Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should: assess why reverse auctions that are conducted using existing contract vehicles have only one bidder at higher rates than reverse auctions conducted on the open market; determine what factors indicate that conducting reverse auctions is appropriate when using existing contract vehicles; and provide this information to contracting officials so that they can consider it when developing their acquisition strategies.(Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy
Status: Open

Comments: DOD agreed with this recommendation and stated that the department expected to complete actions to address it by the end of calendar year 2018. In August 2019, Navy officials told us that they had reviewed data on reverse auctions to determine a root cause of single bidders, and describing the factors that indicate that conducting a reverse auction are appropriate. However, they had not yet provided this information to contracting officials as of July 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should: document and provide information to contracting officials that describes available reverse auction providers and platforms, and any associated fee structures; and provide guidance, as appropriate, to contracting officials to ensure that they compare the options that are available to them when considering whether to use reverse auctions. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy
Status: Open

Comments: DOD agreed with this recommendation and stated that the department expected to complete actions to address it by the end of calendar year 2018. In August 2019, Navy officials stated that memorandum of understanding with reverse auction providers, including fee information, are distributed to contracting officials. However, as of August 2020, they had not provided us with evidence that they had distributed a memorandum related to the primary reverse auction provider currently used by the Navy.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission should designate a chief FOIA officer at the assistant secretary level or equivalent. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: American Battle Monuments Commission
Status: Open

Comments: American Battle Monument Commission (ABMC) officials stated they are working to implement GAO's recommendations by the end of fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission should update and publish comprehensive FOIA regulations that include requirements established by law and Justice guidance. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: American Battle Monuments Commission
Status: Open

Comments: American Battle Monument Commission (ABMC) officials stated they are working to implement GAO's recommendations. On February 18, 2020, ABMC published proposed revised FOIA regulations which are pending final rule in the Federal Register.

Recommendation: The Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors should update and publish comprehensive FOIA regulations that include requirements established by law and Justice guidance. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: U.S. Agency for Global Media
Status: Open

Comments: The U.S. Agency for Global Media (formally known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors) performed a comprehensive review of its FOIA regulations and updated its regulations in accordance with GAO's recommendation. The agency anticipates publishing proposed updates for notice and comment in spring 2020, followed by a final rule.

Recommendation: The Secretary of DHS should take steps to develop and document a plan that fully addresses best practices with regards to reduction of backlogged FOIA requests. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Status: Open

Comments: In April 2018, the Department of Homeland Security initiated a department-wide compliance assessment and stated that it plans to use the results of the assessment to help guide the department in identifying best practices and areas of improvement. The department does not have an estimate for when the plan will be complete.

Recommendation: The Secretary of DOI should take steps to develop and document a plan that fully addresses best practices with regards to reduction of backlogged FOIA requests. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2018, the Department of Interior informed GAO that the department has created a preliminary backlog reduction plan that includes expanding the use of automation tools, expanding the use of interim responses, and closing the Department's 10 oldest requests. Currently, GAO is awaiting a copy of the Department's backlog reduction plan.

Recommendation: The Chair of EEOC should designate a chief FOIA officer at the assistant secretary level or equivalent. (Recommendation 8)

Agency: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Status: Open

Comments: GAO is currently awaiting the agency's response to GAO recommendations..

Recommendation: The Chair of EEOC should take steps to develop and document a plan that fully addresses best practices with regards to reduction of backlogged FOIA requests. (Recommendation 9)

Agency: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Status: Open

Comments: GAO is currently awaiting the agency's response to GAO recommendations.

Recommendation: The Attorney General of the United States should take steps to develop and document a plan that fully addresses best practices with regards to reduction of backlogged FOIA requests. (Recommendation 11)

Agency: Department of Justice
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2018, the Department of Justice acknowledged that it plans to reexamine its progress and take steps for continued improvement in reducing its backlog. Currently, GAO is awaiting a response from the Department on a publication date.

