U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)

The Month in Review is a comprehensive list of all reports, testimony, correspondence and other publications issued by GAO during the month, grouped according to topics. We assign more than one topic to a report when that makes sense. For example, a report about education for veterans will be categorized as both a Veterans report and an Education report. So, you may see the same report in more than one topic below.

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National Defense

What GAO Found In August 2021, GAO identified 81 priority open recommendations for the Department of Defense (DOD). Since then, DOD has implemented 12 of those recommendations, leading to improvements in financial management, cybersecurity, and Navy readiness, among other areas. Additionally, GAO closed...

This is an Arabic language translation of the highlights for GAO-22-105988, which issued on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. النتائج التي توصل إلیھا مكتب مساءلة الحكومة أدارت وزارة اﻟدﻓﺎع ﻣﺎ ﻻ ﯾﻘل ﻋن 54.6 ﻣﻠﯾﺎر دوﻻر ﻣن اﻟدﻋم...

Natural Resources and Environment

What GAO Found Fisheries managers comprised of eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils) and the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Division (HMS Division) have generally used climate information to a limited extent in fisheries management activities....

What GAO Found The Department of the Interior's competitive grant award process involves announcing funding opportunities, evaluating grant applications, and obtaining management approval to issue award decisions (see fig.). Interior's nine grant-making bureaus make all funding announcements publicly...

Retirement Security

What GAO Found According to representatives GAO interviewed about selected international retirement savings plans, most of the plans require eligible employers to automatically enroll some of their workforce, unless workers explicitly opt out (see figure). This automatic enrollment is intended to help...

Science and Technology

What GAO Found The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education across all fields of fundamental science and engineering. Its Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research aims to enhance the ability of eligible U.S. states and territories (known as jurisdictions) to compete...

Tax Policy and Administration

What GAO Found The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not collect data on taxpayers, including small business owners, regarding their race, ethnicity, or sex. This makes it difficult to determine if tax provision use varies by demographic group. In the absence of these data, GAO used data from other...

Telecommunications

What GAO Found Spectrum is a natural resource that enables wireless communications and critical government operations, such as shown in the figure below. A key spectrum management activity of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is to work with other agencies, such as...

Transportation

What GAO Found Aiming a laser at an aircraft can distract or disorient pilots and is a federal crime. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigates laser incidents, pursues civil penalties, and assists the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Attorneys with investigations. Given the...

What GAO Found Almost 6-million people living in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and other noncontiguous U.S. territories and possessions depend on maritime transportation of vital goods from the mainland (contiguous) U.S. (see figure). These shipments include items such as food products and other goods....

Veterans

What GAO Found For over a decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has worked to implement a framework for managing how it purchases goods and services, with little success. GAO found that VA has not used its Acquisition Program Management Framework, its current framework, which has been in place...

What GAO Found GAO identified 23 reforms the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) implemented that were aimed at improving its disability compensation program and were underway from fiscal years 2017 through 2020. GAO's review of five of these reforms found that VBA did not consistently follow relevant...

Worker and Family Assistance

Bid Protest Decision

Decision Matter of: Utech, Inc- dba EndoSoft File: B-420755 Date: July 29, 2022 Alan Grayson, Esq., for the protester. Shawn Larson, Esq, and Aleia Barlow, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Mary G. Curcio, Esq., and Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Deloitte Consulting LLP; ManTech Advanced Systems International, Inc. File: B-420137.7; B-420137.8; B-420137.9;...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Coastal Environmental Group, Inc. File: B-420390.2; B-420390.3 Date: July 27, 2022 Aron C. Beezley, Esq., Sarah S. Osborne,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Foxhole Technology, LLC File: B-420718 Date: July 29, 2022 Brian Bunting, Esq., J. Ryan Frazee, Esq., and Jennifer...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Navarre Corporation File: B-419088.4 Date: July 29, 2022 William M. Weisberg, Esq., Law Offices of William Weisberg,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.‑‑Costs File: B-420116.4; B‑420116.5 Date: July 27, 2022 Kayleigh M. Scalzo, Esq.,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Top Guard, Inc. File: B-420719 Date: July 28, 2022 Shane J. McCall, Esq., Nicole D. Pottroff, Esq., John L. Holtz,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Veterans Care Medical Equipment, LLC File: B-420726; B-420726.2 Date: July 29, 2022 David F. Dowd, Esq., Potomac...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: ISHPI Information Technologies, Inc. File: B-420718.2; B-420718.3 Date: July 29, 2022 Craig A. Holman, Esq.,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Textron Systems Corporation File: B-420711; B-420711.2 Date: August 1, 2022 Amy C. Hoang, Esq., Erica L. Bakies,...

DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: McLane Advanced Technologies, LLC File: B-420713; B-420713.2 Date: August 1, 2022 Jayna M. Rust, Esq., Scott...

Decision Matter of: ASG Solutions Corporation d/b/a American Systems Group File: B-420743 Date: August 10, 2022 Ritobrata Banerjee for the protester. Andrew McCabe, Esq., and Robert McCall, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Hannah Barnes, Esq., Christopher Alwood, Esq., and Christina...

Month in Review, August 2022

National Defense

Department of Defense

تحتاج وزارتا الخارجیة والدفاع معلومات أفضل عن الآثار المدنیة للدعم العسكري الأمریكي للمملكة العربیة السعودی...

Natural Resources and Environment

Opportunities Exist to Enhance Climate Resilience

Interior Should Improve the Award Process for Some Competitive Grant Programs

Retirement Security

Recent Efforts by Other Countries to Expand Plan Coverage and Facilitate Savings

Science and Technology

Better Reporting Could Give More Visibility into Gains in States' Research Competitiveness

Tax Policy and Administration

Enhanced Evaluation Could Improve Outreach to Small Business Owners

Telecommunications

Improved Planning and Interagency Collaboration Could Strengthen Spectrum Reallocation Efforts

Transportation

FAA Should Strengthen Efforts to Address the Illegal Practice of Intentionally Aiming Lasers at Aircraft [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 26, 2022]

Information on the Surface Transportation Board's Regulatory Processes

Veterans

Action Needed to Ensure Success of New Oversight Framework

Compensation Program Could Be Strengthened by Consistently Following Leading Reform Practices

Worker and Family Assistance

Compensation Program Could Be Strengthened by Consistently Following Leading Reform Practices

Bid Protest Decision

Utech, Inc- dba EndoSoft

Deloitte Consulting LLP; ManTech Advanced Systems International, Inc.

Coastal Environmental Group, Inc.

Foxhole Technology, LLC

Navarre Corporation

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.--Costs

Top Guard, Inc.

Veterans Care Medical Equipment, LLC

ISHPI Information Technologies, Inc.

Textron Systems Corporation

McLane Advanced Technologies, LLC

ASG Solutions Corporation d/b/a American Systems Group