The European Union (EU) and U.S. approaches to enforcing intellectual property rights (IPR) differ with respect to counterfeit goods in small packages, which are often sent through express carrier services or international mail. The EU uses a streamlined, application-based procedure to destroy suspected counterfeits in small packages. Through this procedure, rights holders request that member sta

Four components—Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office—within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented the process to formally nominate and designate Component Acquisition Executives (CAE). However, four of the five individuals filling the CAE role—three as acting CAE—in the Man

A cybersecurity incident is an event that actually or potentially jeopardizes a system or the information it holds. According to GAO's analysis of K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center (CRC) data from July 2016 to May 2020, thousands of K-12 students were affected by 99 reported data breaches, one type of cybersecurity incident in which data are compromised. Students' academic records, including ass

Local education officials in natural disaster-affected areas told us the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues and contributed to lost instructional time, staff burnout, delays in recovery projects, and financial strain in their communities. These officials explained that after the natural disaster, restoring students' mental health was a top priority.

This supplement is a companion to GAO's report entitled Disaster Assistance: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (GAO-20-503). The purpose of this supplement is to present additional analysis of applicant data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Individuals and Households Program (IHP) for the following disasters that occurred during

This supplement is a companion to GAO's report entitled Disaster Assistance: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (GAO-20-503). The purpose of this supplement is to present additional analysis of applicant data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Individuals and Households Program (IHP) for 2016, 2017, and 2018. The additional analysi

From 2016 through 2018, 5.6 million people applied for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and 4.4 million were referred to the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) for assistance. For eligible survivors, FEMA's IHP can offer financial assistance—including money for personal property losses and repair of certain home damages. The IHP may also provide ren

The U.S. Coast Guard's (Coast Guard) processes for reviewing and approving vessel response plans (VRPs) assess whether they comply with regulatory requirements and have contracts in place for response resource providers, such as oil spill removal, and salvage and marine firefighting services. GAO and industry stakeholders identified risks in the Coast Guard's processes such as the (1) relatively

Certain facilities excluded from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program are regulated by other programs containing requirements or guidance that generally align with at least half of the CFATS 18 standards. For example, (1) the U.S. Coast Guard regulates about 3,000 excluded facilities under the Maritime Transportation Security Act o

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has identified some risks to Public Assistance (PA) emergency work grants—funds provided to applicants such as states and territories—for debris removal and other emergency measures. FEMA also has ongoing or planned efforts that could inform fraud risk assessments. However, the agency has not comprehensively assessed fraud risks to these grants a