar. 12, 2019.]",GAO-19-111,"Mar 12, 2019","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","Federal Reserve System","The Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should, in coordination with the other federal banking regulators and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and with input from relevant stakeholders, communicate in writing to banks that engage in third-party relationships with fintech lenders on the appropriate use of alternative data in the underwriting process, including issues to consider when selecting types of alternative data to use. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In December 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the agencies) issued an interagency statement on the use of alternative data in credit underwriting. The statement broadly highlights some potential benefits and risks of using alternative data and encourages firms to responsibly use alternative data. However, the statement does not provide firms or banks with specific direction on the appropriate use of alternative data. In March 2021, the federal banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a request for information (RFI) on Financial Institutions' Use of Artificial Intelligence, including Machine Learning, and in July 2021, the banking regulators issued proposed third party risk management guidance for comment, both of which discuss alternative data. In February 2023, the agencies told us they were working together regarding next steps on both the RFI and proposed guidance, but they did not have a timeframe for completing them. The agencies have not finalized the proposed guidance nor issued any documentation related to the RFI as of March 3, 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, the Federal Reserve needs to provide, in coordination with other federal banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, finalized written communication that gives banks that engage in third party relationships with fintech lenders specific direction on the appropriate use of alternative data in the underwriting process. Without such direction, banks partnering with financial technology lenders may not effectively manage associated risks, including compliance with fair lending and other consumer protection laws." "Financial Technology: Agencies Should Provide Clarification on Lenders' Use of Alternative Data [Reissued with revisions on Mar. 12, 2019.]",GAO-19-111,"Mar 12, 2019","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation","The Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation should, in coordination with the other federal banking regulators and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and with input from relevant stakeholders, communicate in writing to banks that engage in third-party relationships with fintech lenders on the appropriate use of alternative data in the underwriting process, including issues to consider when selecting types of alternative data to use. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In December 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the agencies) issued an interagency statement on the use of alternative data in credit underwriting. The statement broadly highlights some potential benefits and risks of using alternative data and encourages firms to responsibly use alternative data. However, the statement does not provide firms or banks with specific direction on the appropriate use of alternative data. In March 2021, the federal banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a request for information (RFI) on Financial Institutions' Use of Artificial Intelligence, including Machine Learning, and in July 2021, the banking regulators issued proposed third party risk management guidance for comment, both of which discuss alternative data. In February 2023, the agencies told us they were working together regarding next steps on both the RFI and proposed guidance, but they did not have a timeframe for completing them. The agencies have not finalized the proposed guidance nor issued any documentation related to the RFI as of March 2, 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, FDIC needs to provide, in coordination with other federal banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, finalized written communication that gives banks that engage in third party relationships with fintech lenders specific direction on the appropriate use of alternative data in the underwriting process. Without such direction, banks partnering with financial technology lenders may not effectively manage associated risks, including compliance with fair lending and other consumer protection laws." "Financial Technology: Agencies Should Provide Clarification on Lenders' Use of Alternative Data [Reissued with revisions on Mar. 12, 2019.]",GAO-19-111,"Mar 12, 2019","Michael Clements","(202) 512-8678","Office of the Comptroller of the Currency","The Comptroller of the Currency should, in coordination with the other federal banking regulators and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and with input from relevant stakeholders, communicate in writing to banks that engage in third-party relationships with fintech lenders on the appropriate use of alternative data in the underwriting process, including issues to consider when selecting types of alternative data to use. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"The Comptroller of the Currency agreed with the recommendation. In December 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interagency statement on the use of alternative data in credit underwriting. The statement broadly highlights some potential benefits and risks of using alternative data and encourages firms to responsibly use alternative data. However, the statement does not provide firms or banks with specific direction on the use of alternative data. In March 2021, the federal banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a request for information (RFI) on Financial Institutions' Use of Artificial Intelligence, including Machine Learning, and in July 2021, the banking regulators issued proposed third party risk management guidance for comment, both of which discuss alternative data. In February 2023, the agencies told us they were working together regarding next steps on both the RFI and proposed guidance, but they did not have a timeframe for completing them. The agencies have not finalized the proposed guidance nor issued any documentation related to the RFI as of March 2, 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, OCC needs to provide, in coordination with other federal banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, finalized written communication that gives banks that engage in third party relationships with fintech lenders specific direction on the appropriate use of alternative data in the underwriting process. Without such direction, banks partnering with financial technology lenders may not effectively manage associated risks, including compliance with fair lending and other consumer protection laws." "Federal Workforce: Opportunities Exist for OPM to Further Innovation in Performance Management",GAO-19-35,"Nov 20, 2018","Robert N. Goldenkoff","(202) 512-2757","Office of Personnel Management","The Director of OPM, in consultation with the CHCO Council, should develop and implement a mechanism for agencies to routinely and independently share promising practices and lessons learned, such as through allowing agencies to post such information on OPM's Performance Management portal. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"OPM agreed with this recommendation. In March 2024, OPM reported that as of December 2023, it had transitioned from Max.gov to Connect.gov as the new platform for supporting performance management certification. It plans to use this space as one form of community sharing. OPM will also be expanding its Executive Resources Forums to allow for agency presentations on best practices, processes, and challenges to improve collaboration and performance management. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to develop and implement a mechanism that encourages agency stakeholders to share promising practices and lessons learned. We will continue to monitor OPM's progress." "Federal Workforce: Opportunities Exist for OPM to Further Innovation in Performance Management",GAO-19-35,"Nov 20, 2018","Robert N. Goldenkoff","(202) 512-2757","Office of Personnel Management","The Director of OPM, in consultation with the CHCO Council, should develop a strategic approach for identifying and sharing emerging research and innovations in performance management. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"OPM agreed with this recommendation. In March 2024, OPM confirmed that due to staffing and budgetary constraints, it had not made substantive progress on establishing a strategic partnership to produce emerging research and innovations in performance management. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to develop a strategic approach for identifying and sharing emerging research and innovations in performance management. Doing so would help inform agencies' decision making related to performance management." "Defense Real Property: DOD Needs to Take Additional Actions to Improve Management of Its Inventory Data",GAO-19-73,"Nov 13, 2018","Brian Lepore, Bill Cordrey","(202) 512-4523, (404) 679-1873","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in collaboration with the military services, develops a strategy that identifies and addresses risks to data quality and information accessibility. At a minimum, this strategy should establish time frames and performance metrics for addressing risks related to (1) unfilled real property positions, (2) a lack of a department-wide approach to improving its data, and (3) implementation of OSD's expanded data platform. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"DOD partially concurred with this recommendation and stated that it plans to collaborate with the military services on separate service strategies that reflect each military service's operating environment. As of July 2020, DOD officials told us they plan to stabilize their Data Analytics Integration Support (DAIS) platform to improve data inventory by ensuring successful network connectivity for all military service users. DOD will update policy guidance to formalize the use of the DAIS platform for inventory submission by the military services. DOD also will develop and formalize in policy benchmarks and metrics to monitor data accuracy. DOD's estimated completion date for these actions is September 2023. As of June 2022, DOD officials stated that they had established network connectivity for all DAIS users and were working to update policy guidance to include DAIS and to establish benchmarks and metrics. The established completion date for these actions is September 2023. As of January 2023, DOD officials had not provided any documentation of actions taken. Once we receive that documentation, we will review it to assess the extent to which it meets the intent of our recommendation." "Defense Real Property: DOD Needs to Take Additional Actions to Improve Management of Its Inventory Data",GAO-19-73,"Nov 13, 2018","Brian Lepore, Bill Cordrey","(202) 512-4523, (404) 679-1873","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in collaboration with the military services, defines and documents which data elements within the RPAD submissions are most significant for decision-making. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation to define and document which data elements within its Real Property Assets Database (RPAD) submissions are most significant for decision-making. In 2020, DOD officials told us they will conduct a review of all data elements in its Real Property Assets Database, including compiling list of all data elements actively being used by data consumers. DOD also plans to divide required data elements into blocks to begin strenuous monitoring for accuracy. DOD's estimated completion date for these actions is September 2023. As of June 2022, DOD officials stated that they expected a delay in completion until January 2024 due to the transition of the contract. As of January 2023, DOD officials had not provided any documentation of actions taken. Once we receive that documentation, we will review it to assess the extent to which it meets the intent of our recommendation." "Defense Real Property: DOD Needs to Take Additional Actions to Improve Management of Its Inventory Data",GAO-19-73,"Nov 13, 2018","Brian Lepore, Bill Cordrey","(202) 512-4523, (404) 679-1873","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in collaboration with the military services, coordinates on corrective action plans to remediate discrepancies in significant data elements in its real property data system that are identified by OSD's verification and validation tool. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation to coordinate on corrective action plans to remediate discrepancies in significant data elements in its real property data system that are identified by OSD's verification and validation tool. As of July 2020, DOD officials told us they plan to establish a senior leader Functional Governance Board to monitor accuracy compliance. DOD also plans to establish quarterly progress reports to be posted on the Data Analytics Integration Support (DAIS) application for constant monitoring by all users. DOD's estimated completion date for these actions is September 2022. As of June 2022, DOD officials stated that they have completed these quarterly reports 6 times, with each report showing improvements in accuracy. However, DOD officials also stated that the Functional Governance Board had been delayed due to the elimination of some senior-level organizations focused on real property but expected the board to be reestablished by the new Office of the Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations, and Environment. As of January 2023, DOD officials had not provided any documentation of actions taken. Once we receive that documentation, we will review it to assess the extent to which it meets the intent of our recommendation." "Federal Real Property Asset Management: Agencies Could Benefit from Additional Information on Leading Practices",GAO-19-57,"Nov 5, 2018","Lori Rectanus","(202) 512-2834","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should take steps to improve existing information on federal asset management to reflect leading practices such as those described in ISO 55000 and the key characteristics we identified and make it readily available to federal agencies. These steps could include updating asset management guidance and developing a clearinghouse of information on asset management practices and successful agency experiences. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"Previously, OMB staff told us that its November 2019 memo on capital planning requirements (M-20-03) as well as its March 2020 memo that provides a strategic vision for managing the government's real property portfolio (M-20-10) provide federal agencies a framework for managing their portfolio of assets. We reviewed these memos and found they do not fully address key characteristics for effective asset management we identified in our report, such as using quality data on assets to inform decision-making. The memos also do not provide agencies with information on leading asset management practices. The recommendation remains open pending further action from OMB. As of May 2023, we continue to believe that OMB should take the steps recommended to improve information on asset management." "Defense Health Care: DOD Should Demonstrate How Its Plan to Transfer the Administration of Military Treatment Facilities Will Improve Efficiency",GAO-19-53,"Oct 30, 2018","Brenda S. Farrell","(202) 512-3604","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in coordination with Director of the DHA and the Surgeons General of the military departments, define and analyze the 16 operational readiness and installation-specific medical functions currently excluded from transfer to the DHA to determine whether opportunities exist to reduce or better manage duplicative functions and improve efficiencies in the administration of the MTFs. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. According to responses provided by DOD officials in December 2019, the department provided guidance on the division of the 16 operational readiness and installation-specific medical functions in a March 2019 memorandum from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. However, further detail is needed regarding what analysis DOD completed to assess the 16 functions for duplication. In responses provided by DOD in March 2021, officials stated that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Defense Health Agency, and military departments conducted an assessment that included some of the 16 operational readiness and Installation-specific medical functions, such as occupational and environmental health. However, DOD officials said that the analysis of these functions was still ongoing. Officials also referenced a March 2020 memorandum from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. The memorandum allowed for a pause in MTF transition activities to allow the military departments and DHA to focus all efforts on DOD's COVID-19 response. As such, we will continue to monitor DOD's efforts regarding this analysis. In December 2021, DOD was still working to implement this recommendation. Specifically, officials stated that they were still working to complete the analysis, which they anticipated would be complete by September 2022. As of February 2022, DOD officials confirmed that the information provided in December 2021 was still consistent. In January 2023, DOD officials said that the department was still working to assess the remaining 16 operational readiness and installation-specific medical functions. DOD officials estimated the assessment would be completed by December 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD needs to complete an analysis of all 16 functions for duplication. As of January 2024, DOD was still working to implement this recommendation. According to officials, the DOD had reassessed some of the 16 operational readiness and installation-specific medical functions; however, the department was waiting to reassess the remaining functions once implementation plans are developed. Officials estimated that DOD would complete the reassessment of the remaining functions in June 2024. To fully implement this recommendation, DOD needs to complete an analysis of all 16 functions for duplication." "Defense Health Care: DOD Should Demonstrate How Its Plan to Transfer the Administration of Military Treatment Facilities Will Improve Efficiency",GAO-19-53,"Oct 30, 2018","Brenda S. Farrell","(202) 512-3604","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in coordination with DHA Assistant Director for Health Care Administration and the Secretaries of the military departments, validate headquarters-level personnel requirements to determine that they are established at the minimum levels necessary--per DOD guidance--to accomplish missions and achieve objectives before transferring authority, direction, and control of the MTFs to the DHA for the third phase. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. In December 2019, DOD officials stated that DOD conducted a review of the DHA personnel requirements and that the military departments also conducted reviews. DOD officials also stated that DOD will continue to evaluate the mix of contractors, military, and civilian employees during and after the transition. However, the review of DHA personnel requirements DOD officials referenced in their December 2019 responses, as GAO previously reported in GAO-19-53, did not validate personnel requirements. Further information is needed regarding what steps DOD is taking to validate headquarters-level personnel requirements. In responses provided by DOD in March 2021, officials referenced a March 2020 memorandum from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. This memorandum allowed for a pause in MTF transition activities to allow the military departments and DHA to focus all efforts on DOD's COVID-19 response. DOD officials also stated that there had been no independent assessment of healthcare delivery functions that were not included in the 2018 review of DHA personnel requirements. As previously noted, GAO reported in GAO-19-53 that the review of DHA personnel requirements did not validate personnel requirements. Since MTF transition activities were paused due to COVID-19 and DOD officials acknowledge that a validation of headquarters-level personnel requirements had not yet been completed-we will follow-up with DOD in the future regarding the validation of headquarters personnel requirements. In December 2021, DOD was still working to implement this recommendation. Additionally, officials acknowledged that the 2018 review of DHA personnel requirements did not provide a complete assessment of personnel requirements as it did not assess the military departments' headquarters and intermediate commands. Further, officials stated that DOD completed a 90-day review of medical headquarters requirements in October 2021. Following the 90-day review, DOD decided to conduct a follow-on study to define functions and personnel requirements, results of which will be available in late 2022. As of February 2022, DOD officials confirmed that the information provided in December 2021 was still consistent. In January 2023, DOD officials said that DOD had completed zero based review of medical headquarters manpower requirements in September 2022. However, DOD officials did not provided documentation regarding the review or information about the extent to which it validated personnel requirements. As such, we will continue to monitor DOD's efforts. To implement this recommendation, DOD needs to validate headquarters-level personnel requirements. In January 2024, officials stated that DOD had completed studies on personnel requirements: officials again identified the 2018 review of DHA personnel requirements, as well as the 90-day review and related follow-on study of the DHA's and military departments'. However, as previously noted, GAO reported in GAO-19-53 that the 2018 review of DHA personnel requirements did not validate personnel requirements. Further, the 90-review and related follow-on study both stated that personnel requirements were not validated. As such, we will continue to monitor DOD's efforts regarding this recommendation. However, in order to close this recommendation, DOD needs to validate headquarters-level personnel requirements in accordance with DOD guidance." "Defense Health Care: DOD Should Demonstrate How Its Plan to Transfer the Administration of Military Treatment Facilities Will Improve Efficiency",GAO-19-53,"Oct 30, 2018","Brenda S. Farrell","(202) 512-3604","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in coordination with DHA Assistant Director for Health Care Administration and the Secretaries of the military departments, conduct a comprehensive review to identify the least costly mix--per DOD guidance--of military, civilian, and contractors needed to meet validated requirements--that is, to perform the functions identified at the DHA headquarters and intermediate management organizations and at the military departments' headquarters and intermediate commands. Additionally, this comprehensive review should be completed before transferring authority, direction, and control of the MTFs to the DHA for the third phase. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. In December 2019, DOD officials stated that through the review of the budget development process, DOD transferred 1,900 personnel to the military departments for the management of their respective readiness missions. Further, DOD officials mentioned a 2018 report concerning a review of DHA personnel requirements. As reported in GAO-19-53, the report on DHA personnel requirements was specific to DHA and did not include information regarding the military departments' headquarters and intermediate commands. Further information is needed to determine whether DOD's efforts included a comprehensive review that considers the least costly mix--per DOD guidance--of military, civilian, and contractor personnel. In their March 2021 responses, DOD officials again made reference to the 2018 review of DHA personnel requirements. Officials also stated that the military departments were still conducting analysis concerning personnel reductions. Since this analysis is still ongoing-we will continue to monitor DOD's efforts. In December 2021, DOD was still working to implement this requirement. Specifically, officials stated that they anticipate that DOD will complete the comprehensive review concerning the optimal mix of civilian and contractors by June 2023. As of February 2022, DOD officials confirmed that the information provided in December 2021 was still consistent. In January 2023, DOD officials said that the validation of requirements depended on the zero based review completed in September 2022. Officials also stated that a comprehensive review would be completed after the Military Health System transformation. DOD officials anticipate a validation of requirements to occur in June 2023. To implement this recommendation, DOD needs to conduct a comprehensive review that considers the least costly mix of personnel. As of January 2024, DOD was still working to implement this recommendation. According to officials, the DOD estimated completion data of a comprehensive review to identify the least costly mix of military, civilian, and contractors to meet validated requirements is September 2025. To implement this recommendation, DOD needs to conduct a comprehensive review that considers the least costly mix of personnel." "Defense Management: DOD Needs to Address Inefficiencies and Implement Reform across Its Defense Agencies and DOD Field Activities",GAO-18-592,"Sep 6, 2018","Elizabeth Field","(202) 512-2775","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the CMO routinely and comprehensively monitors and evaluates ongoing efficiency initiatives within the department, including those related to the reform teams. This monitoring should include establishing baselines from which to measure progress, periodically reviewing progress made, and evaluating results. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation. In January 2021, the position of CMO was disestablished. Responsibilities for the department's reform efforts were transferred to the Performance Improvement Directorate within the Office of Director of Administration and Management (DA&M). In October 2022, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued the department's new Performance Improvement Framework, which provides a consistent methodology to define, identify, track, and report on existing and planned opportunities for performance improvement across DOD, including those that enable cost savings. In November 2022, DA&M issued a memorandum instructing Principal Staff Assistants and Component heads to build an authoritative repository of Performance Improvement Initiatives, including establishing a baseline to document current and prior year initiatives that had been overseen by the CMO. Further, the memo announced establishment of an authoritative performance management executive analytics platform, known as Pulse, to monitor implementation of Performance Improvement initiatives. DOD provided results from this initial data collection as a part of the FY2024 Defense Budget Overview in March 2023, and plans to continue to report annually on performance improvement efforts.In addition, in August 2023, the Deputy Secretary of Defense established a new senior governance structure for overseeing the department's Strategic Management Plan (SMP), including designating the Deputy's Management Action Group as the primary body for overseeing the (SMP), supported by a new Defense Performance Improvement Council. According to DA&M officials, the Performance Improvement Framework is intended to be aligned with the SMP, and monitoring of implementation of the SMP could include monitoring related performance improvement initiatives. These efforts represent important steps forward in implementing this recommendation. To fully demonstrate implementation, DOD should document baselines and demonstrate progress made on performance improvement initiatives once the data have been analyzed." "Unemployment Insurance: Actions Needed to Ensure Consistent Reporting of Overpayments and Claimants' Compliance with Work Search Requirements",GAO-18-486,"Sep 5, 2018","Cindy Brown Barnes","(202) 512-7215","Department of Labor","The Assistant Secretary of DOL's Employment and Training Administration should provide states with information about its determination that the use of state formal warning policies is no longer permissible under federal law. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOL agreed with this recommendation and stated that it would take action to provide states with information about its determination that the use of state formal warning policies is no longer permissible under federal law. In February 2020, DOL's Employment and Training Administration issued a notice and held a webinar, which encouraged states to adopt model work search legislation. In 2023, DOL officials said the agency is developing guidance to instruct states that the use of state formal warning policies is not permissible. As of March 2024, DOL continues to work on this new guidance; however, officials said this effort has been delayed due to competing priorities and the complexity of the content. We will close this recommendation when the agency explicitly informs states that formal warning policies are not permissible." "Unemployment Insurance: Actions Needed to Ensure Consistent Reporting of Overpayments and Claimants' Compliance with Work Search Requirements",GAO-18-486,"Sep 5, 2018","Cindy Brown Barnes","(202) 512-7215","Department of Labor","The Assistant Secretary of DOL's Employment and Training Administration should clarify information on work search verification requirements in its revised Benefit Accuracy Measurement procedures. The revised procedures should include an explanation of what DOL considers to be sufficient verification of claimants' work search activities. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DOL agreed with this recommendation and stated that it would clarify information on work search verification requirements in its revised Benefit Accuracy Measurement procedures. In 2023, DOL officials said they are updating the procedures and will complete this process after the agency issues new work search guidance to states. As of March 2024, DOL officials reported the agency is developing information to clarify work search verification requirements. However, this effort is dependent on the agency's development of new work search guidance, which has been delayed due to competing priorities. To fully implement this recommendation, DOL should finalize and publish these instructions on verifying claimants' work search activities and provide the clear directions to states." "Military Aviation Mishaps: DOD Needs to Improve Its Approach for Collecting and Analyzing Data to Manage Risks",GAO-18-586R,"Aug 15, 2018","Cary Russell",202-512-5431,"Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense ensures that the Offices of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment in coordination with the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force take interim steps to help ensure that standardized aviation mishap data elements are collected by the safety centers. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. According to DOD documentation provided in February 2024, the department has taken some steps to implement this recommendation. Specifically, the Defense Safety Oversight Council DOD Safety Information Management Working Group has completed a safety management business process re-engineering effort that includes standardizing aviation mishap data elements in all of the department's safety information management systems. Further this working group has standardized the procedures for collecting this data. DOD's safety information management systems are scheduled to implement the safety data standards by July 2024. Completing these actions would allow the military services' safety centers to collect relevant training-related data as part of the update of aviation mishap data elements, as GAO recommended in August 2018." "Medicaid: CMS Needs to Better Target Risks to Improve Oversight of Expenditures",GAO-18-564,"Sep 5, 2018","Carolyn L. Yocom","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should complete a comprehensive, national risk assessment and take steps, as needed, to assure that resources to oversee expenditures reported by states are adequate and allocated based on areas of highest risk. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"Although CMS suspended implementation of the tool the agency developed in October 2019 to assess risk and staff capacity, the agency has taken steps to strengthen financial oversight. In November 2019, the agency reorganized its regional office functions, including financial oversight. According to CMS, the reorganization is intended to improve coordination between central and regional offices so that financial operations are consistent across the nation. In February 2024, agency officials told us that the reorganization had increased staff resources for financial reviews and allowed the agency to work towards reducing the backlog of financial management reviews, which are in-depth reviews of higher-risk expenditures. We maintain that a risk assessment is still necessary to ensure that resources are allocated based on identified risks, and we will continue to monitor CMS's action to target identified risks. We will update the status of this recommendation when we receive additional information" "Foreign Military Sales: Financial Oversight of the Use of Overhead Funds Needs Strengthening",GAO-18-553,"Jul 30, 2018","Thomas Melito","(202) 512-9601","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Director of DSCA takes steps to work with DFAS and other DOD components, as appropriate, to improve the reliability of the data that DSCA obtains on all DOD components' use of CAS funds, including actual execution data, at an appropriate level of detail, such as by object class. (Recommendation 9)",Open,Yes,"In February and May 2019, DSCA informed us that it had taken some steps to implement this recommendation, including establishing an automatic interface with certain DOD components' accounting systems to provide DSCA with daily information and data on those components' actual spending of FMS CAS funds. DSCA noted that it is working toward establishing automatic interfaces for the other components that receive these funds. As of July 2023, officials informed us that they continue to work toward implementation of these recommendations. As of October 2023, we continue to monitor DOD's ongoing actions to implement this recommendation." "Foreign Military Sales: Financial Oversight of the Use of Overhead Funds Needs Strengthening",GAO-18-553,"Jul 30, 2018","Thomas Melito","(202) 512-9601","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Director of DSCA takes steps to work with Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)--DSCA's financial service provider--and other DOD components, as appropriate, to improve the reliability of the data the DSCA obtains on all DOD components' use of FMS administrative funds, including actual execution data, at an appropriate level of detail, such as by object class. