Farmers Home Administration:
Farm Loan Programs and Proposed Changes
T-RCED-92-59: Published: Apr 29, 1992. Publicly Released: Apr 29, 1992.
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GAO discussed: (1) the Farmers Home Administration's (FmHA) farm loan programs; and (2) its views on the proposed Agricultural Credit Improvement Act of 1992. GAO noted that: (1) as much as 70 percent of the FmHA direct loan portfolio is at risk because it is held by delinquent borrowers or by borrowers whose debts have been rescheduled in response to past repayment difficulties; (2) some FmHA direct loan problems can be attributed to ineffective implementation of FmHA loan-making and loan-servicing standards and loan and property management policies that are in conflict with fiscal controls designed to minimize risk and financial losses; (3) lenient loan-making policies have further increased the government's exposure to direct loan losses; (4) FmHA estimated potential guaranteed loan losses of $1.2 billion even though FmHA paid commercial lenders about $300 million to cover loan losses during the past few years; (5) FmHA guaranteed loan policies also contribute to the government's exposure to financial loss, since about 44 percent of the guaranteed loan funds, in fiscal year 1988, were used to refinance existing debt; (6) as of September 30, 1991 FmHA estimated that it had about 3,100 farms in inventory that were acquired from borrowers who did not repay their loans but legislation has limited FmHA return on those properties and increased its holding costs; (7) FmHA roles and missions needed to be clarified to enable FmHA to be fiscally prudent and to provide high-risk borrowers with temporary credit until they secure commercial credit; and (8) it agrees with the provisions of the proposed legislation that FmHA roles and missions need better definition.
Jan 15, 2021
Farmworkers:
Additional Information Needed to Better Protect Workers from Pesticide ExposureGAO-21-63: Published: Jan 15, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 15, 2021.
Nov 20, 2020
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Food Safety:
CDC Could Further Strengthen Its Efforts to Identify and Respond to Foodborne IllnessesGAO-21-23: Published: Oct 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2020.
Nov 16, 2020
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Farm Programs:
USDA Has Improved Its Completion of Eligibility Compliance Reviews, but Additional Oversight Is NeededGAO-21-95: Published: Oct 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 16, 2020.
Sep 16, 2020
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Agriculture Spending:
Opportunities Exist for USDA to Identify Successes and Challenges of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program to Inform Future EffortsGAO-20-711R: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 14, 2020
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USDA Market Facilitation Program:
Information on Payments for 2019GAO-20-700R: Published: Aug 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2020.
Aug 10, 2020
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National Bio and Agro-defense Facility:
DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps RemainGAO-20-331: Published: Jul 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
May 7, 2020
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Food Safety:
FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Existing Efforts to Prepare for Oversight of Cell-Cultured MeatGAO-20-325: Published: Apr 7, 2020. Publicly Released: May 7, 2020.
Apr 13, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
U.S. Department of AgricultureGAO-20-288PR: Published: Apr 6, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2020.
Dec 23, 2019
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Nutrition Assistance Programs:
Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older AdultsGAO-20-18: Published: Nov 21, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2019.
Dec 6, 2019
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Imported Seafood Safety:
Actions Needed to Improve FDA Oversight of Import Alert Removal DecisionsGAO-20-62: Published: Nov 6, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 6, 2019.
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