Recommendation: The Administrator of NASA should provide agency records of final opinions online. (Recommendation 14)

Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2018, NASA agreed to provide agency records of final opinions online. NASA noted that final opinions will be provided online as they are issued and released for public posting. To date, the Department has not posted any final opinions.

Recommendation: The Chairman of NTSB should take steps to develop and document a plan that fully addresses best practices with regards to reduction of backlogged FOIA requests. (Recommendation 16)

Agency: National Transportation Safety Board
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2018, NTSB provided a plan that laid out tasks for reducing its backlog. The plan did not, however provide milestones or dates for when these tasks would be completed. GAO is currently waiting for the finalized backlog FOIA plan.

Recommendation: The Director of OMB should designate a chief FOIA officer at the assistant secretary level or equivalent. (Recommendation 18)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: GAO is currently awaiting the agency's response to GAO recommendations.

Recommendation: The Director of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation should designate a chief FOIA officer at the assistant secretary level or equivalent. (Recommendation 19)

Agency: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Status: Open

Comments: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation stated that it has designated the deputy director as the chief FOIA officer. It also noted that the director is at the Senior Level. However, this position is not equivalent to the assistant secretary level identified by GAO.

Recommendation: The President of TVA should ensure its FOIA tracking system is compliant with section 508 requirements. (Recommendation 22)

Agency: Tennessee Valley Authority
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2018, TVA provided a response to GAO's recommendation to ensure their FOIA tracking systems is compliant with section 508 requirements. TVA is currently performing an in-depth assessment of their tracking system to identify where updates can be made to ensure 508 compliance. TVA expects the assessment to be completed by the end of January 2020.

Recommendation: The President of the U.S. African Development Foundation should update and publish comprehensive FOIA regulations that inform a requester of limited unusual circumstances fees. (Recommendation 24)

Agency: African Development Foundation
Status: Open

Comments: U.S. African Development Foundation officials have stated that their FOIA regulations are currently under review and expect them to be published in the first half of calendar year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to establish and document a procedure for the destruction of records contained in electronic systems in accordance with approved disposition schedules. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, FSA stated they have addressed the recommendation, but it is still undergoing an internal review. Once we receive documentation, we will determine if it addresses the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to ensure staff receive records management training annually. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, FSA stated they have addressed the recommendation, but it is still undergoing an internal review. Once we receive documentation, we will determine if it addresses the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to conduct the triennial assessment of the FSA records management program. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, FSA stated they have addressed the recommendation, but it is still undergoing an internal review. Once we receive documentation, we will determine if it addresses the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to ensure that privacy impact assessments address all required elements. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, FSA stated they have addressed the recommendation, but it is still undergoing an internal review. Once we receive documentation, we will determine if it addresses the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to ensure that information security-related policies and procedures are reviewed at least annually, in accordance with FSA policy; updated as needed; and approved by security officials. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, FSA stated they have addressed the recommendation, but it is still undergoing an internal review. Once we receive documentation, we will determine if it addresses the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Education should update its regulation to include protections of personal information as an element of a school's ability to demonstrate its administrative capability. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, FSA stated they have addressed the recommendation, but it is still undergoing an internal review. Once we receive documentation, we will determine if it addresses the recommendation.