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"In February and May 2019, DSCA informed us that it had taken some steps to implement this recommendation, including establishing an automatic interface with certain DOD components' accounting systems to provide DSCA with daily information and data on those components' actual spending of FMS administrative funds. DSCA noted that it is working toward establishing automatic interfaces for the other components that receive these funds. As of July 2023, officials informed us that they continue to work toward implementation of these recommendations. We continue to monitor DOD's ongoing actions to implement this recommendation." "Tax Fraud and Noncompliance: IRS Could Further Leverage the Return Review Program to Strengthen Tax Enforcement",GAO-18-544,"Aug 23, 2018","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","Based on the assessment in recommendation 2, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue should implement the most cost-effective method to digitize information provided by taxpayers who file returns on paper. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"IRS agreed with GAO's July 2018 recommendation and has been implementing parts of its digitization strategy over the last few years. This includes filing electronic amended returns and an internet portal for businesses to e-file forms 1099. In August 2023, IRS announced an initiative to give taxpayers the option to go paperless if they choose to do so, and by Filing Season 2025, IRS expects to achieve paperless processing by digitizing all paper-filed returns when received, consistent with our recommendation. Digitization allows IRS to reduce processing time, use the Return Review Program fraud filters on all tax forms, and allow more pre-refund compliance checks or investigations, among other benefits." "Tax Fraud and Noncompliance: IRS Could Further Leverage the Return Review Program to Strengthen Tax Enforcement",GAO-18-544,"Aug 23, 2018","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","Based on the assessment in recommendation 4, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue should expand RRP to support identified activities. (Recommendation 5)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"IRS agreed with GAO's July 2018 recommendation and has taken steps to expand its use of RRP in recent years. For example, in October 2022, IRS started using RRP to check for fraud and other withholding errors on amended returns. These steps highlight RRP's potential to support fraud detection and other enforcement activities, but more can be done. IRS's April 2023 Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan contains plans to enhance systemic checks on tax returns to identify issues at the point of filing and notify taxpayers." "Federal Employee Misconduct: Actions Needed to Ensure Agencies Have Tools to Effectively Address Misconduct",GAO-18-48,"Aug 15, 2018","Robert N. Goldenkoff","(202) 512-2757","Office of Personnel Management","The Director of OPM, after consultation with the CHCO Council, should provide guidance to agencies to enhance the training received by managers/supervisors and human capital staff to ensure that they have the guidance and technical assistance they need to effectively address misconduct and maximize the productivity of their workforces. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"OPM partially agreed with this recommendation. In March 2024, OPM reported that it had taken several steps toward implementing this recommendation. In December 2023, OPM issued guidance to agencies on effectively using probationary periods. According to OPM, it is also updating an online supervisory training course and written guidance for supervisors and human resources staff on handling employee misconduct. OPM plans to finalize this guidance in Fall 2024. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to complete its update of guidance on training supervisors and human capital staff on addressing federal employee misconduct and make this information available to agencies. Implementing this recommendation would enhance the guidance and technical assistance needed to effectively address misconduct and maximize the productivity of the workforce. We will continue to monitor OPM's progress." "Drug Discount Program: Federal Oversight of Compliance at 340B Contract Pharmacies Needs Improvement",GAO-18-480,"Jun 28, 2018","Debra A. Draper","(202) 512-7114","Health Resources and Services Administration","The Administrator of HRSA should issue guidance to covered entities on the prevention of duplicate discounts under Medicaid managed care, working with CMS as HRSA deems necessary to coordinate with guidance provided to state Medicaid programs.(Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"HHS concurred with this recommendation. After the report was issued, HHS indicated that it believes that guidance does not provide HRSA appropriate enforcement capability and that this recommendation can only be accomplished after policy is issued. In February 2024, HRSA noted that the agency may be able to issue guidance to covered entities on the prevention of duplicate discounts under Medicaid managed care pending the outcome of a proposed CMS rule related to the Medicaid Drug Rebate program." "Drug Discount Program: Federal Oversight of Compliance at 340B Contract Pharmacies Needs Improvement",GAO-18-480,"Jun 28, 2018","Debra A. Draper","(202) 512-7114","Health Resources and Services Administration","The Administrator of HRSA should incorporate an assessment of covered entities' compliance with the prohibition on duplicate discounts, as it relates to Medicaid managed care claims, into its audit process after guidance has been issued and ensure that identified violations are rectified by the entities. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"HHS concurred with this recommendation. After the report was issued, HHS indicated that it believes that guidance does not provide HRSA appropriate enforcement capability and that this recommendation can only be accomplished after policy is issued. In February 2024, HRSA noted that the agency may be able to issue guidance to covered entities on the prevention of duplicate discounts under Medicaid managed care pending the outcome of a proposed CMS rule related to the Medicaid Drug Rebate program. HRSA would then need to update its audit processes accordingly to implement this recommendation." "Veterans Choice Program: Improvements Needed to Address Access-Related Challenges as VA Plans Consolidation of its Community Care Programs",GAO-18-281,"Jun 4, 2018","Sharon M. Silas, A. Nikki Clowers","(202) 512-7114, (202) 512-7114","Office of the Under Secretary for Health","The Under Secretary for Health should establish an achievable wait-time goal for the consolidated community care program that VA plans to implement that will permit VHA to monitor whether veterans are receiving VA community care within time frames that are comparable to the amount of time they would otherwise wait to receive care at VHA medical facilities. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA agreed with our recommendation. Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, on December 29, 2022, which requires the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) ensure the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) third-party administrators furnish care within the eligibility standards of the Program. This requirement aligns with our recommendation to establish a performance metric for receipt of community care under the VCCP. In February 2024, VA officials stated that the current contracts with the VCCP third-party administrators have established network adequacy standards that are different than the VCCP eligibility standards; therefore, VA is not able to readily change these standards under the current contract. VA officials stated they are exploring the potential for legislative change of section 125 of the Act, but do not currently have a time frame for this. VA is currently working on the solicitation for the next round of Community Care Network contracts, with an estimated release of the solicitation in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025." "Veterans Choice Program: Improvements Needed to Address Access-Related Challenges as VA Plans Consolidation of its Community Care Programs",GAO-18-281,"Jun 4, 2018","Sharon M. Silas, A. Nikki Clowers","(202) 512-7114, (202) 512-7114","Office of the Under Secretary for Health","The Under Secretary for Health should design an appointment scheduling process for the consolidated community care program that VA plans to implement that sets forth time frames within which (1) veterans' referrals must be processed, (2) veterans' appointments must be scheduled, and (3) veterans' appointments must occur, which are consistent with the wait-time goal VHA has established for the program. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA agreed with our recommendation, and has so far, defined time frames for when a community care referral must be processed and scheduled, but has not yet defined a timeliness standard for when a veteran's appointment should occur. Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, on December 29, 2022, which requires the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) ensure the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) third-party administrators furnish care within the eligibility standards of the Program. This requirement aligns with one of our recommendations to establish a performance metric for receipt of community care under the VCCP. Once established, VA can takes steps to ensure the current scheduling process and time frames for the VCCP allow the department to achieve that metric. In February 2024, VA officials stated that the current contracts with the VCCP third-party administrators have established network adequacy standards that are different than the VCCP eligibility standards; therefore, VA is not able to readily change these standards under the current contract. VA officials stated they are exploring the potential for legislative change of section 125 of the Act, but do not currently have a time frame for this. VA is currently working on the solicitation for the next round of Community Care Network contracts, with an estimated release of the solicitation in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025." "Strategic Petroleum Reserve: DOE Needs to Strengthen Its Approach to Planning the Future of the Emergency Stockpile",GAO-18-477,"Jun 28, 2018","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should take actions to ensure that the agency periodically conducts and provides to Congress a strategic review of the SPR that, among other things, takes into account changes in crude oil and petroleum product market conditions and contains additional analysis, such as the costs and benefits of a wide range of different SPR sizes. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"In May 2018, DOE agreed with the recommendation for periodic strategic reviews of the SPR and providing this information to Congress. In September 2018, DOE stated that a 5-year time interval between reviews was an appropriate timeframe and would allow current strategic plans to be implemented and assessed. At the time, DOE officials told us that the department would complete a SPR Long-Term Strategic Review by the end of fiscal year 2021--5 years from the last review in 2016. However, as of December 2023, DOE had not finalized its review. To fully address this recommendation, DOE needs to take action to ensure that it undertakes a strategic review on a periodic basis going forward." "Strategic Petroleum Reserve: DOE Needs to Strengthen Its Approach to Planning the Future of the Emergency Stockpile",GAO-18-477,"Jun 28, 2018","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","The Secretary of Energy should conduct or complete studies on the costs and benefits of regional petroleum product reserves for all U.S. regions that have been identified as vulnerable to fuel supply disruptions, and the Secretary should report the results to Congress. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"In May 2018, DOE disagreed with the recommendation to conduct or complete studies on the costs and benefits of regional petroleum product reserves. DOE stated that the agency's position is that government-owned and -operated regional petroleum product reserves are an inefficient and expensive solution to respond to regional fuel supply disruptions. In September 2018, December 2019, and December 2020, DOE noted that given the inefficient and expensive nature of storing refined petroleum products in above-ground tanks, it would be an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds to conduct any additional studies on the use of federal government owned storage of refined petroleum products. However, the Quadrennial Energy Review of 2015 recommended that similar analyses be completed for other areas deemed by DOE to be vulnerable to fuel supply disruptions. Therefore, we continue to believe that conducting these analyses, as recommended in the Quadrennial Energy Review of 2015, will provide Congress with information needed to make decisions about regional product reserves. To address this recommendation, DOE needs to conduct the analyses and has not done so as of February 2024." "Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income",GAO-18-415,"May 17, 2018","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, as Chairman of the FSM compact trust fund committee and of the FSM Joint Economic Management Committee, works with other members of the committees to develop the fiscal procedures required by the compact trust fund agreement. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"Upon the report's publication, Interior concurred with our report's recommendations and stated that discussions to address them were ongoing within the trust fund committees. In July 2018, Interior stated that discussions among the trust fund committees and others were ongoing and the fiscal procedures applicable to the trust fund disbursements will be determined prior to October 1, 2023. Subsequent trust fund committee meetings have included further discussions related to the trust fund agreement but deferred decisions to future bilateral negotiations. Beginning in 2021, GAO included this recommendation as an open recommendation that warrants priority attention from the Secretary of the Interior. As of March 2023, the U.S. is in active bilateral negotiations with the FSM to amend and extend various FSM compact provisions and agreements, including the Trust Fund Agreements, prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2024." "Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income",GAO-18-415,"May 17, 2018","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, as Chairman of the FSM compact trust fund committee, works with other members of the committee to address the timing of the calculation of compact trust fund disbursements. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"Upon the report's publication, Interior concurred with our report's recommendations and stated that discussions to address them were ongoing within the trust fund committees. Interior added that the final determination on the timing of the calculation of the trust fund disbursements will be addressed in the distribution policy. Interior set a target date for implementation of the recommendation to develop a distribution policy of October 1, 2023. Subsequent trust fund committee meetings have included further discussions related to the trust fund agreement but deferred decisions to future bilateral negotiations. Beginning in 2021, GAO included this recommendation as an open recommendation that warrants priority attention from the Secretary of the Interior. As of March 2023, the U.S. is in active bilateral negotiations with the FSM to amend and extend various FSM compact provisions and agreements, including the Trust Fund Agreements, prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2024." "Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income",GAO-18-415,"May 17, 2018","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, as Chairman of the RMI compact trust fund committee, works with other members of the committee to develop a distribution policy for the RMI compact trust fund, as required by the compact trust fund agreement, that takes into account potential strategies that could address risks to the fund's ability to provide a source of income after fiscal year 2023. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"Interior concurred with our report's recommendations and set a target date for implementation of October 1, 2023. Beginning in 2021, GAO included this recommendation as an open recommendation that warrants priority attention from the Secretary of the Interior. Since we made our recommendation, various options for the distribution policy have been discussed at subsequent trust fund committee meetings, but the RMI trust fund committee has not made any decisions regarding steps to address our recommendation, deferring action to future bilateral negotiations. As of March 2023, the U.S. is in active bilateral negotiations with the RMI to amend and extend various RMI compact provisions and agreements, including the Trust Fund Agreements, prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2024." "Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income",GAO-18-415,"May 17, 2018","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, as Chairman of the RMI compact trust fund committee and of the RMI Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee, works with other members of the committees to develop the fiscal procedures required by the compact trust fund agreement. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"Upon the report's publication, Interior concurred with our report's recommendations, set a target date for implementation of October 1, 2023, and stated that discussions to address them were ongoing within the trust fund committees. Subsequent trust fund committee meetings have included further discussions related to the trust fund agreement but deferred decisions to future bilateral negotiations. Beginning in 2021, GAO included this recommendation as an open recommendation that warrants priority attention from the Secretary of the Interior. Subsequent trust fund committee meetings have included further discussions related to the trust fund agreement. As of March 2023, the U.S. is in active bilateral negotiations with the RMI to amend and extend various RMI compact provisions and agreements, including the Trust Fund Agreements, prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2024." "Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income",GAO-18-415,"May 17, 2018","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, as Chairman of the RMI compact trust fund committee, works with other members of the committee to address the timing of the calculation of compact trust fund disbursements. (Recommendation 6)",Open,Yes,"Upon the report's publication, Interior concurred with our report's recommendations and stated that discussions to address them were ongoing within the trust fund committees. Interior added that the final determination on the timing of the calculation of the trust fund disbursements will be addressed in the distribution policy. Interior set a target date for implementation of the recommendation to develop a distribution policy of October 1, 2023. Subsequent trust fund committee meetings have included further discussions related to the trust fund agreement but deferred decisions to future bilateral negotiations. Beginning in 2021, GAO included this recommendation as an open recommendation that warrants priority attention from the Secretary of the Interior. As of March 2023, the U.S. is in active bilateral negotiations with the RMI to amend and extend various RMI compact provisions and agreements, including the Trust Fund Agreements, prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2024." "Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income",GAO-18-415,"May 17, 2018","David Gootnick","(202) 512-3149","Department of the Interior","The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs, as Chairman of the FSM compact trust fund committee, works with other members of the committee to develop a distribution policy for the FSM compact trust fund, as required by the compact trust fund agreement, that takes into account potential strategies that could address risks to the fund's ability to provide a source of income after fiscal year 2023. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"Interior concurred with our report's recommendations and set a target date for implementation of October 1, 2023. Beginning in 2021, GAO included this recommendation as an open recommendation that warrants priority attention from the Secretary of the Interior. Since we made our recommendation, trust fund committee meetings have included further discussions related to the trust fund agreement and distribution policy. While various options for the distribution policy have been discussed, the FSM compact trust fund committee has not made any decisions regarding steps to address our recommendations, deferring action to future bilateral negotiations. As of March 2023, the U.S. is in active bilateral negotiations with the FSM to amend and extend various FSM compact provisions and agreements, including the Trust Fund Agreements, prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2024." "VA Disability Benefits: Improved Planning Practices Would Better Ensure Successful Appeals Reform",GAO-18-352,"Mar 22, 2018","Elizabeth Curda","(202) 512-7215","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should clearly articulate in VA's appeals plan how VA will monitor and assess the new appeals process compared to the legacy process, including specifying a balanced set of goals and measures--such as timeliness goals for all VBA appeals options and Board dockets, and measures of accuracy, veteran satisfaction, and cost--and related baseline data. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA concurred with this recommendation and has taken significant actions to implement it. VA has identified timeliness and quality goals and has reported on a range of performance metrics for both the new and legacy appeals processes. Specifically for the new appeals process, in May 2021, VA established timeliness goals for all options (lanes) and in December 2022, the Board set a goal to measure the quality of its adjudicative decisions. VA also reported that it has deployed surveys to assess the veteran experience with both the new and legacy appeals processes and used survey information to help improve the veteran experience. In addition, VBA has developed a methodology to assess how well the new process is performing relative to the legacy process. However, to fully implement our recommendation, the Board needs to develop a methodology, similar to VBA's plan, for how it will assess the new appeals process compared to the legacy process. Until the Board takes such action, it will lack information about how well the new process is performing relative to the legacy process and possible underperforming areas for improvement." "VA Disability Benefits: Improved Planning Practices Would Better Ensure Successful Appeals Reform",GAO-18-352,"Mar 22, 2018","Elizabeth Curda","(202) 512-7215","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should ensure that the appeals plan more fully addresses risk associated with appeals reform--for example, by assessing risks against a balanced set of goals and measures, articulating success criteria and an assessment plan for RAMP, and testing or conducting sensitivity analyses of all appeals options--prior to fully implementing the new appeals process. (Recommendation 4)",Open,Yes,"VA concurred with this recommendation. VA has implemented the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) and, along with the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), has made strides to simultaneously manage two appeals processes. For example, VA is monitoring workloads, in part, through modeling, which positions the department to project resource needs for processing these workloads, as we have recommended. Moreover, VA has articulated key goals and measures, such as the quality of AMA decisions. However, as of March 2023, VA has not fully assessed risks against a balanced set of goals, such as accuracy and timeliness of decisions. Even after implementing the new appeals process, many of the principles of sound planning practices that informed our recommendation remain relevant. VA needs to continue applying these principles to better address risks associated with implementing the new process. For example, in January 2023 the Board's new hearing option-the most resource intensive of several options-accounted for 44 percent of the new appeals inventory as the Board prioritizes other workloads and addresses COVID-19-related slowdowns in hearings. This circumstance could mean veterans will have longer wait times under this hearing option. VA's ability to effectively manage appeals lies, in part, in planning ahead and in proactively identifying and addressing risks that may impact the timeliness and quality of decisions and serving veterans. We will consider closing this recommendation when VA fully develops a mitigation strategy and plan for workload risks and comprehensively assesses risks against a balanced set of measurable goals." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Actions Are Essential for Assessing Cybersecurity Framework Adoption",GAO-18-211,"Feb 15, 2018","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Department of the Treasury","The Secretary of Treasury should take steps to consult with respective sector partner(s), such as the SCC, DHS and NIST, as appropriate, to develop methods for determining the level and type of framework adoption by entities across their respective sector. (Recommendation 9)",Open,Yes,"Treasury neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation, stating that it does not have the authority to compel entities to share cybersecurity framework (framework) adoption data. Treasury identified steps to facilitate and encourage framework use. Officials in Treasury's Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection stated that the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council developed a cybersecurity profile for the sector that is based on the NIST cybersecurity framework. The profile maps the framework's five core functions to existing regulations and guidance for financial services entities. We reported in February 2022 that officials in Treasury's Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection believed financial services entities focus on implementing what regulators require, so increasing the regulators' recognition and adoption of the framework could lead to greater use. As of February 2024, Treasury had yet to develop methods to determine the level and type of framework adoption. Treasury stated that the voluntary nature of private sector participation in sector risk management agency activities affects the agency's ability to implement certain recommendations related to critical infrastructure protection. Notwithstanding these limitations, Treasury stated that it plans to collaborate with the financial services sector to develop metrics on sector risk mitigation efforts and for determining the level and type of framework adoption regarding use of the framework. Treasury did not identify a planned time frame for completing those efforts. Although the lack of authority is challenging, implementing the recommendation to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the framework's use by the sector is essential to the success of critical infrastructure protection efforts." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Actions Are Essential for Assessing Cybersecurity Framework Adoption",GAO-18-211,"Feb 15, 2018","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Department of Agriculture","The Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, should take steps to consult with respective sector partner(s), such as the sector coordinating council (SCC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and NIST, as appropriate, to develop methods for determining the level and type of framework adoption by entities across their respective sector. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"USDA neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendation, but stated that it would attempt to develop a measurement mechanism as part of its annual data calls to the Food and Agriculture Sector. USDA has taken steps towards determining framework adoption across the sector. For example, USDA has distributed several requests for information to sector members that include questions regarding framework adoption and resulting improvements. In addition, USDA requested feedback from sector partners and made subsequent changes to its data calls responses. Despite these efforts, as of February 2024, USDA has not yet received information from sector entities regarding their adoption of the NIST cybersecurity framework. To fully implement this recommendation, USDA needs to implement actions that will allow the agency to better assess framework adoption among entities within its sector. USDA has been encouraging and supporting the use of the framework. However, in order to assist in protecting critical infrastructure the agency needs to implement our recommendation so it can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the framework's use." "Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Actions Are Essential for Assessing Cybersecurity Framework Adoption",GAO-18-211,"Feb 15, 2018","Nick Marinos","(202) 512-9342","Department of Health and Human Services","The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, should take steps to consult with respective sector partner(s), such as the SCC, DHS and NIST, as appropriate, to develop methods for determining the level and type of framework adoption by entities across their respective sector. (Recommendation 6)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed with this recommendation. In April 2023, HHS, in collaboration with the Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council, published the Hospital Cyber Resiliency Initiative: Landscape Analysis. HHS's analysis describes industry adoption of the NIST cybersecurity framework based on the results from a third-party survey sent to hospitals. HHS found that hospitals responding to the survey adopted 70.7% of the NIST cybersecurity framework. HHS also evaluated the extent to which the responding hospitals adopted the five core functions of the cybersecurity framework and associated sub-categories. By taking these steps, HHS will have a more comprehensive understanding of the framework's use by healthcare and public health sector entities and where to focus limited resources for cyber risk mitigation efforts. In addition, HHS coordinated with the Department of Agriculture in taking initial steps to determine framework adoption across the food and agricultural sector by distributing two requests for information to food and agriculture sector members. However, those efforts did not generate enough responses to be useful. For instance, the Department of Agriculture did not receive any responses from private sector members regarding plans to implement, adopt, and measure improvements resulting from use of the framework. The Department of Agriculture stated that it has collaborated with HHS and the DHS to determine if there are alternative methods for collecting and assessing more substantive information. As of February 2024, HHS and the other agencies have not yet identified alternative approaches or completed or other actions for determining framework adoption in the food and agriculture sector." "Workplace Retirement Accounts: Better Guidance and Information Could Help Plan Participants at Home and Abroad Manage Their Retirement Savings",GAO-18-19,"Mar 5, 2018","Charles Jeszeck","(202) 512-7215","Internal Revenue Service","The IRS Commissioner should systematically analyze data reported through Form 8938 filings on foreign retirement accounts owned by U.S. individuals with the goal of developing an evidence-based understanding of how these accounts change over time and what level of risk these accounts pose for tax evasion. To assist with this analysis, IRS should consider revising Form 8938 to more clearly distinguish between retirement accounts and other types of accounts or assets being reported by taxpayers under current reporting requirements. (Recommendation 5)",Open,Yes,"IRS disagreed with this recommendation but not on its merits, citing a lack of resources to implement it. Specifically, IRS noted that although the modification to the Form 8938 suggested in this recommendation may seem minor, systemically collecting and analyzing the data would require resources beyond those currently available to IRS. However, our report notes that IRS indicated that they already collect foreign account filing data through the Form 8938 and that the current reporting requirements help the agency to ""keep a line of sight"" on U.S. individuals' foreign pension arrangements. IRS told us that without such data being reported, U.S. individuals with foreign retirement accounts may seek to avoid proper reporting on their tax returns when distributions are made. However, without agreeing to take steps to analyze these data reported by taxpayers, the question remains why the agency continues to collect such information-which we show in the report to present a substantial reporting burden on taxpayers-if the agency has no plan to analyze the data in order to make an informed decision about the risk for tax evasion that such accounts present. It is also unclear how IRS would maintain a line of sight on foreign retirement accounts belonging to U.S. individuals without analyzing the data reported by taxpayers on such accounts. We recognize that resources are limited. When staff and resources become available, IRS should modify the form and conduct a systematic analysis of these data-data that current law requires taxpayers to report-in order to assess the risk of tax evasion that foreign retirement accounts pose. As of June 2023, we continue to believe such an analysis can provide a basis to reach an evidence-based understanding of how these accounts change over time and what level of risk they pose for tax evasion, and provide assurances to U.S. individuals owning foreign retirement accounts who continue to face substantial reporting burdens that the data they are required to provide will be put to good use by the federal government. IRS's Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan describes an initiative that could improve use of data related to activities outside of the United States but does not discuss foreign retirement accounts." "Medicaid Assisted Living Services: Improved Federal Oversight of Beneficiary Health and Welfare is Needed",GAO-18-179,"Feb 5, 2018","Katherine Iritani","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","The Administrator of CMS should establish standard Medicaid reporting requirements for all states to annually report key information on critical incidents, considering, at a minimum, the type of critical incidents involving Medicaid beneficiaries, and the type of residential facilities, including assisted living facilities, where critical incidents occurred. