What GAO Found GAO identified 94 new actions in 21 new and nine existing areas for Congress or executive branch agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. For example: The Department of Energy could pursue less expensive disposal options of nuclear and hazardous waste, such as...
What GAO Found Federal agencies obtained and shared social media posts and other publicly available information—referred to in this report as “open source data”—on potential criminal activity prior to January 6, 2021. All 10 selected agencies— including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)...
What GAO Found Consumer scores are indicators that group consumers based on their past actions and characteristics. Score creators use public records and nonpublic information such as purchase histories to create scores. Businesses and other entities use these scores to segment or rank individuals to...
What GAO Found At least 550 colleges worked with an online program manager (OPM) to support at least 2,900 education programs (e.g., certificate and degree programs) as of July 2021, according to the most recently available market research data. However, the exact number of OPM arrangements is unknown,...
What GAO Found Federal tax information consists of federal tax returns and return information and is covered by the confidentiality protections of the Internal Revenue Code. Return information can include information extracted from a return, including names of dependents or the location of a business....
What GAO Found In the past decade, surface ships have accounted for nearly all of the Navy's deferred depot maintenance backlog. Aircraft carriers have experienced minimal increases in backlog, and maintenance is rarely deferred for submarines. At GAO's request, the Navy developed an estimate of its...
What GAO Found During the 2020-21 school year, students in all grade levels, whether learning in person or virtually, struggled with many obstacles. These ranged from lack of appropriate workspaces and adequate support to competing demands on their time, disengagement, and absences. Such obstacles hindered...
What GAO Found Audit Rates. From tax years 2010 to 2019, audit rates of individual income tax returns decreased for all income levels. On average, the audit rate for these returns decreased from 0.9 percent to 0.25 percent. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials attributed this trend primarily to reduced...
What GAO Found Small electrically powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically may soon transform the aviation market with services known as “Advanced Air Mobility” (AAM). Thirty-six stakeholders GAO interviewed described a number of issues that will need to be addressed by industry and...
What GAO Found The federal government faces an unsustainable fiscal future. At the end of fiscal year 2021, debt held by the public was about 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a 33 percent increase from fiscal year 2019. Projections from the Office of Management and Budget and the Department...