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Recommendations Database

GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed. GAO’s priority recommendations are those that we believe warrant priority attention. We sent letters to the heads of key departments and agencies, urging them to continue focusing on these issues. Below you can search only priority recommendations, or search all recommendations.

Our recommendations help congressional and agency leaders prepare for appropriations and oversight activities, as well as help improve government operations. Moreover, when implemented, some of our priority recommendations can save large amounts of money, help Congress make decisions on major issues, and substantially improve or transform major government programs or agencies, among other benefits.

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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Results:

Subject Term: "Gross national product"

3 publications with a total of 6 open recommendations
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The Nation's Fiscal Health: Effective Use of Fiscal Rules and Targets
GAO-20-561, Sep 23, 2020
Director: Jeff Arkin,
Phone: (202) 512-6806

1 open recommendations
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Recommendation: Congress should consider establishing a long-term fiscal plan that includes fiscal rules and targets, such as a debt-to-GDP target. In doing so, Congress should weigh the key considerations discussed in this report to help ensure proper design, implementation, and enforcement of those rules and targets. (Matter for Consideration 1)

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: When we determine what steps the Congress has taken, we will provide updated information.
Mixed-Use Fisheries: South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Councils Would Benefit from Documented Processes for Allocation Reviews
GAO-20-216, Mar 31, 2020
Director: Anne-Marie Fennell
Phone: (202) 512-3841

2 open recommendations
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Recommendation: The NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries should work with the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico councils, and other councils as appropriate, to develop documented processes for conducting allocation reviews. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Fisheries Service
Status: Open

Comments: Commerce and NOAA agreed with this recommendation and stated that NOAA's NMFS will work to implement it to the extent possible. We will continue to monitor NMFS' efforts to do so.
Recommendation: The NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries should work with the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico councils, and other councils as appropriate, to specify how the councils will document their allocation reviews, including the basis for their allocation decisions, whether fishery management plan objectives are being met, and what factors were considered in the reviews. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Fisheries Service
Status: Open

Comments: Commerce and NOAA agreed with this recommendation and stated that NOAA's NMFS will work to implement it to the extent possible. We will continue to monitor NMFS' efforts to do so.
Puerto Rico: Limited Federal Data Hinder Analysis of Economic Condition and DOL's 2016 Overtime Rule
GAO-18-483, Jun 29, 2018
Director: Cindy Brown Barnes
Phone: (202) 512-7215

3 open recommendations
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Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Bureau of Economic Analysis includes Puerto Rico in its reporting on gross domestic product, as it does for four other U.S. territories. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Commerce agreed with this recommendation. As of August 2018, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) received initial funding for the remainder of FY18 and FY19 to begin producing economic statistics for Puerto Rico. BEA is currently in the process of meeting with the government and other stakeholders and building a work plan, with a kick-off expected in early FY19 and initial outputs anticipated in late FY19. In addition, BEA reported taking steps to develop a work plan to calculate GDP and review the economic and demographic data currently available from the federal government and Puerto Rico. Any short-term efforts to calculate GDP will rely heavily on data currently collected by the Puerto Rico government. Additional efforts beyond FY19 are contingent on resource availability.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics, should conduct a study on the feasibility of including Puerto Rico in its reporting of the Current Population Survey. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Commerce agreed with this recommendation. In June 2018, the Department noted that in Fall 2016, the Census Bureau and DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that an assessment of the feasibility of expanding the Current Population Survey (CPS) data products to include Puerto Rico would cost approximately $1.5 million over an 18-month period. Commerce understands that BLS, which funds the majority of the CPS, does not have the funds within its budget to conduct a feasibility study. Given these resources constraints, Census and BLS would also not be able to absorb the costs of collecting, analyzing and producing the data in the out years. As of June 2019, Commerce has coordinated with BLS regarding the related feasibility study required per House Report 115-704. We will close this recommendation when the study is begun.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor, in cooperation with the Commerce's Census Bureau, should conduct a study on the feasibility of including Puerto Rico in its reporting of the Current Population Survey. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: DOL noted that in 2016, Census and its Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that an assessment of the feasibility of expanding the Current Population Survey (CPS) data products to include Puerto Rico would cost approximately $1.5 million over an 18-month period (as of June 2018). BLS, which funds the majority of the CPS, does not have the funds within its budget to conduct a feasibility study. Given these resources constraints, BLS and Census would also not be able to absorb the costs of collecting, analyzing and producing the data in the out years. In June 2019, BLS reported that it is in contact with the Census Bureau with respect to the related feasibility study required per House Report 115-704. We will close this recommendation when BLS begins this study.