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"HHS neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. As of January 2023, CMS had provided states with technical assistance on critical incident reporting, including providing training and an optional incident reporting template. CMS published a proposed rule in May 2023 that included provisions to standardize critical incident oversight, including requirements to report data to CMS. As of February 2024, CMS was reviewing public comments on the proposed rule. To fully implement this recommendation, CMS should establish standard Medicaid reporting requirements for all states to report critical incidents annually. If CMS finalizes the proposed rule, GAO will review and determine whether the recommendation has been implemented." "Personnel Security Clearances: Additional Actions Needed to Ensure Quality, Address Timeliness, and Reduce Investigation Backlog",GAO-18-29,"Dec 12, 2017","Brenda S. Farrell","(202) 512-3604","Office of the Director of National Intelligence","The Director of National Intelligence, in his capacity as Security Executive Agent, and in coordination with the other Security, Suitability, and Credentialing Performance Accountability Council Principals--the Deputy Director for Management of OMB in his capacity as Chair of the PAC, the Director of OPM, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence--should conduct an evidence-based review of the investigation and adjudication timeliness objectives for completing the fastest 90 percent of initial secret and initial top secret security clearances.(Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"ODNI stated that it did not concur with many of the report's recommendations but did not state with which recommendations it did not concur. In November 2023, ODNI and OPM issued the Federal Personnel Vetting Performance Management Standards Implementation Guidance. This guidance includes updated timeliness objectives for initial secret and initial top secret security clearances including the investigation and adjudication phases. However, the guidance does not discuss how ODNI and OPM developed these measures and whether they conducted an evidence-based review to inform the development of the metrics. To fully implement this recommendation, ODNI needs to demonstrate that it conducted an evidence-based review of these timeliness objectives and used the results of such a review to inform the decisions to establish the updated timeliness objectives." "Automated Vehicles: Comprehensive Plan Could Help DOT Address Challenges",GAO-18-132,"Nov 30, 2017","David Wise","(202) 512-2834","Department of Transportation","The Secretary of Transportation should develop and implement a comprehensive plan to better manage departmental initiatives related to automated vehicles. This plan should include leading principles such as goals, priorities, steps to achieve results, milestones, and performance measures to track progress. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"DOT has released various plans related to automated vehicles but has not yet finalized and implemented a plan that incorporates leading principles of comprehensive planning. For example, DOT's 2022-2026 strategic plan describes the department's vision related to emerging technologies, including automated vehicles. However, as of February 2024, DOT has not established key elements of a comprehensive plan, such as performance measures, to gauge progress. Without a comprehensive plan that includes elements such as performance measures, it continues to be unclear whether DOT is adequately addressing automated vehicle challenges. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's efforts regarding its plan." "Information Technology: OMB Needs to Report On and Improve Its Oversight of the Highest Priority Programs",GAO-18-51,"Nov 21, 2017","David A. Powner","(202) 512-9286","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should ensure that the Federal CIO is directly involved in the oversight of high priority programs. (Recommendation 2)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. In May 2020, OMB told us that its process for identifying high priority programs had evolved and been superseded by a process for identifying and securing high value assets. It also told us that the Federal CIO and Federal Chief Information Security Officer were engaged in overseeing these assets through their involvement on the CIO and Chief Information Security Officer Councils. Further, in March 2022, OMB stated that the Federal CIO and Federal Chief Information Security Officer had been involved in the oversight of the high-priority IT projects identified in our report. We recognize the importance of ensuring the security of high value assets and continuing to oversee the programs identified in our report. However, these programs do not comprise the full range of high priority programs currently under development across the federal government that was intended by our recommendation. In December 2022, OMB stated that it planned to compare the recommendation to recent actions, guidance and policy memoranda to determine if an update to its response was warranted. To fully implement this recommendation, OMB needs to ensure that the Federal CIO is involved in the full range of high-priority programs. In addition, OMB should provide evidence of its oversight of high-value assets and programs identified in our report to substantiate its claims. As we reported, such oversight would improve accountability and achieve positive results for the federal government's investments." "Veterans Affairs Contracting: Improvements in Buying Medical and Surgical Supplies Could Yield Cost Savings and Efficiency",GAO-18-34,"Dec 4, 2017","Shelby S. Oakley","(202) 512-4841","Department of Veterans Affairs","The Director of the MSPV-NG program office should, with input from the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC), develop, document, and communicate to stakeholders an overarching strategy for the program, including how the program office will prioritize categories of supplies for future phases of requirement development and contracting. (Recommendation 1)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"VA agreed with our recommendation. VA had planned to implement a new Medical Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) program, called MSPV 2.0, starting in 2020; it had also been piloting the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) MSPV program since 2019. Since 2017, VA has pursued four different versions of this program, but none have fully achieved VA's goals. As of February 2023, VA is again developing another iteration of this program, called MSPV Gen Z, and plans to issue a solicitation in the near future. According to VA acquisition officials, this new iteration is intended to address some of the issues we have previously identified. While VA's draft solicitation reflects some specific steps they are taking to address previous issues, the agency has still not articulated an overarching strategy for this program. VA also needs to ensure its overarching strategy documents its plans going forward for the DLA MSPV pilot, and share this with stakeholders. As of February 2024, VA reported that VHA has completed the solicitation for MPSV Gen Z, developed automation tools to identify supply alternatives, and developed new reporting tools. VA also stated that they continue to enhance coordination with stakeholders as they implement MSPV Gen Z, and developed teams to enhance communication. VA still needs to develop and document an overarching strategy for this program." "Child Well-Being: Key Considerations for Policymakers, Including the Need for a Federal Cross-Agency Priority Goal",GAO-18-41SP,"Nov 9, 2017","Kathy Larin","(202) 512-7215","Office of Management and Budget","GAO recommends that the Director of OMB consider developing a goal that addresses a coordinated federal approach to child well-being among its next set of cross-agency priority (CAP) goals, including working with relevant agencies to ensure their strategic plans include goals and objectives related to the CAP goal. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. In November 2017, OMB staff noted that the agency was developing its next set of CAP goals, which are usually reserved for a limited set of priorities, and expects to announce these goals concurrent with the FY19 budget. As part of the process, agency staff said they consult relevant Congressional committees and other stakeholders. As of December 2022, OMB reported that it does not plan to take further action on this recommendation. We continue to believe this recommendation could provide an opportunity across the federal government to better address the needs of children in ways that take into account the interrelatedness of federal actions and policies that aim to improve child well-being. To implement this recommendation, OMB should provide documentation that it considered developing a CAP goal that addresses a coordinated federal approach to child well-being." "F-35 Aircraft Sustainment: DOD Needs to Address Challenges Affecting Readiness and Cost Transparency",GAO-18-75,"Oct 26, 2017","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, in coordination with the F-35 Program Executive Officer, should, prior to entering into multi-year, fixed-price, performance-based contracts, ensure that DOD has sufficient knowledge of the actual costs of sustainment and technical characteristics of the aircraft after baseline development is complete and the system reaches maturity. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of January 2023, DOD is currently working on a fixed price, performance-based logistics contract with the F-35 program's prime contractor. The program's current goal is to award the performance-based logistics contract by the end of calendar year 2023. Section 356(b) of the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act bars award of any F-35 performance-based logistics contract until the Secretary of Defense certifies that the PBL will either increase readiness or reduce sustainment costs. According to DOD officials, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment is currently working with the F-35 program's prime contractor to gain access to the data needed to perform the cost and readiness certifications required in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. DOD officials believe that once the data is received and the certifications are made, the result will have met the intent of the recommendation." "F-35 Aircraft Sustainment: DOD Needs to Address Challenges Affecting Readiness and Cost Transparency",GAO-18-75,"Oct 26, 2017","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of Defense","The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, in coordination with the F-35 Program Executive Officer, should re-examine the metrics that it will use to hold the contractor accountable under the fixed-price, performance-based contracts to ensure that such metrics are objectively measurable, are fully reflective of processes over which the contractor has control, and drive desired behaviors by all stakeholders. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of January 2023, DOD is currently working on a fixed price, performance-based logistics contract with the F-35 program's prime contractor. The program's current goal is to award the performance-based logistics contract by the end of calendar year 2023. Section 356(b) of the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act bars award of any F-35 performance-based logistics contract until the Secretary of Defense certifies that the PBL will either increase readiness or reduce sustainment costs. According to DOD officials, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment is currently working with the F-35 program's prime contractor to gain access to the data needed to perform the cost and readiness certifications required in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. DOD officials believe that once the data is received and the certifications are made, the result will have met the intent of the recommendation." "Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Close Stations Identified as Overlapping and Unnecessarily Duplicative",GAO-18-9,"Oct 26, 2017","Jenny Grover","(202) 512-7141","United States Coast Guard","The Commandant of the Coast Guard should take action to close the stations identified according to its plan and target dates. (Recommendation 3)","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In 2017, GAO reported that the Coast Guard has not taken action to implement the results of its analyses which recommended station closures even though it has completed requirements to pursue some station closures. For example, a 2013 analysis of Coast Guard stations identified unnecessary duplication and recommended certain stations that could be permanently closed without negatively affecting the Coast Guard's ability to meet its 2-hour search and rescue response standard and other mission requirements. However, as of August 2017 the Coast Guard had not closed any stations, nor developed a plan with time frames for closing stations even though Coast Guard leaders said the results of the analysis remain valid. GAO reported that the Coast Guard had not closed stations because past efforts to close stations (eight attempts since 1973) were met with resistance from affected communities and instances where the Congress intervened. Nevertheless, the Coast Guard agreed with GAO's recommendation that it establish a plan with target dates and milestones for closing stations. In its December 2017 60-Day letter response, DHS said it would commence Congressional engagement and public outreach regarding any operational changes to D1 and D5 stations, including processing feedback from stakeholders before making final decisions on any recommended changes. As of November 2023, six stations had been consolidated with adjacent stations and closed. The fiscal year 2023 Coast Guard budget proposed the consolidation of three additional stations, which we will continue to monitor. The Coast Guard did not propose additional closures in its fiscal year 2024 budget but informed GAO it will continue to evaluate future closures. DHS, through the Coast Guard, should close boat stations that provide overlapping search and rescue coverage and are unnecessarily duplicative, according to its plan and target dates. By closing unnecessarily duplicative stations, the Coast Guard could be better positioned to improve its operations and achieve cost savings over time." "Veterans Health Administration: Better Data and Evaluation Could Help Improve Physician Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention Strategies",GAO-18-124,"Oct 19, 2017","Debra A. Draper","(202) 512-7114","Veterans Health Administration","The Undersecretary for Health should develop and implement a process to accurately count all physicians providing care at each medical center, including physicians who are not employed by VHA. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"As of February 2024, VHA continued to disagree with the recommendation and have not taken any action. Although VA responded to our report by stating that the ability to count physicians does not affect its ability to assess workload, we maintain that an accurate count of all physicians providing care at each medical center is necessary for accurate workforce planning. To implement the first recommendation, VHA needs to develop a system-wide process to collect information on all physicians providing care at VAMCs, including physicians that are not employed by VHA. This information should be available at the local level for workforce planning purposes." "Managing for Results: Further Progress Made in Implementing the GPRA Modernization Act, but Additional Actions Needed to Address Pressing Governance Challenges",GAO-17-775,"Sep 29, 2017","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should revise and publicly issue OMB guidance--through an update to its Circular No. A-11, a memorandum, or other means--to provide time frames and associated milestones for implementing the federal program inventory. (Recommendation 2)",Open,Yes,"As of April 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan to build toward implementing a comprehensive federal program inventory, expected in 2025, through a series of pilots. Implementing this plan presents an opportunity for OMB to identify specific time frames and associated milestones to fully address this recommendation. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "Overseas Allowances: State Should Assess the Cost-Effectiveness of Its Hardship Pay Policies",GAO-17-715,"Sep 13, 2017","Michael J. Courts","(202) 512-8980","Department of State","The Department's Comptroller should analyze available diplomatic cable data from overseas posts to identify posts at risk of improper payments for hardship pay, identify any improper payments, and take steps to recover and prevent them. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"State concurred with this recommendation. According to State, it continues to identify and seek repayment of improper payments and communicate the importance of timely actions to the regional bureaus and posts to ensure improper payments do not occur. In addition, the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services (CGFS) has rolled out the Overseas Personnel System, which centralizes the collection of arrival and departure data for the calculation of improper payment notification and risk analysis. It also plans to roll out a new self-service portal in 2024 which would eliminate the cables required for turning on and off hardship pay. Moreover, officials believe that changes State implemented in 2021 to streamline the department's hardship policy have significantly reduced the risk of improper payments. However, as of February 2024, CGFS has not provided GAO with the analysis to verify this assertion, as needed to close the recommendation as implemented." "Naval Shipyards: Actions Needed to Improve Poor Conditions that Affect Operations",GAO-17-548,"Sep 12, 2017","Zina Merritt","(202) 512-5257","Department of the Navy","The Secretary of the Navy should develop a comprehensive plan for shipyard capital investment that establishes (1) the desired goal for the shipyards' condition and capabilities; (2) an estimate of the full costs to implement the plan, addressing all relevant requirements, external risk factors, and associated planning costs; and (3) metrics for assessing progress toward meeting the goal that include measuring the effectiveness of capital investments. (Recommendation 1)",Open,Yes,"The Navy concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to develop and implement a comprehensive plan. Naval Sea Systems Command produced a Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan in February 2018 to guide the overhaul and improvement of the naval shipyards. (1) The plan includes some goals for the desired shipyard condition and capabilities including to: recover almost 70 maintenance periods over the next 20 years, modernize capital equipment to industry standards, optimize facilities, and reduce travel time and movement for personnel and materiel during the maintenance process. (2) The report includes a preliminary cost estimate, but work is underway to determine the full costs to address all relevant requirements, risk factors, and planning costs (see GAO-20-64). The plan identifies risks that could increase costs, but does not identify solutions to address those risks. Program officials said they will develop plans to address the risks in subsequent phases of the planning effort. The risks Navy officials identified included historical preservation, environmental regulations, and the need for extra capacity. (3) As of February 2023, the SIOP program office has developed a number of metrics that it intends to use in developing its individual shipyard plans. These included broad attributes such as enhancing mission readiness, providing a safe environment, and enhancing workforce support. They also included more detailed metrics, such as length of maintenance, change in labor days, and amount of travel reduced. The SIOP program office used these metrics to determine its preferred course of action for the Pearl Harbor-specific infrastructure plan, and officials have stated that the program office plans to use these same metrics in all its shipyard-specific plans. This is an encouraging sign, and if the other shipyard-specific plans include these or similar metrics as well, the Navy will be well positioned to implement this recommendation. However, as of July 2023, the Navy estimates that it will not complete implementation of this recommendation until the end of fiscal year 2026." "Drinking Water: Additional Data and Statistical Analysis May Enhance EPA's Oversight of the Lead and Copper Rule",GAO-17-424,"Oct 2, 2017","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","The Assistant Administrator for Water of EPA's Office of Water and the Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance should develop a statistical analysis that incorporates multiple factors--including those currently in SDWIS/Fed and others such as the presence of lead pipes and the use of corrosion control--to identify water systems that might pose a higher likelihood for violating the LCR once complete violations data are obtained, such as through SDWIS Prime. (Recommendation 3)",Open,Yes,"EPA agreed with our recommendation. In April 2023, the agency proposed revisions to the Consumer Confidence Report Rule that, if finalized, would require states and others with primary enforcement authority to annually report drinking water compliance monitoring data, starting in 2025. We think this proposed rule is a good step forward. Revisions to the rule are scheduled to be finalized by March 2024, after which EPA will need to demonstrate plans for using the improved compliance data. We are keeping this recommendation open until EPA provides us information that it has finalized its efforts. By implementing our recommendation, EPA will be better able to target its oversight of water systems." "Air Ambulance: Data Collection and Transparency Needed to Enhance DOT Oversight",GAO-17-637,"Jul 27, 2017","Gerald L. Dillingham","(202) 512-2834","Department of Transportation","To increase transparency and obtain information to better inform decisions on whether to investigate potentially unfair or deceptive practices in the air ambulance industry, the Secretary of Transportation should assess available federal and industry data and determine what further information could assist in the evaluation of future complaints or concerns regarding unfair or deceptive practices.",Open,Yes,"DOT did not concur with this recommendation, noting in September 2017 that its analysis of whether a complaint alleges conduct that could constitute an unfair or deceptive practice is fundamentally based on the unique facts of each additional case, rather than aggregate data. However, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (the FAA Act), signed into law on October 5, 2018, directed the establishment of an Air Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee). The FAA Act required the Advisory Committee to make recommendations such as on what additional data from air ambulance providers and other sources should be collected by DOT to improve its understanding of the industry. In March 2022 the Advisory Committee issued its final report. In this report, the Advisory Committee recommended DOT collect data from air ambulance and providers and suppliers, such as average cost per trip and volume of transports. Under the FAA Act, DOT shall submit a Report to Congress on air ambulance oversight that includes a description of how the Secretary will conduct oversight of air ambulance providers, including the information sources the Secretary will use to conduct such oversight. Although DOT officials previously noted that DOT planned to issue the Report to Congress on or before September 30, 2023, DOT officials have not provided GAO the Report to Congress as of December 2023. DOT officials also noted that the No Surprises Act, which was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, contained related provisions. Specifically DOT officials said the No Surprises Act calls for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to collect data and issue a report on the air ambulance industry. The No Surprises Act states that DOT may use data collected by HHS to help determine whether an air ambulance provider is engaged in an unfair or deceptive practice. DOT officials noted that the data collection effort by HHS is not yet complete. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's progress in responding to the Advisory Committee final report." "Crop Insurance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Program Delivery and Reduce Costs",GAO-17-501,"Aug 24, 2017","Steve Morris","(202) 512-3841","Department of Agriculture","To reduce year-to-year fluctuations in the administrative and operating expense subsidies that companies receive at the crop, state, and county levels, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency to consider adjusting the administrative and operating expense subsidy calculation method in a way that reduces the effects of changes in premiums caused by changes in crop prices or other factors when it renegotiates the standard reinsurance agreement.",Open,Yes,"RMA stated it would take steps to implement this recommendation. According to a USDA official, to take action on this recommendation, USDA would need to renegotiate its agreement with insurance companies. As of October 2023, USDA had not taken action to implement this recommendation and it is unclear when USDA will renegotiate the agreement." "Navy Shipbuilding: Policy Changes Needed to Improve the Post-Delivery Process and Ship Quality",GAO-17-418,"Jul 13, 2017","Michele Mackin","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Navy to revise the Navy's ship delivery policy to clarify what types of deficiencies need to be corrected and what mission capability (including the levels of quality and capability) must be achieved at (1) delivery and (2) when the ship is provided to the fleet (at the obligation work limiting date (OWLD)). In doing so, the Navy should clearly define what constitutes a complete ship and when that should be achieved.",Open,Yes,"DOD partially agreed with our recommendation, and in December 2022, the Office of the Secretary of Defense stated the Navy plans to review and update its ship delivery policy to improve its clarity. Officials stated the Navy believes it would be impractical to fully define what constitutes a complete ship and by when that should be achieved in its ship delivery policy. However, officials stated the Navy would take the findings and recommendations from our report into account, as well as feedback from Navy stakeholders, as it considers changes to the policy. For example, in response to our findings and stakeholder feedback, OSD officials stated the Navy plans to incorporate criteria for the use of Special Trials into its ship delivery policy to clarify when and how outstanding deficiencies should be inspected before fleet introduction. INSURV, one of the users of the Navy's ship delivery policy, has also proposed to Navy leadership that the policy updates should include a process for handling significant deficiencies that are still unresolved after a Special Trial and expectations for fleet introduction. We maintain that the Navy's ship delivery policy is a key instruction for ensuring the fleet receives complete, mission-capable ships. Fully implementing our recommendation and making other clarifications in response stakeholder feedback would increase the likelihood of identifying and correcting deficiencies before fleet introduction and reduce the risk the Navy is providing incomplete and deficient ships to the fleet." "Defense Science and Technology: Adopting Best Practices Can Improve Innovation Investments and Management",GAO-17-499,"Jun 29, 2017","Michael J. Sullivan","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","To ensure that DOD is positioned to counter both near and far term threats, consistent with its S&T framework, the Secretary of Defense should direct the new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to annually define the mix of incremental and disruptive innovation investments for each military department.",Open,Yes,"As of January 2023, DOD continues to disagree with this recommendation. In 2017 when our report was published, DOD stated that implementing them would be premature, since the Secretary of Defense had not made final decisions on the role of the new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In July 2018, DOD finalized the organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities for the new Under Secretary. Since then, the department's rationale for disagreeing with this recommendation has shifted. DOD now questions the merit of this recommendation, rather than just its timing. Specifically, DOD maintains that its existing structures provide the information that this recommendation seeks to furnish, despite our findings to the contrary. In the December 2022 Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the congressional armed services committees summarized their views regarding risk information in DOD's research portfolio. Among other things, the Statement noted that DOD does not group research and development activities into incremental and disruptive efforts. Absent this practice, the Statement noted that DOD lacks visibility into the balance of risk versus payoff in its research and development portfolio, especially with regard to the potential to provide the cutting-edge technology needed to combat future and emerging threats. The Statement directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to provide a briefing to the congressional armed services committees by July 31, 2023, on how DOD assesses, manages, and balances risk within its research and development portfolio. According to the Statement, the briefing is to include an update on how DOD is implementing this recommendation and others from GAO-17-499." "Defense Science and Technology: Adopting Best Practices Can Improve Innovation Investments and Management",GAO-17-499,"Jun 29, 2017","Michael J. Sullivan","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","To ensure that DOD is positioned to counter both near and far term threats, consistent with its S&T framework, the Secretary of Defense should direct the new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to annually assess whether that mix is achieved.",Open,Yes,"As of January 2023, DOD continues to disagree with this recommendation. In 2017 when our report was published, DOD stated that implementing them would be premature, since the Secretary of Defense had not made final decisions on the role of the new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In July 2018, DOD finalized the organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities for the new Under Secretary. Since then, the department's rationale for disagreeing with this recommendation has shifted. DOD now questions the merit of this recommendation, rather than just its timing. Specifically, DOD maintains that its existing structures provide the information that this recommendation seeks to furnish, despite our findings to the contrary. In the December 2022 Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the congressional armed services committees summarized their views regarding risk information in DOD's research portfolio. Among other things, the Statement noted that DOD does not group research and development activities into incremental and disruptive efforts. Absent this practice, the Statement noted that DOD lacks visibility into the balance of risk versus payoff in its research and development portfolio, especially with regard to the potential to provide the cutting-edge technology needed to combat future and emerging threats. The Statement directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to provide a briefing to the congressional armed services committees by July 31, 2023, on how DOD assesses, manages, and balances risk within its research and development portfolio. According to the Statement, the briefing is to include an update on how DOD is implementing this recommendation and others from GAO-17-499." "Defense Science and Technology: Adopting Best Practices Can Improve Innovation Investments and Management",GAO-17-499,"Jun 29, 2017","Michael J. Sullivan","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","To ensure that DOD is positioned to more comprehensively implement leading practices for managing science and technology programs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to define, in policy or guidance, an S&T management framework that includes emphasizing greater use of existing flexibilities to more quickly initiate and discontinue projects to respond to the rapid pace of innovation.",Open,Yes,"As of January 2023, DOD continues to disagree with this recommendation. In 2017 when our report was published, DOD stated that implementing them would be premature, since the Secretary of Defense had not made final decisions on the role of the new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In July 2018, DOD finalized the organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities for the new Under Secretary. Since then, the department's rationale for disagreeing with this recommendation has shifted. DOD now questions the merit of this recommendation, rather than just its timing. Specifically, DOD maintains that its existing structures provide the information that this recommendation seeks to furnish, despite our findings to the contrary. In the December 2022 Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the congressional armed services committees summarized their views regarding risk information in DOD's research portfolio. The Statement directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to provide a briefing to the congressional armed services committees by July 31, 2023, on how DOD assesses, manages, and balances risk within its research and development portfolio. According to the Statement, the briefing is to include an update on how DOD is implementing this recommendation and others from GAO-17-499." "Immigration Courts: Actions Needed to Reduce Case Backlog and Address Long-Standing Management and Operational Challenges",GAO-17-438,"Jun 1, 2017","Rebecca