Reports & Testimonies

The Department of Veterans Affairs runs 300 Vet Centers nationwide that provide counseling services to military veterans and servicemembers. We previously reported on how VA assesses Vet Center counselors’ productivity. In this Q&A, we looked at VA’s staff survey on how productivity expectations may have affected care. We found that some parts of the survey were unclear, such as a question that didn’t specify whether...

In this final comprehensive COVID-19 report, we provided updates to our work regarding the impact of the pandemic on public health, the economy, and federal spending. Our work on the COVID-19 pandemic has produced over 200 reports and 484 recommendations to the Congress and federal agencies. More than half of the recommendations have been implemented. This body of work has yielded at least $43.9 billion...

Federal employee whistleblowers can help fight fraud, waste, and abuse, so laws protect them from retaliation, such as demotion and firing. For Department of Veterans Affairs employees, the Office of Special Counsel—an independent agency—and an office within VA both investigate retaliation against whistleblowers. But VA doesn’t track all actions taken to protect whistleblowers after retaliation. This incomplete record makes it hard to determine if the...

Burning waste outside emits toxins into the air that can be harmful. The military burned waste in Vietnam. Many worry that the toxins released have led to long-term health problems. The Department of Veterans Affairs hasn’t researched whether there is a link between Vietnam veterans’ health issues and exposure. VA’s reviews of available data haven’t indicated that exposure was a major contributor. VA said additional...

In recent years, some shoppers have noticed they’re paying the same or more for a smaller amount of their favorite household products—known as “shrinkflation.” For example, a pint of ice cream (16 fluid oz.) might now be 14 fluid oz. Subtle package changes can make it hard to detect. While shrinkflation increases prices, its effect on inflation is small because most spending is on things...

Staying in business can be hard for dairy farmers if cattle feed prices go up or milk prices fall. But they can get help by signing up for a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that gives financial support in these circumstances. The program paid farmers about $2.7 billion from 2019 to 2024. The percentage of farmers who participated in each state varied, and most had...

Chemicals called per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances—PFAS—have been found in water and are associated with health risks like cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a regulation setting maximum levels for some PFAS in drinking water. EPA was required to estimate the costs of the regulation. The quality of EPA’s cost analysis is being challenged in court. Due to the litigation, this Q&A report focused on whether...

Using illicit drugs and misusing prescription drugs have been persistent issues in the U.S., causing over 100,000 deaths a year from 2021-2023. We convened a forum with 12 experts to discuss developing and evaluating media campaigns intended to prevent drug misuse. The experts said that, to create campaigns, people should: Identify, understand, and target the audience they intend to reach Select messengers and delivery methods...

The nation increasingly relies on computer-based information systems to support critical infrastructure needed for communications, water, energy, and more. Much of the infrastructure is privately owned. Federal agencies have established a variety of regulations to help protect it from cyber threats. For this report, we asked a group of industry representatives for their views on federal efforts to use more consistent cybersecurity regulations. Some participants...

Generative AI—which can create text, images, audio, video, and other content—could dramatically increase productivity and transform the federal government workplace. Agencies can use it to support internal operations, streamline service delivery, and more. But it may also spread misinformation and present national security and environmental risks. From 2023 to 2024, agencies’ use of generative AI increased ninefold. As agencies deploy generative AI, they report encountering...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022 created a forced migration crisis—with millions of Ukrainians forced to flee and millions more internally displaced within Ukraine. As of Sept. 2024, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department had provided over $3.75 billion for the Ukraine humanitarian response. USAID and State closely coordinated their assistance for Ukrainian internally displaced persons and refugees. And the...

Federal agencies provide medical benefits to veterans, manage border security, educate national park visitors, and serve the public in many other ways. The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for coordinating efforts to improve customer service at federal agencies. OMB set goals for agency improvements and gathered information from agencies such as their plans for customer service improvements. However, we found the goals OMB...

Federal laws have provided over $5 billion for programs to help replace existing school buses with less-polluting ones, such as electric or propane buses. The Environmental Protection Agency collects data to track progress toward program goals but has opportunities to improve. For example, EPA assesses progress toward reducing emissions, but its emissions estimates are incomplete. Also, EPA doesn't collect complete information from some funding recipients...

The Social Security Administration relies on information technology to deliver retirement, disability, and other benefits to millions of Americans. In FY 2024, it spent about $2.2 billion on IT. We found that SSA doesn't have a process for its IT Investment Review Board to monitor its investments in operations and maintenance, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. These investments accounted for about 90% of its IT budget in...