Energy Department Trade Missions:
Authority, Results, and Management Issues
T-NSIAD-96-151: Published: Apr 24, 1996. Publicly Released: Apr 24, 1996.
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GAO discussed four trade missions sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE), focusing on: (1) DOE authority and role in these missions; (2) the results of the missions; and (3) management weaknesses inherent in DOE-sponsored trade missions. GAO noted that: (1) the Secretary of Energy has explicit statutory authority to undertake export promotion activities; (2) in 1995, DOE funding for export promotion totalled $14 million; (3) DOE performed advocacy on behalf of U.S. energy companies seeking to capture some of the emerging energy markets in China, India, and Pakistan; (4) it is difficult to measure the impact of these federal advocacy activities because sales forecasts are unclear, of the numerous participants involved, and of problems in calculating the value of sales agreements and maintenance contracts; (5) the four trade missions resulted in $19.7 billion in potential and finalized fuel supply and power purchase agreements and oil and gas exploration agreements; (6) DOE subsequently reported that finalized agreements totalled $2.03 billion, but export data show that the value of these agreements seem to be overstated by over 50 percent; (7) most companies participating in DOE trade missions support DOE efforts, but a few said that they could complete their business agreements without DOE involvement; (8) the planning for these missions is complicated by time constraints, last minute changes in plans, and lack of familiarity with conducting large, overseas trade missions; and (9) DOE has introduced new procedures to correct DOE management weaknesses, but they have not been fully tested in practice.
Oct 26, 2020
Intellectual Property:
CBP Has Taken Steps to Combat Counterfeit Goods in Small Packages but Could Streamline EnforcementGAO-20-692: Published: Sep 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 26, 2020.
Sep 30, 2020
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Federal Criminal Restitution:
Department of Justice Has Ongoing Efforts to Improve Its Oversight of the Collection of Restitution and Tracking the Use of Forfeited AssetsGAO-20-676R: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.
Sep 10, 2020
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Federal Tactical Teams:
Characteristics, Training, Deployments, and InventoryGAO-20-710: Published: Sep 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 10, 2020.
Sep 8, 2020
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VA Police:
Actions Needed to Improve Data Completeness and Accuracy on Use of Force Incidents at Medical CentersGAO-20-599: Published: Sep 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 8, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
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Anti-Money Laundering:
FinCEN Should Enhance Procedures for Implementing and Evaluating Geographic Targeting OrdersGAO-20-546: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jul 29, 2020
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Federal Prison Industries:
Actions Needed to Evaluate Program EffectivenessGAO-20-505: Published: Jul 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2020.
Jul 8, 2020
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Gun Control:
DOJ Can Further Improve Guidance on Federal Firearm Background Check RecordsGAO-20-528: Published: Jul 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 8, 2020.
Jun 22, 2020
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Federal Prisons:
Additional Analysis Needed to Determine Whether to Issue Pepper Spray to Minimum Security PrisonsGAO-20-342: Published: Jun 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 22, 2020.
May 26, 2020
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Bureau of Prisons:
Improved Planning Would Help BOP Evaluate and Manage Its Portfolio of Drug Education and Treatment ProgramsGAO-20-423: Published: May 26, 2020. Publicly Released: May 26, 2020.
May 12, 2020
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Forensic Technology:
Algorithms Used in Federal Law EnforcementGAO-20-479SP: Published: May 12, 2020. Publicly Released: May 12, 2020.
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