S. Gambler","(202) 512-8777","Executive Office for Immigration Review","To better address current and future staffing needs, the Director of EOIR should develop and implement a strategic workforce plan that addresses, among other areas, key principles of effective strategic workforce planning, including (1) determining critical skills and competencies needed to achieve current and future programmatic results; (2) developing strategies that are tailored to address gaps in number, deployment, and alignment of human capital approaches for enabling and sustaining the contributions of all critical skills and competencies; and (3) monitoring and evaluation of the agency's progress toward its human capital goals and the contribution that human capital results have made toward achieving programmatic results.",Open,Yes,"EOIR agreed with our recommendation. In February 2022, EOIR officials stated that the agency was participating in the development of a Department of Justice (DOJ) strategic plan which, once completed, would inform EOIR's own strategic plan. DOJ issued its new strategic plan in July 2022. We reviewed EOIR's workforce planning practices, including its efforts to address this recommendation, and issued a report in April 2023 (GAO-23-105431). We found that EOIR had taken some steps to improve its workforce planning since we made our recommendation in 2017, but its practices do not fully align with key principles for strategic workforce planning. We also reported that EOIR officials stated that they had a draft strategic plan undergoing internal agency clearance, but could not provide an estimated timeframe for its completion. As of October 2023, EOIR's efforts to finalize the draft strategic plan were ongoing. Additionally, EOIR reported that it had contracted with the Office of Personnel Management for support developing a workforce planning framework, including workforce planning processes and procedures, by December 2023. To fully address our recommendation, EOIR needs to develop, and then implement, a strategic workforce plan that addresses key principles of effective strategic workforce planning. Once this strategic workforce plan is completed, EOIR needs to monitor and evaluate the agency's progress toward its human capital goals." "National Nuclear Security Administration: Action Needed to Address Affordability of Nuclear Modernization Programs",GAO-17-341,"Apr 26, 2017","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","National Nuclear Security Administration","To help NNSA put forth more credible modernization plans, the NNSA Administrator should include an assessment of the affordability of NNSA's portfolio of modernization programs in future versions of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan--for example, by presenting options NNSA could consider to bring its estimates of modernization funding needs into alignment with potential future budgets, such as potentially deferring the start of or canceling specific modernization programs.",Open,Yes,"NNSA included information in its fiscal years 2020 and 2021 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) about its analysis of the affordability of its weapons modernization plans. However, the fiscal year 2022 SSMP did not include such analysis because no out-year budget projections were available on account of the administration's ongoing Nuclear Posture Review and development of a National Defense Strategy. To fully address our recommendation, NNSA should include assessments of the affordability of NNSA's modernization programs in future versions of its SSMP. For instance, when the estimated cost range for the planned modernization portfolio appears to exceed future available budget estimates, NNSA should identify potential options for bringing its plans and estimated funding needs for the portfolio into alignment with projections for future budgets. At a minimum, this could include identifying the highest-priority elements of the modernization portfolio where NNSA--after consultation with the Department of Defense--believes it cannot defer, cancel, or adjust the scope or schedule of planned programs or projects. Doing so would help congressional and NNSA decision-makers better understand the potential rebalancing of priorities and trade-offs that may need to be undertaken to address affordability concerns. We will continue to review future SSMPs to assess whether NNSA has included additional information or an assessment consistent with this recommendation." "U.S. Manufacturing: Federal Programs Reported Providing Support and Addressing Trends",GAO-17-240,"Apr 27, 2017","Andrew Sherrill, John Neumann","(202) 512-7215, (202) 512-3841","Office of Science and Technology Policy","To enhance the ability of the Executive Office of the President to implement the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014 requirements related to reporting on advanced manufacturing, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, working through the National Science and Technology Council and agency leadership, as appropriate, should identify the information they will collect from federal agencies to determine the extent to which the objectives outlined in the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing are being achieved.",Open,Yes,"In October 2018, the Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing, Committee on Technology of the National Science Technology Council released a Strategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing. This strategy provided some information on progress toward achieving the objectives of the prior National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing; however, it is unclear what information is to be collected from agencies and likewise how progress toward achieving the goals of the current strategy will be measured. In October 2022, the Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing published an updated National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing. While the strategy does establish a clear linkage between the goals, objectives, and recommendations, it does not include specific metrics or information to be collected to measure achievement of such goals. To fully address our recommendation, OSTP should also ensure that the plan identifies specific and measurable information it will collect from agencies to assess progress towards the plan's goals and objectives. Identifying such information will help ensure collection of consistent, comprehensive information with which to measure progress, and will enhance reporting on the progress of advanced manufacturing efforts." "Drug Safety: FDA Has Improved Its Foreign Drug Inspection Program, but Needs to Assess the Effectiveness and Staffing of Its Foreign Offices",GAO-17-143,"Jan 17, 2017","Marcia Crosse","(202) 512-7114","Food and Drug Administration","To help ensure that FDA's foreign offices are able to fully meet their mission of helping to ensure the safety of imported products, as the agency continues to test performance measures and evaluate its Office of International Programs (OIP) strategic workforce plan, the Commissioner of FDA should assess the effectiveness of the foreign offices' contributions by systematically tracking information to measure whether the offices' activities specifically contribute to drug safety-related outcomes, such as inspections, import alerts, and warning letters.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In a June 2022 written response, FDA described multiple strategic planning efforts it was undertaking to assess the effectiveness of its overseas offices and to track activities that specifically contribute to drug safety outcomes. Of these, FDA provided supporting documentation that it has developed performance measures related to inspections conducted by overseas office staff, which it implemented as of March 2023. Specifically, these measures included targets and assessed the contribution of the overseas offices toward helping FDA follow up on prior inspections that identified deficiencies. FDA indicated that the Office of Global Policy and Strategy (OGPS, formerly the Office of International Programs) selected these performance measures in collaboration with ORA to ensure they are in accordance with ORA's existing performance measures. In addition, FDA described efforts to track outcomes unrelated to inspection activities, which it noted were inherently difficult to measure. Specifically, FDA described the development of focal areas of work, such as drug safety. Within each area, the office developed indicators and measures toward long-term goals, and noted that the effort was a collaboration between OGPS and the subject matter experts in the product centers. FDA also described its plans to track these measures each year and consider the need for revisions. In a June 2023 written response, FDA indicated that OGPS's strategic plan expanded to include several ""focal areas"" of work: drug safety, food safety, good regulatory practices, and medical devices. Within each focal area, the office had identified ""desired future states,"" which are long-term desired goals. In October 2023, FDA provided drafts of these focal areas that included proposed measures, which indicated that they still needed to be discussed with the centers to ensure alignment. As of February 2024, FDA indicated that this work was continuing. While the development of these measures is a positive step, GAO will leave this recommendation open until FDA fully aligns these measures with the centers and finalizes them." "DOT Discretionary Grants: Problems with Hurricane Sandy Transit Grant Selection Process Highlight the Need for Additional Accountability",GAO-17-20,"Jan 13, 2017","Mark Goldstein","(202) 512-2834","Department of Transportation","Given DOT's new discretionary grant programs and similar challenges we have found with previous DOT programs, the Secretary of Transportation should issue a directive that governs department-wide and modal administration discretionary grant programs. Such a directive should include requirements to: (1) develop a plan for evaluating project proposals in advance of issuing a notice of funding availability that defines the stages of the process, including how the process will be overseen to ensure a consistent review of applications; (2) document key decisions, including the reason for any rating changes and the officials responsible for those changes, and how high-level concerns raised during the process were addressed; and (3) align stated program purpose and policy priorities with the evaluation and selection process.",Open,Yes,"DOT concurred with this recommendation. In December 2023, DOT issued department-wide guidance on how discretionary grant program offices should integrate DOT policy priorities into the selection criteria in notices of funding opportunity. DOT officials also stated that they hired a Director for the Office of Grants and Financial Assistance in February 2024, and that this Director will lead the effort to develop additional department-wide guidance on discretionary grant programs. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's progress in implementing this recommendation." "Climate Change: Improved Federal Coordination Could Facilitate Use of Forward-Looking Climate Information in Design Standards, Building Codes, and Certifications",GAO-17-3,"Jan 3, 2017","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Department of Commerce","To help reduce federal fiscal exposure by enhancing the resilience of infrastructure to extreme weather, the Secretary of Commerce, through the Director of NIST, in consultation with MitFLG and USGCRP, should convene federal agencies for an ongoing governmentwide effort to provide the best available forward-looking climate information to standards-developing organizations for their consideration in the development of design standards, building codes, and voluntary certifications.",Open,Yes,"As of February 2, 2024, NIST has taken steps to provide the best available forward-looking climate information to standards-developing organizations by assessing priority federal agency needs for climate data and projections. We will review this assessment once it is complete and determine if it is responsive to our recommendation." "IT Workforce: Key Practices Help Ensure Strong Integrated Program Teams; Selected Departments Need to Assess Skill Gaps",GAO-17-8,"Nov 30, 2016","David A. Powner","(202) 512-9286","Department of Transportation","To facilitate the analysis of gaps between current skills and future needs, the development of strategies for filling the gaps, and succession planning, the Secretary of Transportation should require the Chief Information Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, and other senior managers as appropriate to address the shortfalls in IT workforce planning noted in this report, including the following actions: (1) establish a time frame for when the department is to finalize its draft workforce planning process and maintain that process; (2) develop staffing requirements for all positions; (3) assess competency and staffing needs regularly for all positions; (4) assess gaps in staffing for all components of the workforce; (5) develop strategies and plans to address gaps in competencies and staffing; (6) implement activities that address gaps, including an IT acquisition cadre, cross-functional training of acquisition and program personnel, a career path for program managers, and use of special hiring authorities, if justified and cost-effective;e (7) monitor the department's progress in addressing competency and staffing gaps; and (8) report to department leadership on progress in addressing competency and staffing gaps.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOT agreed with this recommendation. In January 2020, DOT officials told us it had established a workgroup to lead and conduct workforce-planning activities, and had defined the strategic goals and objectives for the department's IT workforce. As of February 2024, the agency has implemented three of the eight recommended IT workforce-planning activities-developing competency and staffing requirements, assessing gaps in competencies and staffing, and developing strategies and plans to address gaps in competencies and staffing. DOT officials stated that the department is continuing its efforts to implement the recommendation, including developing a workforce planning process, which it expects to complete by the end of fiscal year 2024. To fully address this recommendation, DOT should complete the remaining five IT workforce planning activities. Until the department completes these activities, it risks not adequately assessing and addressing gaps in knowledge and skills that are critical to the success of major acquisitions." "Federal Reserve: Additional Actions Could Help Ensure the Achievement of Stress Test Goals",GAO-17-48,"Nov 15, 2016","Lawrance L. Evans, Jr.","(202) 512-8678","Federal Reserve System","To improve the Federal Reserve's ability to manage model risk and ensure that decisions based on supervisory stress test results are informed by an understanding of model risk, the Federal Reserve should design and implement a process to communicate information about the range and sources of uncertainty surrounding the post-stress capital ratio estimates to the Board during CCAR deliberations.",Open,Yes,"In January 2019, the Federal Reserve said it had previously initiated a project to design and implement a process to communicate uncertainty surrounding the post-stress capital ratio estimates. In February 2022, the Federal Reserve provided information about its process to communicate model risk and uncertainty analysis results. To fully implement our recommendation, the Federal Reserve needs to complete its process to communicate uncertainty surrounding the post-stress capital ratio estimates to the Board. We will continue to monitor the Federal Reserve's completion and implementation of this project, and will update the status of this recommendation once we receive documentation demonstrating the completion of responsive actions." "Federal Reserve: Additional Actions Could Help Ensure the Achievement of Stress Test Goals",GAO-17-48,"Nov 15, 2016","Lawrance L. Evans, Jr.","(202) 512-8678","Federal Reserve System","To improve the Federal Reserve's ability to manage model risk and ensure that decisions based on supervisory stress test results are informed by an understanding of model risk, the Federal Reserve should design and implement a process for the Board and senior staff to articulate tolerance levels for key risks identified through sensitivity testing and for the degree of uncertainty in the projected capital ratios.",Open,Yes,"In January 2019, the Federal Reserve said it had previously initiated a project to respond to our recommendation. In February 2022, the Federal Reserve provided information about its process to communicate model risk and approve supervisory stress test models, including discussion of model risk tolerance. To fully implement our recommendation, the Federal Reserve's process needs to provide for the Board and senior staff to articulate tolerance levels for risks identified through sensitivity testing and the degree of uncertainty in the projected capital ratios. We will continue to monitor the Federal Reserve's completion and implementation of this project, and will update the status of this recommendation once we receive documentation demonstrating the completion of responsive actions." "401(K) Plans: Effects of Eligibility and Vesting Policies on Workers' Retirement Savings",GAO-17-69,"Nov 21, 2016","Charles Jeszeck","(202) 512-7215","Department of the Treasury","To ensure that current vesting policies appropriately balance plans' needs and interests with the needs of workers to have employment mobility while also saving for retirement, Treasury should evaluate the appropriateness of existing maximum vesting policies for account-based plans, considering today's mobile labor force, and seek legislative action to revise vesting schedules, if deemed necessary. The Department of Labor could provide assistance with such an evaluation.",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, no action had been taken on this recommendation. The last substantive update from Treasury, in August 2020, was the reiteration of its policy of not recommending legislative change to Congress. The agency noted that any updates to the regulations under Code section 411, which concern vesting schedules, cannot modify permitted vesting schedules as determined by Congress. That is why our recommendation was for the agency to seek legislative action if it determined, upon evaluation of the policies, that a change to vesting rule was warranted. Given that more than 65 million people hold active 401(k) plan accounts and that median tenure with current employer in the private sector is 4.1 years, the potential for these policies to significantly impact Americans' retirement security remains. We will close this recommendation when Treasury evaluates the appropriateness of current maximum vesting policies to help determine whether they unduly reduce the retirement savings of workers, regardless of whether the agency opts to seek legislative action." "Improper Payments: Strategy and Additional Actions Needed to Help Ensure Agencies Use the Do Not Pay Working System as Intended",GAO-17-15,"Nov 14, 2016","Beryl (Berri) H. Davis","(202) 512-2623","Office of Management and Budget","To better monitor agency use of the DNP working system once a strategy has been developed, the Director of OMB should develop and implement monitoring mechanisms--such as goals, benchmarks, and performance measures--to evaluate agency use of the DNP working system.",Open,Yes,"The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) agreed with the concept of monitoring mechanisms and said it will continue to work with agencies to address this recommendation. OMB previously informed us that the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) conducts this monitoring and reports quarterly updates to OMB. Treasury provided us examples of reports that it provides to OMB. However, OMB still needs to provide more information on how it uses these reports, as well as documentation related to this monitoring and reporting. OMB also informed us that it will be using the information collected on paymentaccuracy.gov to meet the requirements under 31 U.S.C. ? 3354(b)(5), which requires OMB to submit an annual report to Congress on the operation of Do Not Pay (DNP). In March 2022, OMB informed us that due to policy priorities and limited resources, it is not able to completely implement this recommendation. OMB stated that DNP currently works closely with agencies on usage and will report to OMB as appropriate for assistance if needed. OMB needs to provide more information on monitoring and reporting of agencies' use of DNP, as well as how it plans to meet the requirements under 31 U.S.C. ? 3354(b)(5), as applicable. Without monitoring mechanisms and reliable and complete data, OMB will not be able to effectively evaluate agencies' use of the DNP working system or remediate any issues identified. As of December 2022, OMB did not indicate any change in its position. We will continue to monitor OMB's actions to address this recommendation." "Federal Human Resources Data: OPM Should Improve the Availability and Reliability of Payroll Data to Support Accountability and Workforce Analytics",GAO-17-127,"Oct 7, 2016","Nancy R. Kingsbury","(202) 512-2700","Office of Personnel Management","To support its strategic and open data goals, the Director of OPM should improve the availability of the EHRI payroll data--for example, by preparing the data for analytics, making them available through online tools such as FedScope, and including them among the EHRI data sources on the OPM website and Data.gov.",Open,Yes,"OPM agreed with the recommendation. In December 2018, OPM told us it will establish a plan to make payroll data available through analytical tools such as FedScope no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. OPM told us in March 2022 that its Office of Human Capital Data Management and Modernization intends to develop a plan in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 that will address relational edits, harmonize payroll data standards, and incrementally address data quality concerns-a step OPM believes is necessary before making the data more available. OPM told us in February 2023 that they intend to finalize an improvement plan for EHRI payroll data by third quarter of fiscal year 2023. To fully address this recommendation, OPM needs to develop and implement this plan and improve the availability of payroll data." "Federal Human Resources Data: OPM Should Improve the Availability and Reliability of Payroll Data to Support Accountability and Workforce Analytics",GAO-17-127,"Oct 7, 2016","Nancy R. Kingsbury","(202) 512-2700","Office of Personnel Management","To integrate the payroll data into the larger suite of EHRI databases, the Director of OPM should develop a schedule for executing these plans.",Open,Yes,"OPM concurred with our recommendation. As of March 2023, OPM has not functionally integrated payroll with other EHRI databases and has not developed a schedule for implementing plans to do so. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to complete the recommended plans and develop a schedule for executing these plans ." "Federal Human Resources Data: OPM Should Improve the Availability and Reliability of Payroll Data to Support Accountability and Workforce Analytics",GAO-17-127,"Oct 7, 2016","Nancy R. Kingsbury","(202) 512-2700","Office of Personnel Management","To integrate the payroll data into the larger suite of EHRI databases, the Director of OPM should evaluate existing internal control activities and develop new control activities for EHRI payroll data, such as implementing transactional edit checks that leverage the information in the other EHRI datasets.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"OPM concurred with our recommendation. In March 2022, OPM officials said they have not updated control activities for payroll data to include transactional edit checks that draw from other EHRI databases. However, they said they have begun to implement new control activities, including nearly 250 new validation edits for EHRI payroll data and provided supporting documentation for the new validation edits. They also said that edit development is to be part of their overall improvement plan. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to finish updating control activities, including evaluating opportunities to leverage other EHRI datasets to improve integration and data quality." "Advanced Technologies: Strengthened Federal Approach Needed to Help Identify and Mitigate Supply Risks for Critical Raw Materials",GAO-16-699,"Oct 3, 2016","John Neumann","(202) 512-3841","Office of Science and Technology Policy","To enhance the ability of the Executive Office of the President to coordinate federal agencies to carry out the national materials policy outlined in the 1980 Act, and to broaden future applications of the early warning screening methodology, the Subcommittee should take the steps necessary to include potentially critical materials beyond minerals, such as developing a plan or strategy for prioritizing additional materials for which actions are needed to address data limitations.",Open,Yes,"In September 2017, OSTP provided updated information on its efforts to implement recommendations from GAO-16-699. OSTP stated that ""the Subcommittee shares GAO's interest in improving data availability and granularity. However, in some cases, private entities and foreign governments may be unwilling or unable to provide (or even collect) such data. Additionally, the Subcommittee member agencies' financial and personnel resources are limited, and significant additional resources would be required to prioritize and pursue the data for additional materials and critical materials beyond minerals. Without the appropriation of additional resources, the Subcommittee's work on these additional items will be necessarily circumscribed."" In its February 2018 report on the updated application of the early warning screening methodology, the Subcommittee stated that it saw the value in analyzing more minerals and non-minerals to help inform policy decisions, but that fulfilling this need will require additional dedicated personnel and financial resources for data collection, analysis, and distribution. In March 2020, OSTP stated that the Subcommittee has explored the possibility of expanding the scope of the early warning screening methodology to include critical materials beyond minerals. According to OSTP, possible expansion candidates include carbon fiber and critical chemicals. OSTP stated that it has initiated a discussion with the Department of Interior (U.S. Geological Survey), who has been leading the methodology development, and the Department of Commerce (Bureau of Economic Analysis) with regard to possible data that would be needed for such an expansion. However, in August 2020, OSTP stated that while the expertise to expand data collection to additional materials of interest exists in the National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the capacity to expand beyond the current portfolio is not available due to budgetary constraints. In May 2021, OSTP stated that the Subcommittee is actively exploring opportunities to broaden its focus beyond the raw material and mineral challenges that have been its focus the past several years. OSTP also stated that federal agencies will work together through the Subcommittee to prioritize activities and to leverage efforts and limited resources. In May 2022, OSTP stated that multiple interagency working groups, including the Subcommittee and the Executive Order 14017 Working Group, continue to address critical materials issues relevant to our recommendation. OSTP provided several examples of interagency activities related to critical minerals data collection and mapping. In March 2024, OSTP provided additional examples of federal efforts to address critical minerals and materials, including a critical materials assessment by the Department of Energy and reviews by the Defense Logistics Agency. OSTP also stated that efforts are underway to designate NMIC as a federal statistical unit, which would provide a strong basis for the USGS to request mandatory response authority for select surveys of industry intended to collect data that are key to evaluating options to strengthen manufacturing supply chains and the circular economy. However, it remains unclear the extent to which the Subcommittee has a plan or strategy for addressing data limitations for non-mineral materials in a coordinated way. We will consider this recommendation implemented when OSTP demonstrates that it has worked with Subcommittee member agencies and other relevant interagency working groups to develop a plan to coordinate federal efforts and resources to address data limitations that hinder assessing other potentially critical materials beyond minerals." "SEC Conflict Minerals Rule: Companies Face Continuing Challenges in Determining Whether Their Conflict Minerals Benefit Armed Groups",GAO-16-805,"Aug 25, 2016","Kimberly Gianopoulos","(202) 512-8612","Department of Commerce","To improve the effectiveness of the SEC's conflict minerals disclosure rule, the Secretary of Commerce should submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan outlining steps that Commerce will take, with associated time frames, to (1) assess the accuracy of the independent private sector audits (IPSA) and other due diligence processes described under section 13(p) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (2) develop recommendations for the process used to carry out such audits, including ways to improve the accuracy of the audits and establish standards of best practices for such audits; and (3) acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to carry out these responsibilities.",Open,Yes,"Commerce agreed with this recommendation. In response to this recommendation, Commerce indicated in an October 25, 2016 letter to GAO that it has developed a three-step approach which parallels the three distinct elements of the recommendation. To fully implement this recommendation, Commerce needs to submit the said three-step plan, including associated timeframes for their completion, to the appropriate congressional committees. Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act defines ""appropriate committees"" to mean the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. In a January 2018 email, a Commerce official indicated to GAO that the agency had reviewed the 19 IPSA audits filed by companies in 2016, and the agency plans to complete a review of the 16 IPSA audits filed in 2017 by the end of FY 2018. However, the official noted that the ""Department will not undertake the development of recommendations and best practices while the SEC is revising its rule."" Commerce cited SEC staff's recent updated guidance and ongoing reviews of the conflict minerals rule, among other things, as their primary reason. However, the SEC staff's updated guidance also clarified that the guidance ""does not express any legal conclusion on the rule"" and is ""subject to any further action that may be taken by the Commission."" Therefore, the rule is still in effect, according to SEC staff. We requested a status update in October 2019 and Commerce responded: ""In National Association of Manufacturers v. United States SEC, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135732 (2017), the District Court for the District of Columbia declared an element of the relevant SEC rule unconstitutional, necessitating that the SEC determine how that decision affects overall implementation of the Conflict Minerals rule. Until the SEC completes its deliberative process, makes such determination, and implements any necessary revisions to the rule, the Department does not intend to undertake additional work under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act with regard to the assessment of the accuracy of the audits and other due diligence processes or recommendations regarding the audits. After which point, the Department will assess how the SEC determination and any revisions to the rule affect the Department's plans for implementing GAO's recommendation."" The team confirmed that the SEC did not make the aforementioned revisions to the rule in 2020 for Commerce to consider implementing GAO's recommendation. We contacted Commerce in early 2021 to ask about the status of the recommendation. Commerce responded on March 10, 2021 and stated that the Department has not assessed the Independent Private Sector Audits (IPSAs) submitted to the SEC in 2018, 2019, or 2020, and cannot confirm how many IPSAs were submitted in each of those years. Commerce officials reiterated that when the SEC takes action regarding the relevant regulations, the Department will assess how the SEC action affects the Department's plans for implementing the Secretary's responsibilities under Section 1502 and the GAO recommendation. On March 4, 2022, Commerce responded to our request for an update and reported that there has been no change in the status of the agency's response to the recommendation. On February 21, 2023, Commerce responded to our request for an update, stating that there once again has been no change in the status of the agency's response to the recommendation." "Federal Hiring: OPM Needs to Improve Management and Oversight of Hiring Authorities",GAO-16-521,"Sep 1, 2016","Robert N. Goldenkoff","(202) 512-2757","Office of Personnel Management","To help strengthen the government's ability to compete in the labor market for top talent, and to improve the federal hiring process, the Director of OPM, in conjunction with the CHCO Council, should use this information to determine whether opportunities exist to refine, consolidate, eliminate, or expand agency-specific authorities to other agencies and implement changes where OPM is authorized, including seeking presidential authorization (as necessary) in order to do so. In cases where legislation would be necessary to implement changes, OPM should work with the CHCO Council to develop legislative proposals.",Open,Yes,"OPM agreed with this recommendation. In March 2024, OPM reported expanding the government-wide direct hire authority for STEM and cyber positions, establishing a governmentwide direct hire authority for artificial intelligence positions, and creating an excepted service Schedule A hiring authority for positions needed in support of hiring artificial intelligence positions. However, our August 2016 report also concluded that OPM should analyze if and how specific authorities contribute to the effectiveness of the hiring process and use this information to simplify and improve the hiring process by refining, consolidating, eliminating, or expanding some authorities. