Certification Requirements:
Guidance Governing Agency Actions Is Limited
T-GGD-99-166: Published: Sep 9, 1999. Publicly Released: Sep 9, 1999.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the certification requirements of federal agencies, focusing on: (1) the extent and variety of certification activities in the federal government; (2) the extent to which any policies, procedures, or guidance exist governing these activities, either governmentwide or within selected agencies; and (3) an agency certification practice that could serve as an example or best practice for other agencies.
GAO noted that: (1) GAO's preliminary results indicate that federal agencies engage in a large number and wide variety of certification-related activities; (2) these activities vary across multiple dimensions, such as the targets of the certifications, the types of organizations that actually do the certifications, and whether the certifications are mandatory or voluntary; (3) although there are some limits in federal procurement law and within certain programs on the use of certification requirements, there is no governmentwide or, within the agencies GAO contacted, agencywide guidance to direct or assist agencies in the development, selection, or implementation of all types of certification requirements; (4) however, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has prepared draft guidance for agencies on conformity assessment activities, including certification; (5) NIST plans to publish that guidance for public comment later this year; (6) GAO believes that transparency, or describing the basis of agencies' decisionmaking, is a certification best practice; (7) GAO concluded that some agencies' certification decisions were very transparent, clearly documenting the criteria used to select a particular requirement or certification body; and (8) however, in other cases--including one at the Department of Veterans Affairs--the reasons agencies selected specific certifying bodies were not as transparent, and organizations that were not selected to provide certifications raised questions about the criteria the agencies used.
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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