Priority Open Recommendations:
General Services Administration
GAO-20-533PR: Published: May 6, 2020. Publicly Released: May 13, 2020.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Version:
Contact:
(202) 512-2834
bertonid@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help improve the federal government. We alert department heads to the recommendations where they can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve government operations.
This report outlines our 8 priority open recommendations for the General Services Administration (GSA) as of May 2020.
For example, we recommended that GSA improve how it estimates the operations and maintenance costs of design choices for new buildings.
Since our previous letter in April 2019, GSA implemented 1 of our priority recommendations.
Open priority recommendations graphic
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Version:
Contact:
(202) 512-2834
bertonid@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
What GAO Found
In April 2019, GAO identified five priority recommendations for the General Services Administration (GSA). Since then, GSA has implemented one of those recommendations by, among other things, submitting risk management reports for cybersecurity to the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Management and Budget.
In May 2020, GAO identified four additional priority recommendations for GSA, bringing the total number to eight. These recommendations involve the following six areas:
- Improving decision-making related to the Department of Homeland Security's headquarters consolidation,
- Reducing fees associated with financing tenant improvements for new leases,
- Estimating the operations and maintenance costs of design choices for new buildings,
- Addressing the accuracy of publicly available street address information,
- Addressing the reliability of information used to calculate reported cost savings for GSA's broker program,
- Improving cybersecurity risk management GSA's continued attention to these issues could lead to significant improvements in government operations.
Why GAO Did This Study
Priority open recommendations are the GAO's recommendations that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could save large amounts of money; improve congressional and/or executive branch decision-making on major issues; eliminate mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or ensure that programs comply with laws and funds are legally spent, among other benefits. Since 2015, GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.
For more information, contact Dan Bertoni at (202) 512-2834 or bertonid@gao.gov.
Jan 19, 2021
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Federal Rulemaking:
Selected EPA and HHS Regulatory Analyses Met Several Best Practices, but CMS Should Take Steps to Strengthen Its AnalysesGAO-21-151: Published: Dec 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2021.
Jan 13, 2021
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Department of Energy Contracting:
Improvements Needed to Ensure DOE Assesses Its Full Range of Contracting Fraud RisksGAO-21-44: Published: Jan 13, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 2021.
Dec 16, 2020
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Data Governance:
Agencies Made Progress in Establishing Governance, but Need to Address Key MilestonesGAO-21-152: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
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2020 Census:
The Bureau Concluded Field Work but Uncertainty about Data Quality, Accuracy, and Protection RemainsGAO-21-206R: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Dec 3, 2020
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2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Assess Data Quality Concerns Stemming from Recent Design ChangesGAO-21-142: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020. -
2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Ensure Transparency over Data QualityGAO-21-262T: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020.
Nov 30, 2020
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Federal Buying Power:
OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and TrainingGAO-21-40: Published: Nov 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2020.
Nov 24, 2020
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Disaster Response:
Agencies Should Assess Contracting Workforce Needs and Purchase Card Fraud RiskGAO-21-42: Published: Nov 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 24, 2020.
Nov 23, 2020
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Federal Contracting:
Actions Needed to Improve Department of Labor's Enforcement of Service Worker Wage ProtectionsGAO-21-11: Published: Oct 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 23, 2020.
Nov 18, 2020
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Federal Telework:
Key Practices That Can Help Ensure the Success of Telework ProgramsGAO-21-238T: Published: Nov 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
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