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to analyze the authorities and determine where to implement changes and, as appropriate, develop legislative proposals in consultation with the CHCO Council. By doing so, OPM could improve the federal hiring process and strengthen the government's ability to compete in the labor market for top talent." "Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: CBP Action Needed to Reduce Duty Processing Errors and Mitigate Nonpayment Risk",GAO-16-542,"Aug 15, 2016","Kimberly Gianopoulos","(202) 512-8612","United States Customs and Border Protection","To improve risk management in the collection of AD/CV duties, CBP should, consistent with U.S. law and international obligations, take steps to use its data and risk assessment strategically to mitigate AD/CV duty nonpayment, such as by using predictive risk analysis to identify entries that pose heightened risk and taking appropriate action to mitigate the risk.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In 2016 and 2019 (see GAO-20-50R), we recommended CBP develop a risk-based framework to mitigate the risk of antidumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duty nonpayment. Subsequently, CBP took steps to develop a risk-based framework, including the use of a risk-based single transaction bond (STB). However, in June 2021, CBP announced that it would not implement the risk-based STB because of implementation complexity and legal obstacles. Instead, CBP announced that it would incorporate risk-based principles into its current process by leveraging existing authorities and completing several initiatives. As of March 2023, CBP had issued guidance for determining when to use an STB for AD/CV entries. CBP had also issued guidance operationalizing a recent bond policy decision to revoke the authority of CBP officials to permit persons suspended or debarred by CBP from using a continuous entry bond to secure customs activities, except in circumstances when a continuous bond is the only type of acceptable bond. CBP officials said they were in the process of updating its Monetary Guidelines for Setting Bond Amounts. Additionally, CBP officials said they were in the process of updating their regulation to formally allow the use of an electronic customs bond. CBP officials also said they were in the process of fully automating bond sufficiency checks. CBP officials said the agency plans to complete all three initiatives by the end of September 2023. The initiatives CBP has taken and plans to take could help CBP mitigate the risk of AD/CV duty nonpayment but none of the initiatives use CBP's data and risk analysis strategically as the GAO recommendation intended." "Department of Energy: Whistleblower Protections Need Strengthening",GAO-16-618,"Jul 14, 2016","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Department of Energy","To help improve DOE's ability to take enforcement action against unlawful retaliation when appropriate and take action against contractors that create a chilled work environment, the Secretary of Energy should revise DOE's Integrated Safety Management policy and guidance to clarify what constitutes evidence of a chilled work environment and define the appropriate steps DOE should take to hold contractors accountable for creating a chilled work environment.",Open,Yes,"DOE concurred with the recommendation. In January 2018, DOE issued a revision to DOE Policy 450.4A. The revised policy states that organizations should foster a culture that allows employees to ""feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of retaliation...and supporting a questioning attitude concerning safety by all employees."" However, the policy does not define the appropriate steps DOE should take to hold contractors accountable for creating a chilled work environment. As of April 2023, DOE officials told us the Office of Environment, Health, Safety, and Security (EHSS) was in the process of reviewing several policies and order that will assist in addressing the issues related to this recommendation." "Tax Expenditures: Opportunities Exist to Use Budgeting and Agency Performance Processes to Increase Oversight",GAO-16-622,"Jul 7, 2016","Heather Krause","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To help ensure that the contributions of tax expenditures toward the achievement of agency goals are identified and measured, the Director of OMB, in collaboration with the Secretary of the Treasury, should work with agencies to identify which tax expenditures contribute to their agency goals, as appropriate--that is, they should identify which specific tax expenditures contribute to specific strategic objectives and agency priority goals.",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, OMB had not begun to work with agencies to identify which tax expenditures contribute to the agencies' specific strategic objectives and agency priority goals, as GAO recommended in 2016. OMB stated that, although it agreed with the recommendation, it was not pursuing the effort due to competing priorities, as well as capacity and resource constraints. As of March 2024, OMB does not plan to address this recommendation. GAO continues to believe that OMB, in collaboration with the Department of the Treasury, needs to assist agencies in identifying tax expenditures that relate to agency goals so that the agencies have a more complete understanding of how a broader range of federal investments contributes to their goals. Without additional OMB assistance, agencies may continue to have difficulty identifying whether or which of the dozens of tax expenditures--representing an estimated $1.54 trillion in forgone revenues in fiscal year 2023 (last revised estimates available)--contribute to their goals." "Nuclear Security: NRC Has Enhanced the Controls of Dangerous Radioactive Materials, but Vulnerabilities Remain",GAO-16-330,"Jul 15, 2016","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","Because some quantities of radioactive materials are potentially dangerous to human health if not properly handled, NRC should take action to better track and secure these materials and verify the legitimacy of the licenses for those who seek to possess them. Specifically, the NRC should take the steps needed to include category 3 sources in the National Source Tracking System and add agreement state category 3 licenses to the Web-based Licensing System as quickly as reasonably possible.",Open,Yes,"In October 2016, NRC issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) ""Proposed Staff Re-Evaluation of Category 3 Source Accountability,"" (SRM-COMJMB-16-0001) and directed NRC staff to take specific actions to evaluate whether it is necessary to revise NRC regulations or processes governing source protection and accountability for category 3 sources. Among other things, this re-evaluation considered GAO's recommendations. In August 2017, NRC staff completed its analysis and provided recommendations to the NRC Commissioners. (Most of this analysis is available on NRC's website.) In its analysis, the NRC staff recommended not including category 3 sources in the National Source Tracking System. They also recommended not adding agreement state category 3 licenses to the Web-based Licensing System. Subsequently, in December 2021, NRC issued SECY-17-0083: Re-Evaluation of Category 3 Source Security and Accountability in Response to SRM-COMJMB-16-0001. If this SRM is implemented, it would provide an incentive for agreement states to use the Web-Based Licensing System (WBL). According to NRC staff, the SRM will have to go through public comment, and NRC is uncertain when it will be implemented. Furthermore, according to agency staff, NRC has no plans to put category 3 quantities into the National Source Tracking System (NSTS)." "Nuclear Security: NRC Has Enhanced the Controls of Dangerous Radioactive Materials, but Vulnerabilities Remain",GAO-16-330,"Jul 15, 2016","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","Because some quantities of radioactive materials are potentially dangerous to human health if not properly handled, NRC should take action to better track and secure these materials and verify the legitimacy of the licenses for those who seek to possess them. Specifically, the NRC should at least until such time that category 3 licenses can be verified using the License Verification System, require that transferors of category 3 quantities of radioactive materials confirm the validity of a would-be purchaser's radioactive materials license with the appropriate regulatory authority before transferring any category 3 quantities of licensed materials.",Open,Yes,"In October 2016, NRC issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) ""Proposed Staff Re-Evaluation of Category 3 Source Accountability,"" (SRM-COMJMB-16-0001) and directed NRC staff to take specific actions to evaluate whether it is necessary to revise NRC regulations or processes governing source protection and accountability for category 3 sources. Among other things, this re-evaluation considered GAO's recommendations. In August 2017, NRC staff completed its analysis and provided recommendations to the NRC Commissioners. (Most of this analysis is available on NRC's website.) In its analysis, the NRC staff recommended not requiring transferors of category 3 quantities of radiological material to confirm the validity of licenses prior to transferring any category 3 quantities of these materials. In December 2021, NRC issued SECY-17-0083: Re-Evaluation of Category 3 Source Security and Accountability in Response to SRM-COMJMB-16-0001. This SRM recommends requiring licensees transferring category 3 quantities of radioactive material to verify licenses through the Licensee Verification System (LVS) or by calling the Agreement State office. If NRC were to take action, it would fully address this recommendation. However, the process must undergo a public comment period and NRC officials are uncertain when the rulemaking will be completed." "Hospital Uncompensated Care: Federal Action Needed to Better Align Payments with Costs",GAO-16-568,"Aug 1, 2016","Katherine Iritani","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","To ensure efficient use of federal resources, the Administrator of CMS should account for Medicaid payments a hospital has received that offset uncompensated care costs when determining hospital uncompensated care costs for the purposes of making Medicare UC payments to individual hospitals.",Open,Yes,"No executive action taken as of February 2022. HHS initially concurred with our recommendation. However, in 2018, March 2021, January 2023, and again in February2024, HHS indicated it was reconsidering whether to implement our recommendation because officials stated that it may not be appropriate to offset Medicare UC payments by Medicaid payments that help offset UC costs. We maintain that CMS should implement our recommendation, because it would (i) ensure that Medicare UC payments are based on accurate levels of UC costs, (ii) result in CMS better targeting billions of dollars in Medicare UC payments to hospitals with the most UC costs, and (iii) avoid Medicare UC payments to hospitals with little or no UC costs." "Information Technology: Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems",GAO-16-468,"May 25, 2016","David A. Powner","(202) 512-9286","Office of Management and Budget","The Director of OMB should commit to a firm date by which its draft guidance on legacy systems will be issued, and subsequently direct agencies to identify legacy systems and/or investments needing to be modernized or replaced.",Open,Yes,"The agency agreed with the recommendation. In April 2021, OMB stated that agencies were directed to manage the risk to High Value Assets associated with legacy systems in OMB's December 2018 guidance. While OMB's guidance does direct agencies to identify, report, assess, and remediate issues associated with High Value Assets, it does not require agencies to do so for all legacy systems. In a September 2021 update, OMB stated that OMB would work closely with agencies to better understand their plans and any obstacles. In a December 2022 update, OMB stated that it planned to compare the recommendation with recent actions, guidance and policy memoranda issued since the recommendation was made, to determine if an update to the OMB response is appropriate. In February 2024, OMB stated that it did not currently plan to issue any additional guidance on legacy systems. In March 2024, OMB stated that it believes it has met the intent of the recommendation and considers it closed. We disagree and believe that until OMB issues guidance on identifying and modernizing legacy systems, the federal government runs the risk of continuing to maintain investments that have outlived their effectiveness and are consuming resources that outweigh their benefits. We will continue to monitor the implementation of this recommendation." "Disability Insurance: SSA Needs to Better Track Efforts and Evaluate Options to Recover Debt and Deter Potential Fraud",GAO-16-331,"Apr 13, 2016","Dan Bertoni","(202) 512-7215","Social Security Administration","To ensure effective and appropriate recovery of DI overpayments and administration of penalties and sanctions, the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should adjust the minimum withholding rate to 10 percent of monthly DI benefits to allow quicker recovery of debt.",Open,Yes,"SSA agreed with this recommendation and in 2017 estimated that this change would result in an additional $213 million in collections over a 5-year period. SSA included legislative proposals in the President's budget submissions in fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to make this change. In parallel with proposed legislation, SSA reported that it can also implement the change via regulatory change, and was included in SSA's regulatory agenda in 2019 and 2020. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, however, SSA stopped pursuing regulatory change in order to pursue other regulatory priorities, many related to the effects of the pandemic. As of March 2024, SSA reported it does not plan to change the minimum withholding amount. Increasing the minimum withholding amount would help SSA increase the amount of overpayments it recovers and, as we reported in 2016, could be implemented in manner to have a small effect on those receiving lower levels of disability benefits." "Medicare: Claim Review Programs Could Be Improved with Additional Prepayment Reviews and Better Data",GAO-16-394,"May 13, 2016","Kathleen M. King","(202) 512-7114","Department of Health and Human Services","In order to better ensure proper Medicare payments and protect Medicare funds, CMS should seek legislative authority to allow the RAs to conduct prepayment claim reviews.",Open,Yes,"In April 2016, we recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should seek legislative authority to allow the Recovery Auditors (RAs) to conduct prepayment claim reviews. The Department of Health and Human Services did not concur with this recommendation and, as of February 2024, CMS has not taken steps to request this authority. We continue to believe that CMS should seek legislative authority to allow RAs to conduct these reviews. Until CMS seeks and implements this authority, it will be missing an opportunity to help identify improper payments before they are made." "Medicare Advantage: Fundamental Improvements Needed in CMS's Effort to Recover Substantial Amounts of Improper Payments",GAO-16-76,"May 9, 2016","James Cosgrove","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","As CMS continues to implement and refine the contract-level RADV audit process to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of reducing and recovering improper payments. The Administrator should enhance the timeliness of CMS's contract-level RADV process by taking actions such as the following: (1) closely aligning the time frames in CMS's contract-level RADV audits with those of the national RADV audits the agency uses to estimate the MA improper payment rate; (2) reducing the time between notifying MA organizations of contract audit selection and notifying them about the beneficiaries and diagnoses that will be audited; (3) improving the reliability and performance of the agency's process for transferring medical records from MA organizations, including assessing the feasibility of updating Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation for use in transferring medical records in contract-level RADV audits; and (4) requiring that CMS contract-level RADV auditors complete their medical record reviews within a specific number of days comparable to other medical record review time frames in the Medicare program.",Open,Yes,"CMS is working to enhance the timeliness of the agency's contract-level RADV process, as GAO recommended in April 2016. CMS officials told GAO that the agency has begun several steps to improve the timeliness of the contract-level RADV process. For example, in December 2021, CMS officials told GAO that it is the agency's intent to explore ways of aligning more closely the time frames of contract-level and national-level RADV audits. Officials noted that resource constraints limit the number of contract level audits that can be completed in a calendar year to two payment years but that they expect to have the audits aligned by calendar year 2023. Additionally, in February 2024, CMS officials told GAO that it has initiated automated reviews that will reduce the amount of time required for medical record review to enhance the timeliness of the RADV process. CMS's 2024 budget justification described additional steps to improve the timeliness of the RADV process, such as developing and testing the use of artificial intelligence technology to further automate the medical record intake process. Until CMS completes these steps to improve the RADV contract-level audit process, it will fail to recover improper payments of hundreds of millions of dollars annually." "Workplace Safety and Health: Additional Efforts Needed to Help Protect Health Care Workers from Workplace Violence",GAO-16-11,"Apr 14, 2016","Andrew Sherrill","(202) 512-7215","Department of Labor","To help determine whether current efforts are effective or if additional action may be needed, such as development of a workplace violence prevention standard for health care employers, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to develop and implement cost-effective ways to assess the results of the agency's efforts to address workplace violence.",Open,Yes,"According to OSHA officials, the agency completed a study of OSHA's workplace violence enforcement cases in health care to better understand the obstacles OSHA compliance officers encountered during these investigations and identify factors which led to citations. As of April 2021, OSHA officials reported that the study was under review for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The agency also published enforcement procedures to help OSHA field offices conduct inspections related to workplace violence. In addition, in December 2016, OSHA published a Request for Information (RFI) on Preventing Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance to help identify workplace violence prevention requirements that could be effective and economical if a regulation were to be developed. In 2020, OSHA had evaluated the information it received in response to the RFI, gathered information on best practices in certain industries, and completed its review of the submissions in response to the RFI. In August 2022, DOL officials said the agency has been delayed in developing regulatory options due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of February 2023, OSHA had initiated a small business panel to obtain additional input from potentially affected small businesses. The final report with the panel's recommendations should be complete by the end of April 2023. To fully implement this recommendation, the agency should complete its process of obtaining input on regulatory options and finalize its determination on whether additional actions are needed." "IRS Referral Programs: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Controls and Increase Coordination across Overlapping Programs",GAO-16-155,"Mar 24, 2016","Jessica Lucas-Judy","(202) 512-9110","Internal Revenue Service","The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should direct the referral programs to establish a mechanism to coordinate on a plan and timeline for developing a consolidated, online referral submission in order to better position IRS to leverage specialized expertise while exploring options to further consolidate the initial screening operations.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, IRS had taken some action to establish a mechanism to coordinate on a plan and timeline for developing a consolidated, online referral submission, as GAO recommended in its February 2016 report. In March 2023, IRS began using its electronic document upload tool to digitize paper information referrals received. In May 2023, IRS launched an online portal for the public to submit information referrals on potential tax law violations. However, as of February 2024, IRS continues to offer different paper forms for the public to report other types of tax fraud, such as abusive schemes and return preparer misconduct. The multitude of forms and instructions can confuse taxpayers about which form to use or cause them to file their report incorrectly. To fully implement this recommendation, IRS must establish a timeline for consolidating intake for its multiple public referral programs. Without further progress on efforts to consolidate referral intake, IRS faces continued public confusion and inefficiencies in receiving and routing referrals to the correct enforcement unit." "DOD Service Acquisition: Improved Use of Available Data Needed to Better Manage and Forecast Service Contract Requirements",GAO-16-119,"Feb 18, 2016","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Air Force","To ensure that senior leadership within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments are better positioned to make informed decisions regarding the volume and type of services that should be acquired over the future year defense program, the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force should revise their programming guidance to collect information on how contracted services will be used to meet requirements beyond the budget year.",Open,Yes,"DOD partially concurred with our recommendation, and has begun, but not completed steps to address it. In June 2022, DOD issued departmentwide guidance to begin forecasting budget needs for service acquisitions in its fiscal year 2024 budget submission. However, as of May 2023, the Air Force had not yet updated its programming guidance. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) officials indicated they are coordinating with the Air Force on revising their programming guidance to address this recommendation." "DOD Service Acquisition: Improved Use of Available Data Needed to Better Manage and Forecast Service Contract Requirements",GAO-16-119,"Feb 18, 2016","Timothy J. DiNapoli","(202) 512-4841","Department of the Navy","To ensure that senior leadership within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments are better positioned to make informed decisions regarding the volume and type of services that should be acquired over the future year defense program, the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force should revise their programming guidance to collect information on how contracted services will be used to meet requirements beyond the budget year.",Open,Yes,"DOD partially concurred with our recommendation, and has begun, but not completed steps to address it. In June 2022, DOD issued departmentwide guidance to begin forecasting budget needs for service acquisitions in its fiscal year 2024 budget submission. However, as of May 2023, the Navy had not yet updated its programming guidance. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) officials indicated they are coordinating with the Navy on revising their programming guidance to address this recommendation." "Medicaid: Federal Guidance Needed to Address Concerns About Distribution of Supplemental Payments",GAO-16-108,"Mar 7, 2016","Katherine Iritani","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","To promote consistency in the distribution of supplemental payments among states and with CMS policy, the Administrator of CMS should issue written guidance clarifying its policy that payments should not be made contingent on the availability of local funding.",Open,Yes,"CMS agreed with the concerns we raised in the February 2016 recommendation, and CMS has noted that, per its existing policy, the receipt of payments under a Medicaid state plan cannot be contingent on the availability of local funding; however, as of February 2024, CMS has not issued written guidance on this policy. In 2021, CMS withdrew its draft Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule, which could have potentially addressed GAO's concerns. GAO maintains that written guidance to all states communicating its policy prohibiting Medicaid payments contingent on the availability of local funding could help curtail the practice of states making large supplemental payments in excess of costs." "Air Travel and Communicable Diseases: Comprehensive Federal Plan Needed for U.S. Aviation System's Preparedness",GAO-16-127,"Dec 16, 2015","Gerald L. Dillingham","(202) 512-2834","Department of Transportation","To help improve the U.S. aviation sector's preparedness for future communicable disease threats from abroad, the Secretary of Transportation should work with relevant stakeholders, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, to develop a national aviation-preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks. Such a plan could establish a mechanism for coordination between the aviation and public health sectors and provides clear and transparent planning assumptions for a variety of types and levels of communicable disease threats.",Open,Yes,"The Department of Transportation (DOT) has not developed a national aviation-preparedness plan to respond to communicable disease threats from abroad. In June 2020, we urged Congress to take legislative action to require the Secretary of Transportation to work with relevant agencies and stakeholders to develop a national aviation-preparedness plan to limit the spread of communicable disease threats, and minimize travel and trade impacts (see GAO-20-625). GAO's periodic updates on the CARES Act of 2020 provide information about actions taken by Congress to address this matter. Initially, DOT partially concurred with our recommendation and agreed that an aviation preparedness plan is needed, but continued to suggest that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have responsibility for communicable disease response and preparedness planning, respectively, and that these departments should lead any efforts to address planning for communicable disease outbreaks, including for transportation. However, DOT changed its position and now plans to take the lead in developing such a plan building upon the Runway to Recovery and guidance materials from the International Civil Aviation Organization. According to agency officials, as of June 2023, DOT is planning to complete the preparedness plan by December 2023. GAO will continue to monitor and report on DOT's actions in response to this recommendation." "Sole Source Contracting: Defining and Tracking Bridge Contracts Would Help Agencies Manage Their Use",GAO-16-15,"Oct 14, 2015","Michele Mackin","(202) 512-4841","Office of Federal Procurement Policy","To gain visibility and enable efficient management on the use of bridge contracts in federal agencies, the Administrator of OFPP should take appropriate steps to develop a standardized definition for bridge contracts and incorporate it as appropriate into relevant FAR sections.",Open,Yes,"Staff from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) had previously told us that OFPP would be convening the FAR Council to discuss regulatory action after it completed the development of management guidance. In January 2020, OFPP staff stated that they were reviewing the extent to which this guidance was necessary moving forward, and noted that there is no estimated timeframe for completion of this review. As of December 2022, OFPP staff stated they have no current plans to address this recommendation. We continue to believe these actions are important to help ensure agencies do not continue to use these noncompetitive contracts frequently or for prolonged periods of time, thereby risking paying more than they should for goods and services. In March 2024, OFPP staff stated that they did not have an update on the status of this recommendation." "Sole Source Contracting: Defining and Tracking Bridge Contracts Would Help Agencies Manage Their Use",GAO-16-15,"Oct 14, 2015","Michele Mackin","(202) 512-4841","Office of Federal Procurement Policy","To gain visibility and enable efficient management on the use of bridge contracts in federal agencies, the Administrator of OFPP should, as an interim measure, until the FAR is amended, provide guidance to agencies on (1) a definition of bridge contracts, with consideration of contract extensions as well as stand-alone bridge contracts; and (2) suggestions for agencies to track and manage their use of these contracts, such as identifying a contract as a bridge in a Justification and Approval (J&A) when it meets the definition, and listing the history of previous extensions and stand-alone bridge contracts back to the predecessor contract in the J&A.",Open,Yes,"OMB staff had previously told us that they had drafted guidance, which included a definition for bridge contracts, and that it was under review. In January 2020, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) staff stated that they were reviewing the extent to which this guidance was necessary moving forward and noted that there is no estimated timeframe for completion of this review. As of December 2022, OFPP staff stated they have no current plans to address this recommendation. We continue to believe these actions are important to help ensure agencies do not continue to use these noncompetitive contracts frequently or for prolonged periods of time, thereby risking paying more than they should for goods and services. In March 2024, OFPP staff stated that they did not have an update on the status of this recommendation." "DATA Act: Progress Made in Initial Implementation but Challenges Must be Addressed as Efforts Proceed",GAO-15-752T,"Jul 29, 2015","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure that federal program spending data are provided to the public in a transparent, useful, and timely manner, the Director of OMB should accelerate efforts to determine how best to merge DATA Act purposes and requirements with the GPRAMA requirement to produce a federal program inventory.",Open,Yes,"OMB has taken steps to implement this recommendation, including issuing a plan in November 2021 for fully implementing an inventory of all federal programs. In March 2022, OMB told us that establishing a complete federal program inventory will require a whole-of-government effort, similar in cost and scope to the government-wide implementation of the DATA Act. To fully address this recommendation, OMB needs to clearly communicate how its plan for implementing a federal program inventory will help achieve the purpose identified in the DATA Act of linking federal contract, loan, and grant spending information to federal programs. As of December 2022, OMB has not done this. Taking such actions will enable taxpayers and policy makers to track federal spending more effectively." "Disability Insurance: Actions Needed to Help Prevent Potential Overpayments to Individuals Receiving Concurrent Federal Workers' Compensation",GAO-15-531,"Aug 3, 2015","Seto J. Bagdoyan","(202) 512-6722","Social Security Administration","To improve SSA's ability to detect, prevent, and recover potential DI benefit overpayments due to the concurrent receipt of FECA benefits, the Commissioner of Social Security should strengthen internal controls designed to prevent DI overpayments due to the concurrent receipt of FECA benefits by implementing the alternative that provides the greatest net benefits.",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, SSA had taken steps to strengthen internal controls, as GAO recommended in July 2015, but it had not completed its efforts. In February 2023, SSA told GAO that DOL agreed to move forward with SSA's request for FECA data. As of March 2024, SSA continues to negotiate the details of obtaining FECA data from DOL through a computer matching agreement. According to SSA, as of March 2024, funding for this project has been deferred beyond fiscal year 2024, and therefore it anticipates a completion date in fiscal year 2025. According to SSA, it plans to use FECA benefit data to improve efficiencies in its ability to offset or reduce DI benefits when an individual is concurrently receiving FECA benefits. GAO will continue to monitor SSA's work in this area. SSA following through with these plans will help the agency identify and prevent potential DI overpayments." "Prescription Drugs: More DEA Information about Registrants' Controlled Substances Roles Could Improve Their Understanding and Help Ensure Access",GAO-15-471,"Jul 27, 2015","Linda Kohn, George A. Scott","(202) 512-7114, (202) 512-8777","Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Diversion Control","In order to strengthen DEA's communication with and guidance for registrants and associations representing registrants, as well as supporting the Office of Diversion Control's mission of preventing diversion while ensuring an adequate and uninterrupted supply of controlled substances for legitimate medical needs, the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Diversion Control should solicit input from distributors, or associations representing distributors, and develop additional guidance for distributors regarding their roles and responsibilities for suspicious orders monitoring and reporting.",Open,Yes,"In September 2019, DEA told us that the agency had refocused its efforts on revising draft regulations in line with the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. On November 2, 2020, DEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled Suspicious Orders of Controlled Substances. DEA reports that the proposed rule (1) codifies existing legal obligations related to due diligence and suspicious order monitoring and reporting; and (2) provides additional guidance regarding the nature and timing of the reporting requirement. Since 2021, DEA has provided us with periodic updates on the rule's status and estimated publication dates for the final rule. However, as of February 2024, DEA reported that the suspicious orders regulation remained in the internal deliberative process, as DEA was still addressing questions from the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy. DEA provided a goal date of July 31, 2024 for publishing the final rule. While DEA has reported taking some action to address this recommendation, as noted above, until the regulations are finalized, we cannot determine if these changes will fully address the recommendation. We will continue to monitor DEA's progress in addressing our recommendation." "Navy Force Structure: Sustainable Plan and Comprehensive Assessment Needed to Mitigate Long-Term Risks to Ships Assigned to Overseas Homeports",GAO-15-329,"May 29, 2015","John Pendleton","(202) 512-3489","Department of Defense","To balance combatant commanders' demands for forward presence with the Navy's needs to sustain a ready force over the long term and identify and mitigate risks consistent with Federal Standards for Internal Control, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Navy to, to fully implement its optimized fleet response plan, develop and implement a sustainable operational schedule for all ships homeported overseas.