GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed.
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As of October 25, 2020, there are 4812 open recommendations, of which 473 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.
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Recommendation: To better ensure that federal investments effectively address the remaining airport noise problem and to more fully demonstrate the results of AIP noise grants, the Secretary of Transportation should direct FAA to establish a strategic noise reduction goal that aligns with the nature and extent of airport noise and targets the agency's noise grant program.
Agency: Department of Transportation Status: Open
Comments: In August 2019, FAA officials stated that the FAA's overall noise reduction goal is fundamentally separate from noise mitigation. At the same time, FAA indicated that airport noise is a growing concern and highlighted multiple aspects of the agency's noise-related activities, including providing community workshops associated with changes to air traffic procedures and continued support for noise compatibility planning by airports. The noise grant program continues to be FAA's largest noise-related activity. Until FAA aligns its strategic noise goal with the noise grant program, it is difficult to see how this program's results contribute to the achieving agency objectives.
Recommendation: To better ensure that federal investments effectively address the remaining airport noise problem and to more fully demonstrate the results of AIP noise grants, the Secretary of Transportation should direct FAA to establish performance measures to assess progress toward this goal that better demonstrate the results of the program and provide Congress and FAA's program managers with information to gauge progress and make programmatic decisions.
Agency: Department of Transportation Status: Open
Comments: In August 2019, FAA officials stated that the FAA's overall noise reduction goal is fundamentally separate from noise mitigation. Absent FAA actions to align this goal with the noise grant program, FAA cannot develop measurements of noise grant program results that gauge progress towards such a goal. Without this information, Congress and FAA program managers cannot make fully informed decisions about what the noise grant program can reasonably be expected to address in the future and the extent to which noise exposure remains a constraint on airport growth.