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD agreed with our recommendation. As of October 2020, the Navy approved a change to the operational schedule for ships homeported in Japan and other overseas homeports and included this change in Navy guidance. The Navy also established a working group named the Naval Surface Group Western Pacific to oversee surface ship maintenance, training, and certification for ships based in Japan. To fully implement this recommendation, the Navy will need to adhere to the revised schedules. As of January 2023, a Navy official told us that ships based overseas were adhering to the Optimized Fleet Response Plan schedule, but did not maintain historical documentation to demonstrate adherence. Without an operational schedule that balances presence demands and long-term sustainability for ships homeported overseas, the Navy risks continuing the pattern of deferred ship maintenance, which leads to higher maintenance costs over the long term and threatens achievement of full ship service lives. As of December 2023, the Navy plans to issue guidance in June 2024 that will require the reporting of OFRP performance and tracking of historical documentation to demonstrate adherence to the operational schedule." "Improper Payments: TRICARE Measurement and Reduction Efforts Could Benefit from Adopting Medical Record Reviews",GAO-15-269,"Feb 18, 2015","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-7114","Department of Defense","To better assess and address the full extent of improper payments in the TRICARE program, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) to implement a more comprehensive TRICARE improper payment measurement methodology that includes medical record reviews, as done in other parts of its existing postpayment claims review programs.",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense (DOD) concurred with our recommendation. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) had taken some actions, as of March 2024, to incorporate medical record reviews in its improper payment estimate. For example, DHA reported that it had completed 2 years of medical record reviews. However, it did not incorporate the reviews into its fiscal year 2020 or 2021 improper payment rate estimates due to challenges, according to the agency. For example, DHA reported a low response rate on its requests for medical records from TRICARE providers. DHA told GAO that it ultimately found that medical record reviews would artificially increase improper payments due to documentation errors and that, instead of reporting these rates, the best use of the medical record reviews was to conduct focused studies based on claim type or other criteria outside of sampling and estimation for improper payments. Lack of documentation is an error to be counted as an unknown payment, according to Office of Management and Budget guidance. As of March 2024, DOD was in the process of re-designing its improper payment reporting program and did not report improper payments for the TRICARE program-also known as the military health program-in 2023. Agency officials told GAO DOD was also considering an alternate approach for improper payments to leverage results of other post-payment reviews for the program. We will continue to monitor whether any of these changes address our recommendation. To fully implement the recommendation, DHA will need to publicly note the results of medical record reviews as part of its improper payment reporting." "Improper Payments: TRICARE Measurement and Reduction Efforts Could Benefit from Adopting Medical Record Reviews",GAO-15-269,"Feb 18, 2015","Vijay A. D'Souza","(202) 512-7114","Department of Defense","To better assess and address the full extent of improper payments in the TRICARE program, and once a more comprehensive improper payment methodology is implemented, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) to develop more robust corrective action plans that address underlying causes of improper payments, as determined by the medical record reviews.",Open,Yes,"The Department of Defense concurred with our recommendation. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) reported in 2022 that the medical record reviews did not uncover identifiable root causes or trends to warrant corrective action plans. However, the reviews had significant documentation problems that could be addressed. Of the TRICARE claims that DHA sampled for medical record review in fiscal year 2021, 28 percent in the east TRICARE region and 67 percent in the west region had no or insufficient documentation returned for review. In 2024, GAO continues to believe a corrective action related to these issues is worthwhile because a lack of documentation supporting a payment is considered an error under Office of Management and Budget guidance. Without taking corrective action, DHA cannot effectively take steps to address practices that contribute to improper payments and excess spending." "Food Safety: Additional Actions Needed to Help FDA's Foreign Offices Ensure Safety of Imported Food",GAO-15-183,"Feb 27, 2015","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Food and Drug Administration","To help ensure the safety of food imported into the United States, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs should complete an analysis to determine the annual number of foreign food inspections that is sufficient to ensure comparable safety of imported and domestic food. If the inspection numbers from that evaluation are different from the inspection targets mandated in FSMA, FDA should report the results to Congress and recommend appropriate legislative changes.",Open,Yes,"On March 25, 2020, GAO staff met with FDA officials to discuss the status of the recommendation. FDA officials said that they cannot meet the number of foreign inspections required under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) due to capacity constraints, and FDA's current strategy for the safety of imported food relies on a ""cumulative oversight"" approach involving multiple programs, in addition to foreign inspections. FDA officials said that it could be a number of years before these programs are fully implemented and that FDA will provide GAO with more specific status updates on the implementation and monitoring of each of these programs in future responses to this recommendation. In August 2020, FDA officials told GAO that FDA is developing a model to assess its cumulative oversight approach related to allocating oversight resources to ensure that imported and domestic food meet FDA food safety requirements. In FY22, FDA completed 313 foreign food facilities inspections. As of January 2023, FDA had completed 243 foreign food facility inspections. In FY22, FDA completed 95 foreign Remote Regulatory Assessments (RRAs) and, as of January 2023, FDA had completed three foreign RRAs. As of July 2023, FDA had prepared an analysis of all foreign shipments of imported food combined with an analysis of the official establishment inventory and food facility registration information. The FDA has completed an analysis to determine a range of foreign food inspections needed to ensure comparable safety of imported and domestic food. However, FDA has not provided information on how they evaluate the oversight of active foreign food suppliers identified in the analysis to ensure they are performing as expected. Until this information is provided and FDA reports to Congress its assessment regarding the appropriate number of foreign inspections necessary to ensure comparable safety of imported and domestic food, this recommendation will remain open. As of February 2024, FDA has not determined the annual number of foreign food inspections that is sufficient to ensure comparable safety of imported and domestic food, if the inspection numbers from that evaluation are different from the inspection targets mandated in FSMA, nor reported this information to Congress, recommending any identified legislative changes." "Nuclear Regulatory Commission: NRC Needs to Improve Its Cost Estimates by Incorporating More Best Practices",GAO-15-98,"Dec 16, 2014","Frank Rusco","(202) 512-3841","Nuclear Regulatory Commission","To improve the reliability of its cost estimates, as NRC revises its cost estimating procedures, the NRC Chairman should ensure that the agency aligns the procedures with relevant cost estimating best practices identified in the GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide and ensure that future cost estimates are prepared in accordance with relevant cost estimating best practices.",Open,Yes,"NRC generally agreed with the recommendation. NRC updated a draft of its cost estimating procedures in January 2020 to conform with agency-wide directives and provided it to the NRC Commissioners for their review. However, as of March 2024, NRC has not issued the final procedures. To fully implement this recommendation, NRC needs to issue its update to its cost estimating procedures to align with best practices identified in our cost estimating guide. By doing so, NRC will have better assurance that its cost estimates are reliable and that the NRC Commissioners have adequate information on which to base their regulatory decisions." "Information Technology: HUD Can Take Additional Actions to Improve Its Governance",GAO-15-56,"Dec 10, 2014","Valerie C. Melvin","(202) 512-6304","Department of Housing and Urban Development","To establish an enterprise-wide view of cost savings and operational efficiencies generated by investments and governance processes, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should direct the Deputy Secretary and Chief Information Officer to place a higher priority on identifying governance-related cost savings and efficiencies and establish and institutionalize a process for identifying and tracking comprehensive, high-quality data on savings and efficiencies resulting from IT investments and the IT governance process.",Open,Yes,"The department has taken steps to address this recommendation. Specifically, in April 2016, HUD provided examples of cost savings that the department had identified by ""scrubbing"" existing contracts during the budget formulation process, along with copies of a template that it designed and used to help identify such savings. In May 2018, department officials provided a demonstration of the HUD PLUS tool, including screens staff could use to report cost savings and avoidances related to specific projects--although they reported that HUD was not yet using that functionality. In April 2019, OCIO reported that HUD was updating its governance process and charters to ensure that executive-level decision making will be clearly defined. OCIO also reported an intent to implement Technology Business Management (TBM) to, among other things, improve and expand the tracking of investments. HUD expects these two efforts to facilitate better tracking of the savings and efficiencies resulting from IT decisions. As of March 2021, HUD was working to finalize a cost savings process planned to start in April 2021. The department was also continuing to develop a TBM implementation plan. In February 2022, HUD reported plans to build on the governance process to establish efficiency as a HUD IT priority and to collect quarterly data on IT-related cost-savings. In November 2022, HUD reported that its governance boards had begun considering whether IT investments were designed to deliver operational value to programs or the agency as a whole. Adding such criteria to the IT selection process provides a starting point for considering the savings or efficiencies investments may generate. However, as of January 2023, HUD had not yet begun tracking expected or actual cost savings or efficiencies for individual investments or from its IT governance processes. HUD has not yet provided evidence that it has established guidance supporting a repeatable process for tracking enterprise-wide IT related cost savings and operational efficiencies, including those related to HUD's governance decisions." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to help ensure that the information agencies provide in their inventories is useful to federal decision makers and key stakeholders, and to provide greater transparency and ensure consistency in federal program funding and performance information, revise relevant guidance to direct agencies to identify in their inventories the performance goal(s) to which each program contributes.",Open,Yes,"As of July 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan for implementing the federal program inventory, including a series of pilots to test approaches. The plan describes how OMB, in collaboration with agencies, will conduct pilots to identify programs and related information, including the goals to which they contribute. According to information provided by OMB staff in May 2022, OMB plans to refine its existing guidance to incorporate lessons learned from the pilots, as appropriate, which presents an opportunity to fully address this recommendation. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to help ensure that the information agencies provide in their inventories is useful to federal decision makers and key stakeholders, and to provide greater transparency and ensure consistency in federal program funding and performance information, ensure, during OMB reviews of inventories, that agencies consistently identify, as applicable, the strategic goals, strategic objectives, agency priority goals, and cross-agency priority goals each program supports.",Open,Yes,"As of July 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan for implementing the federal program inventory, including a series of pilots to test approaches. The plan describes how OMB, in collaboration with agencies, will conduct pilots to identify programs and related information, including the goals to which they contribute. According to information provided by OMB staff in May 2022, OMB plans to refine its existing guidance to incorporate lessons learned from the pilots, as appropriate, which presents an opportunity to fully address this recommendation. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to better present a more coherent picture of all federal programs, revise relevant guidance to direct agencies to collaborate with each other in defining and identifying programs that contribute to common outcomes.",Open,Yes,"As of July 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan for implementing the federal program inventory, including a series of pilots to test approaches. The plan describes how OMB, in collaboration with agencies, will conduct pilots to define and identify programs. According to information provided by OMB staff in May 2022, OMB plans to refine its existing guidance to incorporate lessons learned from the pilots, as appropriate, which presents an opportunity to fully address this recommendation. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to better present a more coherent picture of all federal programs, revise relevant guidance to provide a time frame for what constitutes ""persistent over time"" that agencies can use as a decision rule for whether to include short-term efforts as programs.",Open,Yes,"As of July 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan for implementing the federal program inventory, including a series of pilots to test approaches. The plan describes how OMB, in collaboration with agencies, will conduct pilots to define and identify programs. According to information provided by OMB staff in May 2022, OMB plans to refine its existing guidance to incorporate lessons learned from the pilots, as appropriate, which presents an opportunity to fully address this recommendation. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to better present a more coherent picture of all federal programs, define plans for when additional agencies will be required to develop program inventories.",Open,Yes,"As of July 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan for implementing the federal program inventory, including a series of pilots to test approaches. According to information provided by OMB staff in May 2022, OMB plans to incorporate lessons learned from the pilots to inform a whole-of-government approach (i.e., all federal agencies) for full implementation of a program inventory. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to better present a more coherent picture of all federal programs, include tax expenditures in the federal program inventory effort by designating tax expenditure as a program type in relevant guidance.",Open,Yes,"No executive action has been taken. As of March 2024, OMB had not taken action to include tax expenditures in the federal program inventory, as GAO recommended in October 2014. The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 required OMB to publish a list of all federal programs on a central, government-wide website (31 U.S.C. ? 1122(a)(2)). Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act, Pub. L. No. 113-101, 128 Stat. 1146 (2014)). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-283, div. H, ? 9601, 134 Stat. 3388, 4823-4828 (2021)). In February 2024, OMB launched an initial inventory website that identified 2,388 federal programs. However, the inventory was limited to federal financial assistance programs, such as grants, loans, and insurance programs. It did not cover all types of federal programs, including tax expenditures. By including tax expenditures in the inventory, OMB could help increase the transparency of tax expenditures and the outcomes to which they contribute." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to better present a more coherent picture of all federal programs, include tax expenditures in the federal program inventory effort by developing, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, a tax expenditure inventory that identifies each tax expenditure and provides a description of how the tax expenditure is defined, its purpose, and related performance and budget information.",Open,Yes,"No executive action has been taken. As of March 2024, OMB had not taken action to include tax expenditures in the federal program inventory, as GAO recommended in October 2014. The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 required OMB to publish a list of all federal programs on a central government-wide website (31 U.S.C. ? 1122(a)(2)). Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act, Pub. L. No. 113-101. 128 Stat. 1146 (2014)). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-283, div. H, ? 9601, 134 Stat. 3388, 4823-4828 (2021)). In February 2024, OMB launched an initial inventory website that identified 2,388 federal programs. However, the inventory was limited to federal financial assistance programs, such as grants, loans, and insurance programs. It did not cover all types of federal programs, including tax expenditures. By including tax expenditures in the inventory, OMB could help increase the transparency of tax expenditures and the outcomes to which they contribute." "Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Inconsistent Definitions and Information Limit the Usefulness of Federal Program Inventories",GAO-15-83,"Oct 31, 2014","J. Christopher Mihm","(202) 512-6806","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure the effective implementation of federal program inventory requirements and to make the inventories more useful, the Director of OMB should, to help ensure that the information agencies provide in their inventories is useful to federal decision makers and key stakeholders, and to provide greater transparency and ensure consistency in federal program funding and performance information, revise relevant guidance to direct agencies to consult with relevant congressional committees and stakeholders on their program definition approach and identified programs when developing or updating their inventories.",Open,Yes,"As of July 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had taken limited action in response to this recommendation. Although OMB published an initial inventory covering the programs of 24 federal agencies in May 2013, OMB decided to postpone further development of the inventory in order to coordinate with the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). In January 2021, Congress amended and expanded requirements for the federal program inventory as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. In November 2021, OMB published a plan for implementing the federal program inventory, including a series of pilots to test approaches. The plan describes how OMB, in collaboration with agencies, will conduct pilots to define and identify programs. The plan also states that OMB will engage with key stakeholders to continuously learn and adjust the path forward, including the scope of each pilot. According to information provided by OMB staff in May 2022, OMB plans to refine its existing guidance to incorporate lessons learned from the pilots, as appropriate, which presents an opportunity to fully address this recommendation. According to updates provided by OMB officials in March and April 2023, they expect to begin implementing the first pilot in Summer 2023. We will continue to monitor progress." "F-35 Sustainment: Need for Affordable Strategy, Greater Attention to Risks, and Improved Cost Estimates",GAO-14-778,"Sep 23, 2014","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of Defense","To help DOD address key risks to F-35 affordability and operational readiness, and to improve the reliability of its O&S cost estimates for the life cycle of the program, the Secretary of Defense should direct the F-35 Program Executive Officer, to enable DOD to better identify, address, and mitigate performance issues with the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) that could have an effect on affordability, as well as readiness, to establish a performance-measurement process for ALIS that includes, but is not limited to, performance metrics and targets that (1) are based on intended behavior of the system in actual operations and (2) tie system performance to user requirements.",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation. In January 2020, DOD announced that it intended to replace ALIS with a future system that it has named the F-35 Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN). As part of the development of ODIN, DOD developed ""Capability Performance Measures"" (performance metrics and targets) to assess the performance of ODIN. These performance metrics and targets were finalized in September 2020. Furthermore, in November 2021, DOD released its ALIS Redesign Strategy which lists goals, identifies system performance metrics, and outlines a transition plan from ALIS to ODIN. We believe that establishing these metrics and targets, and completing a redesign strategy are critical steps for improving the performance of the F-35's logistics system. However, ODIN has not yet been implemented and, as of January 2023, DOD officials did not anticipate implementing this capability until mid-to-late 2024. For this reason, and since ALIS will remain the logistics system of record for the F-35 until ODIN replaces it, this recommendation remains open." "F-35 Sustainment: Need for Affordable Strategy, Greater Attention to Risks, and Improved Cost Estimates",GAO-14-778,"Sep 23, 2014","Cary Russell","(202) 512-5431","Department of Defense","To help DOD address key risks to F-35 affordability and operational readiness, and to improve the reliability of its O&S cost estimates for the life cycle of the program, the Secretary of Defense should direct the F-35 Program Executive Officer, to promote competition, address affordability, and inform its overarching sustainment strategy, to develop a long-term Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy to include, but not be limited to, the identification of (1) current levels of technical data rights ownership by the federal government and (2) all critical technical data needs and their associated costs.",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation. According to DOD officials, the F-35 program's Joint Program Office has been working for years on developing an Intellectual Property Strategy for the F-35; however, the development of an Intellectual Property Strategy depends on the program having a clear understanding of what sustainment work the government will perform, and what sustainment work contractors will perform. As of January 2023, the division of government and contractor F-35 sustainment responsibilities is still in dispute among the customers of the F-35 program. Until DOD resolves these differences and determines the appropriate balance of government and contractor responsibilities for sustainment activities, DOD will not complete an Intellectual Property Strategy for the F-35 program." "Federal Real Property: DHS and GSA Need to Strengthen the Management of DHS Headquarters Consolidation",GAO-14-648,"Sep 19, 2014","Diana Maurer, David Wise","(202) 512-9627, (202) 512-2834","Department of Homeland Security","In order to improve transparency and allow for more informed decision making by congressional leaders and DHS and GSA decision-makers, before requesting additional funding for the DHS headquarters consolidation project, after revising the DHS headquarters consolidation plans, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administrator of the General Services Administration should work jointly to develop revised cost and schedule estimates for the remaining portions of the consolidation project that conform to GSA guidance and leading practices for cost and schedule estimation, including an independent evaluation of the estimates.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015 (Pub. L. No. 114-150) was enacted on April 29, 2016. Among other things, the act requires DHS, in coordination with GSA, to submit information to Congress about DHS headquarters consolidation efforts not later than 120 days of enactment. Required information includes a comprehensive assessment of property and facilities utilized by DHS in the National Capital Region, and an analysis that identifies the costs and benefits of leasing and construction alternatives for the remainder of the consolidation project. However, this report did not contain sufficient cost and schedule information for us to perform a comprehensive analysis to assess reliability. In July 2023, GSA provided us with a report from a planning and funding reset for the project, and in December 2023, DHS provided us with updates for its estimates. As of February 2024, we continue to collect documentation from GSA and DHS that supported the updated cost and schedule estimates. Once we obtain all available documentation related to the leading practices for cost and schedule estimation, we will determine the extent to which GSA and DHS have adhered to these leading practices. Continued DHS and GSA attention to following leading practices for capital planning and cost and schedule estimation is critical given the project's multi-billion dollar cost and impact on future departmental operations." "Federal Real Property: DHS and GSA Need to Strengthen the Management of DHS Headquarters Consolidation",GAO-14-648,"Sep 19, 2014","Diana Maurer, David Wise","(202) 512-9627, (202) 512-2834","General Services Administration","In order to improve transparency and allow for more informed decision making by congressional leaders and DHS and GSA decision-makers, before requesting additional funding for the DHS headquarters consolidation project, after revising the DHS headquarters consolidation plans, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administrator of the General Services Administration should work jointly to develop revised cost and schedule estimates for the remaining portions of the consolidation project that conform to GSA guidance and leading practices for cost and schedule estimation, including an independent evaluation of the estimates.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015 (Pub. L. No. 114-150) was enacted on April 29, 2016. Among other things, the act requires DHS, in coordination with GSA, to submit information to Congress about DHS headquarters consolidation efforts not later than 120 days of enactment. Required information includes a comprehensive assessment of property and facilities utilized by DHS in the National Capital Region, and an analysis that identifies the costs and benefits of leasing and construction alternatives for the remainder of the consolidation project. However, this report did not contain sufficient cost and schedule information for us to perform a comprehensive analysis to assess reliability. In July 2023, GSA provided us with a report from a planning and funding reset for the project, and in December 2023, DHS provided us with updates for its estimates. As of February 2024, we continue to collect documentation from GSA and DHS that supported the updated cost and schedule estimates. Once we obtain all available documentation related to the leading practices for cost and schedule estimation, we will determine the extent to which GSA and DHS have adhered to these leading practices. Continued DHS and GSA attention to following leading practices for capital planning and cost and schedule estimation is critical given the project's multi-billion dollar cost and impact on future departmental operations." "Medicare Advantage: CMS Should Fully Develop Plans for Encounter Data and Assess Data Quality before Use",GAO-14-571,"Sep 2, 2014","James Cosgrove","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","To ensure that MA encounter data are of sufficient quality for their intended purposes, the Administrator of CMS should complete all the steps necessary to validate the data, including performing statistical analyses, reviewing medical records, and providing MAOs with summary reports on CMS's findings, before using the data to risk adjust payments or for other intended purposes.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"HHS generally agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2024, CMS has made progress in examining the completeness and accuracy of Medicare Advantage encounter data, but more work remains to fully validate these data. For example, CMS has established some performance metrics for MA encounter data completeness and accuracy and conducted associated analyses. CMS has communicated findings from these analyses to MAOs, with the expectation that MAOs provide plans within 60 days to address identified concerns. In addition, CMS stated in February 2024 that the agency has conducted various analyses of encounter data completeness for internal purposes. We requested detailed descriptions and documentation of those analyses and will review any information CMS submits to determine whether they are consistent with the requirements specified in CMS's protocol for assessing the completeness and accuracy of Medicaid data. Despite this progress, CMS has not yet taken the steps necessary to fully validate these data. Although CMS has established performance metrics for completeness and accuracy for some encounter data elements, these metrics are not sufficiently detailed or do not address all data elements. In addition, CMS has not demonstrated that it verifies encounter data by systematically reviewing medical records in a timely manner. Until CMS fully validates the completeness and accuracy of MA encounter data, the soundness of adjustments to payments to MA organizations remains unsubstantiated." "Human Capital: OPM Needs to Improve the Design, Management, and Oversight of the Federal Classification System",GAO-14-677,"Sep 2, 2014","Robert N. Goldenkoff","(202) 512-2757","Office of Personnel Management","To improve the classification system and to strengthen OPM's management and oversight, the Director of OPM, working through the Chief Human Capital Officer Council, and in conjunction with key stakeholders such as the Office of Management and Budget, unions, and others, should use prior studies and lessons learned from demonstration projects and alternative systems to examine ways to make the GS system's design and implementation more consistent with the attributes of a modern, effective classification system. To the extent warranted, develop a legislative proposal for congressional consideration.",Open,Yes,"Although OPM originally partially agreed with this recommendation, it later reported that it concurred with the recommendation. In February 2023, OPM reported that it continues to provide Federal agencies with technical assistance on classification, as well as updating and establishing classification policy. Additionally, OPM reported on the development of a new classification policy for artificial intelligence work. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM still needs to work through the CHCO Council and in conjunction with key stakeholders, such as OMB and unions, to complete its review of studies and lessons learned; and, if warranted, develop a legislative proposal to make the GS system's design and implementation more consistent with the attributes of a modern, effective classification system. Doing so could help OPM better position itself to help ensure that the federal classification system is keeping pace with the government's evolving requirements." "Space Launch System: Resources Need to be Matched to Requirements to Decrease Risk and Support Long Term Affordability",GAO-14-631,"Jul 23, 2014","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program planning and affordability, and to decrease the risk of cost and schedule overruns, NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to take the following action: Provide decision makers with an informed basis for making investment decisions regarding the SLS program, NASA should identify a range of possible missions for each future SLS variant that includes cost and schedule estimates and plans for how those possible missions would fit within NASA's funding profile.",Open,Yes,"NASA agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2023, NASA stated that as it implements the new organization of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, it will develop a manifest for missions beyond Artemis IV, including the hardware available for the missions. Additionally, NASA is developing Moon to Mars objectives, which will outline anticipated capability and mission needs. To fully address this recommendation, NASA needs to provide documentation that it established cost and schedule estimates for each future SLS variant and its plan for how possible missions would fit within NASA's funding profile. Further, NASA needs to identify cost and schedule estimates for SLS missions beyond Artemis I and how its planned missions would fit within NASA's funding profile. Identifying a range of mission possibilities and their required funding will ensure the decision makers have information to make decisions about the affordability of the program within the agency's funding profile." "Space Launch System: Resources Need to be Matched to Requirements to Decrease Risk and Support Long Term Affordability",GAO-14-631,"Jul 23, 2014","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program planning and affordability, and to decrease the risk of cost and schedule overruns, NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to take the following action: To allow for a continued assessment of progress and affordability, NASA should structure each future increment of SLS capability with a total cost exceeding the $250 million threshold for designation as a major project as a separate development effort within the SLS program. In doing so, NASA should require each increment to complete both the technical and programmatic reviews required of other major development projects, per the agency's acquisition and system engineering policies.",Open,Yes,"NASA agreed with this recommendation. NASA established an updated baseline commitment of the Orion system for Artemis II to include a docking capability in August2021. As of February 2023, NASA had not established separate cost and schedule baselines foreach additional SLS and ground systems block, though the agency previously stated it plans to. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA needs to provide evidence that it established separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional SLS and ground systems block exceeding the $250 million threshold for designation as a major project. Further, NASA needs to provide evidence that each capability upgrade is designated a major project and is required to complete the technical and programmatic reviews required of other major development projects. Structuring future SLS increments as separate development efforts can provide decision makers transparency into costs and enable them to assess long-term affordability and progress." "New Markets Tax Credit: Better Controls and Data Are Needed to Ensure Effectiveness",GAO-14-500,"Aug 11, 2014","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-7968","Department of the Treasury","The Secretary of the Treasury should issue guidance on how funding or assistance from other government programs can be combined with the NMTC including the extent to which other government funds can be used to leverage the NMTC by being included in the qualified equity investment.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has not issued guidance on how funding or assistance from other government programs can be combined with the NMTC, as GAO recommended in July 2014. However, Treasury has taken steps toward addressing this action. The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), which administers the NMTC program, completed new empirical research assessing the extent to which other government programs are being combined with the NMTC. The findings of this research (issued in August 2017) indicate that some NMTC projects, especially those using other government funds to leverage the NMTC, potentially received more government funds than needed to close a financing gap. In July 2023, the CDFI Fund issued a notice in the Federal Register to solicit public comments on additional data to be collected from Community Development Entities. These data could be used to identify NMTC-financed projects that may have excessive public funding. In March 2024, Treasury officials told us that the CDFI Fund was in the process of updating its information systems to capture the additional data. Once fully implemented, these additional actions could help ensure that low-income community projects do not receive more government assistance than required to finance a project." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-14-543,"Jun 19, 2014","Gary T. Engel","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","The Secretary of the Treasury should direct the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, working in coordination with the Controller of OMB, to establish a formalized process to require the performance of additional audit procedures specifically focused on intragovernmental activity and balances between federal entities to provide increased audit assurance over the reliability of such information.",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury added steps to its remediation plan and included a goal of completing corrective actions by fiscal year 2025. For example, Treasury added questions to the CFO Representation Form effective in fiscal year 2023. Though the remediation plan has been improved, we continued to note that amounts reported by federal entity trading partners to Treasury were not in agreement by significant amounts. A formalized process requiring that auditors perform additional audit procedures focused on intragovernmental activity and balances would help to address these unreconciled transactions." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-14-543,"Jun 19, 2014","Gary T. Engel","(202) 512-3406","Department of the Treasury","The Secretary of the Treasury should direct the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, working in coordination with the Controller of OMB, to establish and implement policies and procedures for accounting for and reporting all significant General Fund activity and balances, obtaining assurance on the reliability of the amounts, and reconciling the activity and balances between the General Fund and federal entities.",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury continued to make progress such as by establishing procedures to (1) obtain and review support for material accrual balances provided by federal entities for inclusion in the General Fund's general ledger and (2) review federal entity audited financial statements and conduct data calls for unrecorded activity to include in the General Fund's general ledger. In addition, Treasury has been working with federal entities to ensure proper usage of newly established transaction codes. However, intragovernmental differences remain and further improvements are needed to account for and report all significant General Fund activity and balances, including obtaining audit assurance and reconciling with federal entity trading partners." "NASA: Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Assess Long-Term Affordability of Human Exploration Programs",GAO-14-385,"May 8, 2014","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program affordability, ensure its ability to effectively monitor total program costs and execution, and to facilitate investment decisions, because NASA intends to use the increased capabilities of the SLS, Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations efforts well into the future and has chosen to estimate costs associated with achieving the capabilities, the NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to establish separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional capability that encompass all life cycle costs, to include operations and sustainment. When NASA cannot fully specify costs due to lack of well-defined missions or flight manifests, forecast a cost estimate range -- including life cycle costs -- having minimum and maximum boundaries. These baselines or ranges should be reported to Congress annually via the agency's budget submission.",Open,Yes,"NASA partially agreed with this recommendation, stating that it had established separate programs for SLS, Orion, and the ground systems and adopted a block upgrade approach for SLS. In August 2021, NASA established an updated baseline commitment of the Orion system for Artemis II to include a docking capability. In February 2023, NASA reported SLS and the ground systems have begun annually reporting a 5-year cost estimate of operational costs. NASA officials also stated they are still in the process of establishing baselines for SLS's Exploration Upper Stage and associated capabilities and the Mobile Launcher 2. To address this recommendation, NASA needs to provide evidence that it established separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional SLS, Orion, and ground systems capability block that encompass all life-cycle costs, including operations and sustainment. Doing so will enable Congressional insight into program costs." "NASA: Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Assess Long-Term Affordability of Human Exploration Programs",GAO-14-385,"May 8, 2014","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program affordability, ensure its ability to effectively monitor total program costs and execution, and to facilitate investment decisions, the NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to establish a separate cost and schedule baseline for work required to support the SLS Block I Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) and report this information to the Congress through NASA's annual budget submission. If NASA decides to fly the SLS Block I beyond EM-2, establish separate life cycle cost and schedule baseline estimates for those efforts, to include funding for operations and sustainment, and report this information annually to Congress via the agency's budget submission.",Open,Yes,"NASA partially agreed with this recommendation. Officials stated that NASA defined and documented life-cycle costs for SLS to a first demonstrated capability, consistent with cost estimating best practices and NASA project and program management policy. In February 2023, officials stated that following the successful launch of Artemis I, the agency is updating the schedule for Artemis II. In spring 2022, SLS and the ground systems programs provided the first 5-year operational cost estimate and NASA plans to update it in spring 2023. Additionally, NASA plans to create a cost estimate for Artemis III informed by the development baselines of capabilities that will fly on the mission. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA needs to provide documentation of these efforts to determine the extent to which it has developed cost and schedule baseline estimates for future SLS work. Taking these actions would help NASA develop insight into the program's costs and allow decision makers to monitor program execution, including efforts to improve long-term affordability." "Federal Motor Carrier Safety: Modifying the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Program Would Improve the Ability to Identify High Risk Carriers",GAO-14-114,"Feb 3, 2014","Susan Fleming","(202) 512-2834","Department of Transportation","To improve the CSA program, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FMCSA Administrator to revise the SMS methodology to better account for limitations in drawing comparisons of safety performance information across carriers; in doing so, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FMCSA Administrator to conduct a formal analysis that specifically identifies: (1) limitations in the data used to calculate SMS scores including variability in the carrier population and the quality and quantity of data available for carrier safety performance assessments, and (2) limitations in the resulting SMS scores including their precision, confidence, and reliability for the purposes for which they are used.",Open,Yes,"FMCSA did not agree with this recommendation, and has requested that we close the recommendation as not implemented. However, in response to a similar 2017 review by the National Academy of Sciences, FMCSA developed and tested a new methodology to compare safety performance across motor carriers. We believe the changes made could account for the data and other limitations we identified in our report. In February 2023, FMCSA published proposed changes to SMS for comment. To fully implement this recommendation, FMCSA should ensure that the methodology used to compare safety performance across motor carriers addresses the limitations we identified. Without a new methodology, FMCSA's ability to target unsafe motor carriers is hindered by insufficient information not accounted for in the current SMS methodology, such as variability in the motor carrier population. We will continue to monitor FMCSA's efforts to address this recommendation." "Reverse Auctions: Guidance Is Needed to Maximize Competition and Achieve Cost Savings",GAO-14-108,"Dec 9, 2013","Michele Mackin","(202) 512-4841","Office of Management and Budget","To help mitigate confusion about the use of reverse auctions in federal acquisitions, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget should take steps to amend the FAR to address agencies' use of reverse auctions.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"In providing comments on this report, OMB generally concurred with this recommendation. In response, in December 2020, FAR Council members published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the FAR to provide guidance on reverse auctions. The notice required that comments on the proposed rule be submitted by early February 2021. As of December 2023, OMB had received proposed revisions to FAR guidance for its consideration." "Clean Water Act: Changes Needed If Key EPA Program Is to Help Fulfill the Nation's Water Quality Goals",GAO-14-80,"Jan 13, 2014","J. Alfredo Gómez","(202) 512-3841","Environmental Protection Agency","To enhance the likelihood that TMDLs support the nation's waters' attainment of water quality standards and to strengthen water quality management, the Administrator of EPA should develop and issue new regulations requiring that TMDLs include additional elements--and consider requiring the elements that are now optional--specifically, elements reflecting key features identified by NRC as necessary for attaining water quality standards, such as comprehensive identification of impairment and plans to monitor water bodies to verify that water quality is improving.",Open,Yes,"Since June 2020, EPA officials stated that they believe this action has been implemented. They said the agency has taken several actions that change the focus of the total maximum daily loads (TMDL) program to focus efforts on implementing TMDLs. First, EPA developed a TMDL Vision document to focus on integrating and implementing different efforts to restore and protect the nation's aquatic resources. Second, EPA held regional meetings to discuss different TMDL topics such as monitoring, implementation, and reasonable assurance. Included in these discussions were good practices and examples. EPA officials stated that these actions have changed the focus of the program in the place of regulations. We agree that these actions are helpful and can take the agency and states in the direction of improving the TMDL program. However, the actions do not carry the force of regulations and we believe that the problems of nonpoint source pollution require stronger action such as regulations to be resolved. In July 2020, EPA officials told us they did not believe the agency could issue the recommended regulations under the agency's current authority. The officials also stated that EPA had no plans to develop TMDL regulations to address our recommendation. As of July 2023, EPA officials told us that the agency had not changed its position. We continue to believe that EPA has the authority to issue the regulations we recommended, so long as it follows all applicable procedural and substantive requirements. We also believe that the problems of nonpoint source pollution, which is a major contributor to pollution in our nation's waters, require stronger actions such as issuing new regulations. To fully implement our recommendation, EPA would have to develop TMDL regulations that include additional elements-such as comprehensive identification of impairment and plans to monitor water bodies to verify that water quality is improving-to ensure that TMDLs help water bodies attain water quality standards." "Hurricane Sandy Relief: Improved Guidance on Designing Internal Control Plans Could Enhance Oversight of Disaster Funding",GAO-14-58,"Nov 26, 2013","Beryl (Berri) H. Davis","(202) 512-2623","Office of Management and Budget","To proactively prepare for oversight of future disaster relief funding, the Director of OMB should develop standard guidance for federal agencies to use in designing internal control plans for disaster relief funding. Such guidance could leverage existing internal control review processes and should include, at a minimum, the following elements: (1) robust criteria for identifying and documenting incremental risks and mitigating controls related to the funding and (2) requirements for documenting the linkage between the incremental risks related to disaster funding and efforts to address known internal control risks.",Open,Yes,"To address the recommendation, OMB should issue guidance on internal control for disaster relief funding, including criteria for identifying additional risks and mitigating controls related to the funding and a requirement to link these incremental risks to ongoing efforts to address known internal control risks. On July 15, 2016, OMB issued the revised Circular A-123, Management's Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control. The Circular requires agencies to implement enterprise risk management, which includes the development of a risk profile that analyzes the risks faced in achieving strategic objectives and identifies options for addressing them. In April 2017, OMB staff stated that they believe that the implementation of enterprise risk management through Circular A-123 satisfies the intent our recommendation. Because the responsibility for implementing enterprise risk management lies with agency management, Circular A-123 does not include specific guidance for identifying risks related to disaster funding. Further discussion and documentation to support OMB's position that the revised Circular addresses our recommendation will be necessary. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Sec. 21208(c) requires OMB to issue standard guidance for Federal agencies to use in designing internal control plans for disaster relief funding in order to proactively prepare for oversight of future disaster relief funds. The Act states this guidance shall leverage existing internal control review processes and shall include, at a minimum, (1) robust criteria for identifying and documenting incremental risks and mitigating controls related to the funding, and (2) guidance for documenting the linkage between the incremental risks related to disaster funding and efforts to address known internal control risks. GAO reviewed OMB's actions to implement the law. In June 2019, we reported that this 2013 recommendation remains open and that we plan to continue monitoring OMB's progress in implementing this priority recommendation (GAO, 2017 Disaster Relief Oversight: Strategy Needed to Ensure Agencies' Internal Control Plans Provide Sufficient Information, GAO-19-479 (Washington, D.C.: Jun 28, 2019.) Further, the report stated that OMB did not have an effective strategy to ensure that agencies timely submitted internal control plans; and OMB's Memorandum M-18-14, Implementation of Internal Controls and Grant Expenditures for the Disaster-Related Appropriations lacked specific instructions to agencies on what to include in their internal control plans. As such, a new recommendation was warranted. As of December 2022, OMB did not indicate any change in its position. We will continue to monitor OMB's actions to address this recommendation." "Export Promotion: Better Information Needed about Federal Resources",GAO-13-644,"Aug 14, 2013","Kimberly Gianopoulos",(202)512-8612,"Department of Commerce","To improve the consistency, comprehensiveness, and transparency of information provided to Congress and policymakers on the federal investment in export promotion programs, the Secretary of Commerce, as chair of the TPCC, should report in its National Export Strategies on how resources are allocated by agency and aligned with priorities.",Open,Yes,"The Export Enhancement Act [15 U.S.C. Section 4727(c)] states that the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee's (TPCC) strategies should establish a set of priorities for federal export promotion activities and propose a unified federal trade promotion budget that supports the plan. In written comments on GAO's report, the Director of the TPCC Secretariat generally concurred with the recommendation on behalf of the Secretary. Nevertheless, the Director noted the TPCC's limited authority over budget reporting and resource allocations and gave examples of some challenges they faced, including shifts in the political and budgetary landscape and how different Administrations and Congresses have emphasized different priorities over time. In the years following GAO's 2013 report, the TPCC issued a National Export Strategy (NES) in 2014 and 2016 and 2023; however, these NES documents did not include any budget information on how resources were allocated by agency and aligned with the Strategy's priorities as they had in the past. In February 2023, Commerce officials reported that the TPCC Secretariat worked with OMB to collect information on TPCC agencies' trade promotion budgets for the 2023 NES. Officials said while some agencies were able to provide trade promotion budget data, others did not break out trade promotion activities within their overall program budgets and were not able to provide budget data. Due to incomplete data collection, officials said they would not include a proposed unified trade promotion budget in the NES." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Preparation of the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-13-540,"Jun 28, 2013","Gary T. Engel",(202)512-8815,"Department of the Treasury","To improve the reliability of the information presented in the CFS budget statements, the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, working in coordination with the Controller of OMB's Office of Federal Financial Management, to establish and implement effective procedures for identifying and reporting all items needed to prepare the CFS budget statements.",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury continued to identify items needed to prepare and improve the presentation of the budget statements. Treasury continued to educate federal entities on how to properly use the new guaranteed and direct loan financing activity transaction codes and is in process of reviewing debt-related transactions and other General Fund activity to determine the reporting requirements needed to improve the accounting for and reporting of General Fund transactions and balances. Therefore, additional work is still needed to determine the appropriate presentation for the reconciling items, which could affect the line items included on the statements." "Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Preparation of the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements",GAO-13-540,"Jun 28, 2013","Gary T. Engel",(202)512-8815,"Department of the Treasury","To improve the reliability of the information presented in the CFS budget statements, the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, working in coordination with the Controller of OMB's Office of Federal Financial Management, to establish and implement effective procedures for reporting amounts in the CFS budget statements that are fully consistent with the underlying information in significant federal entities' audited financial statements and other financial data.",Open,Yes,"As of the completion of our fiscal year 2022 audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), this recommendation remained open. Treasury continued to identify items needed to prepare and improve the presentation of the budget statements. Treasury continued to educate federal entities on how to properly use the new guaranteed and direct loan financing activity transaction codes and is in process of reviewing debt-related transactions and other General Fund activity to determine the reporting requirements needed to improve the accounting for and reporting of General Fund transactions and balances. Therefore, additional work is still needed to determine the appropriate presentation for the reconciling items, which could affect the line items included on the statements." "DOD Financial Management: Significant Improvements Needed in Efforts to Address Improper Payment Requirements",GAO-13-227,"Jun 5, 2013","Asif A. Khan",(202)512-9869,"Department of Defense","The Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), with regard to estimating improper payments, to establish and implement key quality assurance procedures, such as reconciliations, to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the sampled populations.",Open,Yes,"DOD agreed with this recommendation. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) developed an inventory of approximately 80 DOD systems related to disbursing functions. As of December 2022, DOD estimates that by July 2023, the inventory listings will be linked to the improper payment sampling plans to ensure that all disbursements or systems are reviewed and tested for improper payments. In addition, DOD estimates that by July 2023, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and DOD components will have established financial management system agreements for improper payment testing. These signed agreements will require DOD components to affirm the completeness of the payments in each financial management system to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the sampled populations. Moreover, as of December 2022, DOD's objective is to deliver formal documented end-to-end packages for each of its payment programs. DOD officials confirmed there was no change to the department's planned actions as of March 2023. To close this recommendation, DOD needs to resolve material weaknesses in its department-wide universe of transactions. Specifically, it should resolve weaknesses that preclude it from performing the quality assurance procedures needed to ensure that the populations from which the samples are drawn to estimate improper payments are complete and accurate. Without implementing this recommendation, DOD remains at risk of producing incomplete and unreliable improper payment estimates." "Missile Defense: Opportunity to Refocus on Strengthening Acquisition Management",GAO-13-432,"Apr 26, 2013","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","In order to strengthen investment decisions, place the chosen investments on a sound acquisition footing, provide a better means of tracking investment progress, and improve the management and transparency of the U.S. missile defense approach in Europe, the Secretary of Defense should direct MDA's new Director to include in its resource baseline cost estimates all life cycle costs, specifically the operations and support costs, from the military services in order to provide decision makers with the full costs of ballistic missile defense systems.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD agreed that decisionmakers should have insight into the full lifecycle costs of the Missile Defense Systems programs but disagreed with MDA's responsibility to account for the military services' portion of the operations and sustainment costs for such programs. In 2020, DOD requested that we close this recommendation as implemented, citing MDA's preparation of joint cost estimates (JCE) with the military services to capture their respective operations and sustainment costs. However, in February 2022, we found that not all applicable programs have a JCE as required by policy and the operations and sustainment costs for programs without a JCE were captured in multiple and disparate sources. As such, it was difficult or, in some instances, impossible for us to quantify the full life-cycle costs for certain programs. As a practical option for addressing our original recommendation, we advised MDA to add citations in its annual baseline reporting to the JCEs or other sources that capture the operations and sustainment costs. Statute subsequently amended the requirements for MDA's baseline reporting in line with our original recommendation and what we advised regarding citations to JCEs or other sources. In its April 2023 baseline report, MDA included some military services' operations and sustainment costs through a 5-year time period but not through the entire lifecycle. MDA also included citations to the JCEs for those programs that have one. For its next baseline reporting that will be issued in early 2024, MDA plans to include all operations and sustainment costs through the life of each program and is coordinating with the military services to prepare the first JCEs for the remaining programs, as applicable. We will continue to monitor MDA's progress." "Missile Defense: Opportunity to Refocus on Strengthening Acquisition Management",GAO-13-432,"Apr 26, 2013","Cristina T. Chaplain","(202) 512-4841","Department of Defense","In order to strengthen investment decisions, place the chosen investments on a sound acquisition footing, provide a better means of tracking investment progress, and improve the management and transparency of the U.S. missile defense approach in Europe, the Secretary of Defense should direct MDA's new Director to stabilize the acquisition baselines, so that meaningful comparisons can be made over time that support oversight of those acquisitions.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"DOD agreed with our recommendation but noted that MDA has the authority to adjust program baselines to remain responsive to evolving requirements and threats. We acknowledged MDA's authority to adjust program baselines and explained that our recommendation did not intend to limit such authority, but rather address issues we found, such as shifting content and costs between baselines without clear traceability. In 2020, DOD requested that we close this recommendation as implemented based on MDA's addition of a list of significant changes to its annual baseline reporting. MDA officials said that such lists can be collated to understand a program's performance over time. However, in February 2022 we found that MDA continues to make adjustments to its program baselines that are not captured in the lists of significant changes, thereby complicating or preventing their collation. For example, MDA did not clearly trace its shifting of costs (1) from one program baseline to another, (2) to an effort that had not yet been baselined, and (3) outside the agency's baselines entirely. Thus, we advised MDA to explore and take corrective actions to rectify the continued traceability issues with its program baselines. In August 2023, MDA officials acknowledged the importance of this traceability to ensure program baselines are a useful oversight tool for Congress. As such, they are working to reconcile all program baselines going back to when each was first established. MDA plans to include the reconciled program baselines in the baseline reporting that will be issued in early 2024. We will continue to monitor MDA's progress." "Climate Change: Future Federal Adaptation Efforts Could Better Support Local Infrastructure Decision Makers",GAO-13-242,"May 14, 2013","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","U.S. Global Change Research Program","To improve the resilience of the nation's infrastructure to climate change, the Executive Director of the United States Global Change Research Program or other federal entity designated by the Executive Office of the President should work with relevant agencies to identify for decision makers the ""best available"" climate-related information for infrastructure planning and update this information over time.",Open,Yes,"The Executive Office of the President did not comment on this recommendation. As of January 2023, according to officials from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is developing a Climate Resilience Information System (CRIS) that will provide access to the ""best available"" climate-related information. USGCRP continues to work on the development of CRIS. OSTP, in coordination with USGCRP and NOAA, released the Climate Mapping for Resilience Assessments (CMRA) portal in September 2022. CMRA allows users to plan for climate change across five hazards. CMRA is an example of the type of information resource that CRIS will more efficiently enable, once fully established. In addition, On March 22, 2023, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a report titled ""Selecting Climate Information to Use in Climate Risk and Impact Assessments: Guide for Federal Agency Climate Adaptation Planners."" Further, a report released on March 22, 2023 by the National Science and Technology Council with OSTP involvement titled ""A Federal Framework and Action Plan for Climate Services"" provided recommendations and next steps to implement a coherent federal approach to climate services. Should the guidance and recommendations within these reports be implemented over time, it may address elements of this recommendation." "Climate Change: Future Federal Adaptation Efforts Could Better Support Local Infrastructure Decision Makers",GAO-13-242,"May 14, 2013","David Trimble","(202) 512-3841","U.S. Global Change Research Program","To improve the resilience of the nation's infrastructure to climate change, the Executive Director of the United States Global Change Research Program or other federal entity designated by the Executive Office of the President should work with relevant agencies to clarify sources of local assistance for incorporating climate-related information and analysis into infrastructure planning, and communicate how such assistance will be provided over time.",Open,Yes,"The Executive Office of the President did not comment on this recommendation. In January 2023, officials from the Office of Science and Technology Policy noted that regional science organizations, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program, work to provide climate information to regional and local agencies. These officials also said that the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) continues work on the development of the Climate Resilience Information System (CRIS), which will allow for more efficient development of regionally- and locally-tailored resources. They further stated that the evolving capabilities of CRIS, coupled with the local-focus of the regional science organizations addresses these recommendations. We identified the value of such organizations in providing regional climate information in our report. However, as of July 2022, no federal entity has comprehensively clarified sources of local assistance for incorporating climate-related information and analysis into infrastructure planning. To track progress on this recommendation, we will continue to monitor implementation of Executive Order 14008, which calls for a report on ways to expand and improve climate information products for the public, and USGCRP's CRIS. In addition, On March 22, 2023, OSTP released a report titled ""Selecting Climate Information to Use in Climate Risk and Impact Assessments: Guide for Federal Agency Climate Adaptation Planners."" Further, a report released on March 22, 2023 by the National Science and Technology Council with OSTP involvement titled ""A Federal Framework and Action Plan for Climate Services"" provided recommendations and next steps to implement a coherent federal approach to climate services. Should the guidance and recommendations within these reports be implemented over time, it may address elements of this recommendation." "End-Stage Renal Disease: CMS Should Improve Design and Strengthen Monitoring of Low-Volume Adjustment",GAO-13-287,"Mar 1, 2013","James Cosgrove","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","To reduce the incentive for facilities to restrict their service provision to avoid reaching the LVPA treatment threshold, the Administrator of CMS should consider revisions such as changing the LVPA to a tiered adjustment.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"CMS concurred with this recommendation and has taken some steps to implement it. For example, CMS obtained input on the LVPA from sources such as Technical Expert Panels that the agency convened as well as responses to a Request for Information as part of the CY 2022 rulemaking process. CMS stated that the agency planned to use this input to inform potential proposals for refining the LVPA through the rulemaking process. CMS also stated that, as of February 2024, the agency's plan was to issue a proposed and final rule in CY 2024 to revise the LVPA. Once CMS has issued the final rule to revise the LVPA, we will review it to determine whether it fully implements this recommendation." "Export Promotion: Small Business Administration Needs to Improve Collaboration to Implement Its Expanded Role",GAO-13-217,"Feb 28, 2013","Loren Yager",(202)512-4347,"Small Business Administration","To more effectively implement SBA's expansion of OIT field staff as required by the SBJA, the Administrator of the SBA should update SBA's plan for additional OIT staff to include funding sources and time frames, as well as possible efficiencies from clearly defining roles and responsibilities and leveraging other entities' export assistance resources.",Open,Yes,"SBA agreed with this recommendation. In December 2023, SBA officials said the Office of International Trade had filled 23 of the 30 Export Finance Manager positions required under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. According to SBA officials, its current staffing level adequately fills the export finance needs of small businesses due to SBA's use of technology to provide training and counseling to more exporters in the past 2 years and consolidation of the industry. In March 2024 SBA submitted a legislative proposal to Congress to reduce the Act's requirement of 30 export finance specialists to 20 as part of its FY25 Congressional Budget Justification. In the absence of a legislative change, SBA remains seven positions short of the statutory requirement." "VA Health Care: Reliability of Reported Outpatient Medical Appointment Wait Times and Scheduling Oversight Need Improvement",GAO-13-130,"Jan 17, 2013","Debra A. Draper",(202)512-3000,"Department of Veterans Affairs","To ensure reliable measurement of veterans' wait times for medical appointments, the Secretary of VA should direct the Under Secretary for Health to take actions to improve the reliability of wait time measures either by clarifying the scheduling policy to better define the desired date, or by identifying clearer wait time measures that are not subject to interpretation and prone to scheduler error.",Open,Yes,"VA agreed with our recommendation. VA has taken actions intended to address the reliability of appointment wait times through improvements in appointment scheduling, including issuing a revised scheduling policy, providing and documenting scheduler training, and improving oversight through scheduler audits. While the revised scheduling policy and subsequent guidance changed the terminology of wait-time measures, they did not substantively clarify or define the desired date. Therefore, we continue to believe that the desired date field is still subject to interpretation and prone to scheduler error, which poses concerns for the reliability of wait times measured using patients' desired dates. Furthermore, VA's first internal audit in February 2019 was unable to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of its wait-time data due to the lack of business rules for calculating them, indicating that additional efforts are needed to address this issue. In February 2023, VA officials reported that the department is in the process of implementing a new scheduling system (integral to its new electronic health record system), with a targeted national completion date of 2027 for implementation across all VA health care facilities. At the same time, VA continues to establish new scheduling processes and policies. Given our continued concerns about VA's ability to ensure the reliability of the wait-time data, we will monitor VA's updates on implementation of its updated scheduling processes and policies and review relevant evidence of the effect on the reliability of wait time measurement that VA provides." "Federal Disaster Assistance: Improved Criteria Needed to Assess a Jurisdiction's Capability to Respond and Recover on Its Own",GAO-12-838,"Sep 12, 2012","William O. Jenkins, Jr.",(404)679-3000,"Federal Emergency Management Agency","To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the process for disaster declarations, the FEMA Administrator should develop and implement a methodology that provides a more comprehensive assessment of a jurisdiction's capability to respond to and recover from a disaster without federal assistance. This should include one or more measures of a jurisdiction's fiscal capacity, such as TTR, and consideration of the jurisdiction's response and recovery capabilities. If FEMA continues to use the PA per capita indicator to assist in identifying a jurisdiction's capabilities to respond to and recover from a disaster, it should adjust the indicator to accurately reflect the annual changes in the U.S. economy since 1986, when the current indicator was first adopted for use. In addition, implementing the adjustment by raising the indicator in steps over several years would give jurisdictions more time to plan for and adjust to the change.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"FEMA has taken actions to update its methodology to provide a more comprehensive assessment of a jurisdiction's capability to respond to and recover from a disaster without federal assistance . In particular, FEMA has taken steps to update the factors considered when evaluating a request for a major disaster declaration for Public Assistance, specifically the estimated cost of assistance (i.e. the per capita indicator), via the federal rulemaking process three times--in 2016, 2017, and 2020. However, as of February 2024, the agency has not issued a final rule updating the estimated cost of assistance . Until FEMA fully implements a new methodology, the agency will not have an accurate assessment of a jurisdiction's capabilities to respond to and recover from a disaster without federal assistance and runs the risk of recommending that the President award Public Assistance to jurisdictions that have the capability to respond and recover on their own." "2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue",GAO-12-342SP,"Feb 28, 2012","Janet St. Laurent, Zina Merritt","(202) 512-4300, (202) 512-4300","Office of Management and Budget","To improve performance through greater coordination among the many federal programs that support employment for people with disabilities, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should consider establishing measurable, government-wide goals for employment of people with disabilities. Given the number of federal agencies and approaches involved in supporting employment for people with disabilities, government-wide goals could help spur greater coordination and more efficient and economical service delivery in overlapping program areas. To determine whether these goals are being met, agencies should establish related measures and indicators and collect additional data to inform these measures.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation, but reported in March 2022 that it does not plan to establish government-wide goals for the employment of people with disabilities. OMB cited the difficulty of setting goals for more than 40 programs with different designs and target populations. Instead, to enhance federal coordination, OMB staff noted that the Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy leads an interagency subcommittee on employment of people with disabilities. DOL officials said the subcommittee was established in early 2021 under the leadership of the former director of disability policy within the Domestic Policy Council. The subcommittee has taken some actions to encourage collaboration across federal agencies and programs. For example, in August 2022, nine entities that participate in the subcommittee issued a letter to states and local governments. This letter promoted strategies for leveraging and coordinating resources across systems (known as blending, braiding, and sequencing) to maximize their value and increase the labor force participation of people with disabilities in competitive integrated employment. However, while DOL officials said the subcommittee continues its work on these issues, as of February 2023, the subcommittee has not identified specific objectives for the next phase of its work. These officials also said the subcommittee lacks the authority to set government-wide goals. They also noted that setting such goals would require White House support and continuity in leadership. Taking action in this area continues to be important given that employment of people with disabilities remains lower than for those without disabilities, despite recent progress. To fully address this action, OMB should lead or coordinate an executive branch effort to consider establishing measurable government-wide goals across the group of agencies and programs that support employment for people with disabilities. Past OMB efforts, including a cross-agency priority goal for science, technology, engineering, and math education, may serve as a model for setting government-wide goals for many different programs. Establishing such goals could enhance coordination and help improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities." "Medicare Advantage: CMS Should Improve the Accuracy of Risk Score Adjustments for Diagnostic Coding Practices",GAO-12-51,"Jan 26, 2012","James Cosgrove","(202) 512-7114","Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","To help ensure appropriate payments to MA plans, the Administrator of CMS should take steps to improve the accuracy of the adjustment made for differences in diagnostic coding practices between MA and Medicare FFS. Such steps could include, for example, accounting for additional beneficiary characteristics, including the most current data available, identifying and accounting for all years of coding differences that could affect the payment year for which an adjustment is made, and incorporating the trend of the impact of coding differences on risk scores.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"CMS indicated in March 2021 that, given the complexity of measuring coding changes attributable to plan behavior and the difficulty of measuring countervailing factors, there is not a single correct factor within the viable range of adjustment factors. In addition, the agency noted that there is policy discretion with respect to the appropriate adjustment factor for the payment year. CMS applied the statutory minimum adjustment of 5.90 for calendar year 2023. As of February 2024, CMS had not provided any documentation of its analysis and the basis for its determination. Although the application of the 5.90 percent adjustment and other changes CMS has made to its methodology for calculating the diagnostic coding adjustment (i.e., the exclusion of diagnosis codes that were differentially reported in Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage) likely brings CMS's adjustment closer to what GAO's analysis projects to be an accurate adjustment, a modified methodology that incorporates more recent data, accounts for all relevant years of coding differences, and incorporates the effect of coding difference trends would better ensure an accurate adjustment in future years. Until CMS shows the sufficiency of the diagnostic coding adjustment or implements an adjustment based on analysis using an updated methodology, payments to Medicare Advantage plans may not accurately account for differences in diagnostic coding between these plans and traditional Medicare providers." "Preventing Sexual Harassment: DOD Needs Greater Leadership Commitment and an Oversight Framework",GAO-11-809,"Oct 25, 2011","Brenda S. Farrell",202-512-3604,"Department of Defense","To improve leadership's commitment to preventing and responding to incidents of sexual harassment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to develop a strategy for holding individuals in positions of leadership accountable for promoting, supporting, and enforcing the department's sexual harassment policies and programs.",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation and stated that leadership accountability is essential to the success of the department's efforts to prevent sexual harassment. In February 2018, DOD took action toward addressing this recommendation and released an update to DOD Instruction 1020.03, Harassment Prevention and Response in the Armed Forces, that directs DOD's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), to ensure that DOD components' harassment prevention and response programs incorporate, at a minimum, compliance standards for promoting, supporting, and enforcing polices, plans, and programs. As of March 2021, DOD had not completed development of a strategy with the compliance standards. In The William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA for Fiscal Year 2021, Congress required the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to the defense committees on the actions taken to implement this recommendation not later than one year after enactment. Specifically, it requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a DOD-wide strategy to hold individuals in positions of leadership in the department accountable for the promotion, support, and enforcement of the department's policies and programs on sexual harassment. In May 2021, DOD issued its Harassment Prevention Strategy for the Armed Forces for fiscal years 2021-2026, which is to be used for holding individuals in positions of leadership accountable. In reviewing the strategy, we found that it includes the long-term goals element of strategic planning. However, it does not fully include other key elements which are needed as part of the leadership accountability strategy, including (a) objectives, (b) milestones, (c) strategies to accomplish goals, (d) criteria for measuring progress, (e) adequate resources, and (f) performance measures. Further, the strategy is not a formal tasking or directive and thus the offices responsible for addressing key elements such as objectives, milestones, strategies to accomplish goals, criteria for measuring progress, and adequate resources, may not carry them out. DOD has drafted an implementation memo which it plans to attach to its strategy to send out to the Military Departments in August 2021. To fully address our recommendation, DOD's Harassment Prevention Strategy will need to include all key strategic planning elements and the strategy will need to be implemented through a formal tasking or directive. In June 2023, DOD let us know that the Harassment Prevention Strategy needs to be revised to incorporate our recommendation, IRC recommendations/best practices, and to align with the DEIA Strategic Plan under Executive Order (E.O.) 14035. DOD expects to complete its work by June 30, 2024. We will continue to monitor DOD's efforts and update the recommendation's status as more information becomes available." "Preventing Sexual Harassment: DOD Needs Greater Leadership Commitment and an Oversight Framework",GAO-11-809,"Oct 25, 2011","Brenda S. Farrell",202-512-3604,"Department of Defense","To enhance oversight of the department's program to help prevent and to address incidents of sexual harassment involving servicemembers, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity develops and aggressively implements an oversight framework to help guide the department's efforts. At a minimum, such a framework should contain long-term goals, objectives, and milestones; strategies to accomplish goals; criteria for measuring progress; and results-oriented performance measures to assess the effectiveness of the department's sexual harassment policies and programs. Such a framework should also identify and include a plan for ensuring that adequate resources are available to carry out the office's oversight responsibilities.",Open,Yes,"DOD concurred with our recommendation and stated that as part of its revised guidance it proposed to strengthen and institutionalize the responsibilities and authorities needed for successful implementation of the department's sexual harassment policies. In February 2018, DOD took action toward addressing this recommendation and issued an update to DOD Instruction 1020.03, Harassment Prevention and Response in the Armed Forces, that directs DOD's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to ensure that DOD components' harassment prevention and response programs incorporate , at a minimum, (1) long-term goals, objectives, and milestones; (2) results-oriented performance measures to assess effectiveness; and (3) compliance standards for promoting, supporting, and enforcing policies, plans, and programs. As of March 2021, DOD has not developed and aggressively implemented an oversight framework, as we recommended. However, officials with DOD's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are planning to issue a new sexual harassment prevention strategy sometime in 2021. Further, in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA for Fiscal Year 2021, Congress required the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to the defense committees on the actions taken to implement this recommendation not later than one year after enactment. Specifically, it requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy that consists of an oversight framework for the department's efforts to promote, support, and enforce policies and programs on sexual harassment. In May 2021, DOD issued its Harassment Prevention Strategy for the Armed Forces for fiscal years 2021-2026, which is to be used as oversight framework to guide the department's efforts. In reviewing the strategy, we found that it includes the long-term goals element of an oversight framework. However, it does not fully include other key elements which are needed in an oversight framework, including (a) objectives, (b) milestones, (c) strategies to accomplish goals, (d) criteria for measuring progress, (e) adequate resources, and (f) performance measures. Further, the strategy is not a formal tasking or directive and thus the offices responsible for addressing key elements such as objectives, milestones, strategies to accomplish goals, criteria for measuring progress, and adequate resources, may not carry them out. DOD has drafted an implementation memo which it plans to attach to its strategy to send out to the Military Departments in August 2021. To fully address our recommendation, DOD's Harassment Prevention Strategy will need to include all key strategic planning elements and the strategy will need to be implemented through a formal tasking or directive. In June 2023, DOD let us know that the Harassment Prevention Strategy needs to be revised to incorporate our recommendation, IRC recommendations/best practices, and to align with the DEIA Strategic Plan under Executive Order (E.O.) 14035. DOD expects to complete its work by June 30, 2024. We will continue to monitor DOD's efforts and update the recommendation's status as more information becomes available." "Drinking Water: Unreliable State Data Limit EPA's Ability to Target Enforcement Priorities and Communicate Water Systems' Performance",GAO-11-381,"Jul 19, 2011","David Trimble",202-512-9338,"Environmental Protection Agency","To improve EPA's ability to oversee the states' implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act and provide Congress and the public with more complete and accurate information on compliance, the Administrator of EPA should resume data verification audits to routinely evaluate the quality of selected drinking water data on health-based and monitoring violations that the states provide to EPA. These audits should also evaluate the quality of data on the enforcement actions that states and other primacy agencies have taken to correct violations.",Open,Yes,"EPA partially agreed with our recommendation. As of March 2023, EPA indicated that it continues to work on modernizing its Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and expects to start transitioning states to the system by the end of 2024. In addition, EPA plans to engage with states as it develops data quality goals for monitoring violations and other information. However, our recommendation was that EPA should resume data verification audits. In March 2022, EPA told us it was not planning to resume the audits due to budgetary constraints. Instead, EPA said it was taking other actions to improve its ability to oversee the quality of drinking water data that states provide to EPA. For example, the agency told us it was evaluating data quality with a three-pronged approach using electronic reporting through the Compliance Monitoring Data Portal, automated data quality assurance tools, and state file reviews. EPA estimates that there has been an 80 percent reduction in data flow errors, in which the state or region issues a violation notice to the water system that is reported to the state data system but not correctly transferred to the federal system. However, because this estimate is based on a survey of seven states, EPA does not know the extent to which data flow errors may have been reduced in other states. In addition, questions remain about issues such as compliance determination errors, when a violation occurs but the state does not issue a violation notice to the water system and does not report that violation to the federal system. Overall, it remains unclear to what extent EPA's efforts have resulted in more accurate and complete data on water systems' compliance with SDWA. Furthermore, EPA needs additional information to assess the extent to which its efforts to modernize the SDWIS will improve the agency's ability to oversee states' implementation of SDWA and provide Congress and the public with more complete and accurate information on compliance. We will continue to monitor EPA's actions and conduct additional follow-up with agency staff regarding the status of the agency's efforts to update its systems and oversee the quality of data reported by states. EPA's actions to update systems and data reporting would allow it to more completely and accurately determine the location and extent of violations which could improve the effectiveness of the agency's oversight of states and improve data quality." "2010 Census: Key Efforts to Include Hard-to-Count Populations Went Generally as Planned; Improvements Could Make the Efforts More Effective for Next Census",GAO-11-45,"Dec 14, 2010","Robert N. Goldenkoff",202-512-6806,"Department of Commerce","To help improve the effectiveness of the Bureau's outreach and enumeration efforts, especially for HTC populations, should they be used again in the 2020 Census, and to improve some of the Bureau's key efforts to enumerate HTC populations, the Secretary of Commerce should require the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs as well as the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau to evaluate the extent to which each special enumeration activity improved the count of traditionally hard-to-enumerate groups and use the results to help inform decision making on spending for these programs in 2020.",Open,Yes,"The Department generally agreed with this recommendation. In 2012, the Bureau reported on assessments of many 2010 special enumeration activities such as the Service-Based Enumeration and the Be Counted/Questionnaire Assistance Center Programs. These assessments revealed the number of persons counted and spending for the special enumeration activities. Separately, the Bureau issued results of the 2010 Census Coverage Measurement Program that described census coverage of various traditionally undercounted populations generally, although these did not attribute coverage to specific enumeration activities. From 2015-2019, the Bureau issued annual updates of its 2020 Census Operational Plans, which did not provide descriptions of the evidence on which planned spending decisions were made for specific special enumeration activities. The Bureau did not take sufficient action to implement this recommendation for the 2020 Census. In March 2022, Bureau officials described various strategies they were considering for including this information in operational plans for the 2030 Census later in the decade. In March 2024, we discussed with Bureau officials how decennial management was exploring ways to standardize crosswalks from 2030 Census research results to justifications for elements of their forthcoming 2030 census operational plan. To fully implement this recommendation, the Bureau needs to demonstrate, in support of its forthcoming design for the 2030 Census, the evidence it has considered on how various special enumeration activities may have contributed to census cost and accuracy in the 2020 Census." "Chemical Assessments: Low Productivity and New Interagency Review Process Limit the Usefulness and Credibility of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System",GAO-08-440,"Apr 29, 2008","David Trimble",202-512-9338,"Environmental Protection Agency","To develop timely chemical risk information that EPA needs to effectively conduct its mission, the Administrator, EPA, should require the Office of Research and Development to re-evaluate its draft proposed changes to the IRIS assessment process in light of the issues raised in this report and ensure that any revised process periodically assesses the level of resources that should be dedicated to this significant program to meet user needs and maintain a viable IRIS database.",Open,Yes,"EPA agreed to consider our recommendation. As of February 2023, officials from ORD's Chemical and Pollutant Assessment Division (CPAD) had conducted an analysis of the resources needed to produce chemical assessments, including IRIS assessments and Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values. The analysis examined current budget and human capital resources allocated to CPAD for producing human health assessments, including the skills and competencies needed to produce different types of chemical assessments, and the current staffing levels under each skill set. CPAD's analysis also examined the role of contractors and how they could assist EPA staff in producing chemical assessments. The analysis concluded by noting that CPAD is under-resourced and expects to experience a continued increase in its workload in coming years, thereby worsening the gap between what EPA offices need and what CPAD is able to produce. CPAD's analysis of the resources needed to produce chemical assessments is a good step toward implementing our recommendation. However, the analysis did not identify specific metrics for assessing the effectiveness of EPA's staff recruitment and retention strategies or whether current resource allocations are helping CPAD meet the targets established in various EPA strategic action plans. We will keep this recommendation open until CPAD updates its analysis to include more specific metrics, which will help EPA determine the effectiveness of its recruitment and retention strategies." "Government Performance and Accountability: Tax Expenditures Represent a Substantial Federal Commitment and Need to Be Reexamined",GAO-05-690,"Sep 23, 2005","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-7968","Department of the Treasury","To ensure that policymakers and the public have the necessary information to make informed decisions and to improve the progress toward exercising greater scrutiny of tax expenditures, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, should develop and implement a framework for conducting performance reviews of tax expenditures. In developing the framework, the Director should (1) determine which agencies will have leadership responsibilities to review tax expenditures, how reviews will be coordinated among agencies with related responsibilities, and how to address the lack of credible performance information on tax expenditures; (2) set a schedule for conducting tax expenditure evaluations; (3) re-establish appropriate methods to test the overall evaluation framework and make improvements as experience is gained; and (4) to identify any additional resources that may be needed for tax expenditure reviews.",Open,Yes,"Treasury did not submit comments on this report and deferred to OMB. OMB agreed that this recommendation had promise and also said that tax expenditure evaluations were the responsibility of Treasury, which had access to the necessary data. As of March 2024, the Director of OMB had not taken action to develop a framework for reviewing tax expenditure performance, as GAO recommended in June 1994 and again in September 2005. Since their initial efforts in 1997 and 1999 to outline a framework for evaluating tax expenditures and preliminary performance measures, OMB and the Department of the Treasury have ceased to make progress and retreated from setting a schedule for evaluating tax expenditures. The President's fiscal year 2012 budget stated that developing an evaluation framework is a significant challenge due to limited data availability and analytical constraints of isolating the effect of any single program. The administration planned to focus on addressing some of these challenges so it could work toward crosscutting analyses that examine tax expenditures alongside related spending programs. However, OMB and Treasury had not reported on progress on this recommendation since the President's fiscal year 2012 budget. As of March 2024, OMB said it does not plan to address this recommendation. Assessing the performance of tax expenditures is critically important given that many tax expenditures that function as entitlement programs do not compete openly in the annual budget process. Although revenue losses from tax expenditures exceed $1 trillion each year, many tax expenditures are not subject to congressional reauthorization, and therefore Congress does not have the opportunity to regularly review their effectiveness. Periodic reviews could help identify redundancies in related tax and spending programs and could help determine how well specific tax expenditures work to achieve their goals, as well as how their benefits and costs compare to those of programs with similar goals." "Government Performance and Accountability: Tax Expenditures Represent a Substantial Federal Commitment and Need to Be Reexamined",GAO-05-690,"Sep 23, 2005","James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr","(202) 512-7968","Office of Management and Budget","To ensure that policymakers and the public have the necessary information to make informed decisions and to improve the progress toward exercising greater scrutiny of tax expenditures, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, should develop and implement a framework for conducting performance reviews of tax expenditures. In developing the framework, the Director should (1) determine which agencies will have leadership responsibilities to review tax expenditures, how reviews will be coordinated among agencies with related responsibilities, and how to address the lack of credible performance information on tax expenditures; (2) set a schedule for conducting tax expenditure evaluations; (3) re-establish appropriate methods to test the overall evaluation framework and make improvements as experience is gained; and (4) to identify any additional resources that may be needed for tax expenditure reviews.",Open,Yes,"As of March 2024, the Director of OMB had not taken action to develop a framework for reviewing tax expenditure performance, as GAO recommended in June 1994 and again in September 2005. Since their initial efforts in 1997 and 1999 to outline a framework for evaluating tax expenditures and preliminary performance measures, OMB and the Department of the Treasury have ceased to make progress and retreated from setting a schedule for evaluating tax expenditures. The President's fiscal year 2012 budget stated that developing an evaluation framework is a significant challenge due to limited data availability and analytical constraints of isolating the effect of any single program. The administration planned to focus on addressing some of these challenges so it could work toward crosscutting analyses that examine tax expenditures alongside related spending programs. However, OMB and Treasury had not reported on progress on this recommendation since the President's fiscal year 2012 budget. As of March 2024, OMB said it does not plan to address this recommendation. Assessing the performance of tax expenditures is critically important given that many tax expenditures that function as entitlement programs do not compete openly in the annual budget process. Although revenue losses from tax expenditures exceed $1 trillion each year, many tax expenditures are not subject to congressional reauthorization, and therefore Congress does not have the opportunity to regularly review their effectiveness. Periodic reviews could help identify redundancies in related tax and spending programs and could help determine how well specific tax expenditures work to achieve their goals, as well as how their benefits and costs compare to those of programs with similar goals." "Medicaid and SCHIP: Recent HHS Approvals of Demonstration Waiver Projects Raise Concerns",GAO-02-817,"Aug 7, 2002",,,"Department of Health and Human Services","To meet its fiduciary responsibility of ensuring that section 1115 waivers are budget neutral, the Secretary of Health and Human services should better ensure that valid methods are used to demonstrate budget neutrality, by developing and implementing consistent criteria for consideration of section 1115 demonstration waiver proposals.","Open--Partially Addressed",Yes,"As of February 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had taken some action to address GAO's 2002 recommendation. In August 2018, HHS issued written guidance through a State Medicaid Directors Letter documenting four key changes it made in 2016 to its budget neutrality policy. These changes addressed some, but not all of the questionable methods GAO identified in its reports. To fully address this recommendation, HHS should also address these other questionable methods, such as setting demonstration spending limits based on hypothetical costs--what the state could have paid--rather than payments actually made by the state. GAO has found that the use of hypothetical costs has the potential to inflate spending limits and thus threaten the budget neutrality of demonstrations."