Recommendation: To provide clinicians and pharmacists with improved tools to support pharmacy services to veterans and reduce risks to patient safety, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and the Under Secretary for Health to establish and implement a plan for updating the pharmacy system to address the inefficiencies with viewing patient medication data in the Outpatient Pharmacy application and between the pharmacy application and viewers.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: VA concurred with our recommendation and in August 2017 stated that it had identified $4 million in fiscal year 2018 to establish a pharmacy graphical user interface. As of September 2020, VA was still in the process of implementing the pharmacy graphical user interface, which it estimated it would deploy in December 2020. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Recommendation: To provide clinicians and pharmacists with improved tools to support pharmacy services to veterans and reduce risks to patient safety, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and the Under Secretary for Health to complete a plan for the implementation of an approach to data standardization that will support the capability for clinicians and pharmacists to view complete DOD data and receive order checks that consistently include DOD data.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: VA concurred in principle with our recommendation and in May 2018 awarded a contract to implement the same electronic health record system that is being deployed by DOD, which is intended to present VA clinicians with complete DOD data and the ability to perform order checks on DOD data. In parallel, the department is continuing and expanding the implementation of data standardization. According to the department's September 2020 update, the agency had updated its pharmacy system to improve data standardization. However, the agency had not submitted sufficient documentation to close the recommendation. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Recommendation: To provide clinicians and pharmacists with improved tools to support pharmacy services to veterans and reduce risks to patient safety, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and the Under Secretary for Health to conduct an assessment to determine to what extent interoperability of VA's pharmacy system with DOD's pharmacy system is impacting transitioning service members.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: VA concurred with our recommendation and in May 2017 stated that the health executive committee would complete an assessment to determine the extent interoperability with DOD's pharmacy system is impacting transitioning service members. In October 2017, VA conducted an assessment, however it was limited to one part of its system, the Joint Legacy Viewer (JLV), and read-only data. In September 2020, the agency provided a written response to supplement its October 2017 assessment with additional data regarding the potential impact of failures of its system to exchange pharmacy and allergy data with DOD. However, VA had not submitted sufficient documentation to close the recommendation. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Recommendation: To provide clinicians and pharmacists with improved tools to support pharmacy services to veterans and reduce risks to patient safety, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and the Under Secretary for Health to develop and execute a plan for implementing the capability to send outbound e-prescriptions to non-VA pharmacies, in accordance with National Council for Prescription Drug Programs standards.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: VA concurred with our recommendation and in August 2017 stated that it will review its plan for e-prescribing functionality after it has signed a contract to adopt the electronic health record system that is being deployed by DOD. Although VA awarded the contract for the new electronic health record system in May 2018, VA had not submitted sufficient documentation to close the recommendation as of September 2020. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Recommendation: To provide clinicians and pharmacists with improved tools to support pharmacy services to veterans and reduce risks to patient safety, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and the Under Secretary for Health to ensure that the department's evaluation of alternatives for electronic health records includes consideration for additional generation level 3 capability such as navigating from an alert to medication order in the electronic health record system.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: VA concurred with our recommendation and in August 2017 stated that it had entered into contract negotiations to acquire and deploy a level 3 electronic health record system that is expected to address pharmacy functions. As of September 2020, the agency had not submitted sufficient documentation to close the recommendation. We will update the status of this recommendation when VA provides documentation of its evaluation of alternatives to us.

Recommendation: To provide clinicians and pharmacists with improved tools to support pharmacy services to veterans and reduce risks to patient safety, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and the Under Secretary for Health to reassess the priority for establishing an inventory management capability to monitor and update medication levels and track when to reorder medications.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: VA concurred with our recommendation and in August 2017 stated that it will reassess the prioritization of medication inventory management after a contract for adoption of the electronic health record system is signed. As of September 2020, VA had not submitted sufficient documentation to close the recommendation. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Recommendation: To ensure that DOD program managers have the necessary information to maintain complete visibility and accountability of ITEF-funded equipment in SCIP, the Secretary of Defense should identify the root causes, such as potential interoperability and data reporting issues within SCIP and other DOD data systems, for why DOD components are not ensuring that ITEF-funded equipment transportation dates are captured in SCIP.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of October 2019, DOD was in the process of developing a plan to address this recommendation. GAO is continuing to monitor DOD's progress in addressing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To ensure that DOD program managers have the necessary information to maintain complete visibility and accountability of ITEF-funded equipment in SCIP, the Secretary of Defense should develop an action plan with associated milestones and time frames for addressing the root causes for why DOD components are not ensuring that ITEF-funded equipment transportation dates are captured in SCIP.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of October 2019, DOD was in the process of developing a plan to address this recommendation. GAO is continuing to monitor DOD's progress in addressing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To ensure that DOD program managers have the necessary information to maintain complete visibility and accountability of ITEF-funded equipment in SCIP, the Secretary of Defense should develop written procedures that specify under which data field ITEF-funded equipment transfer dates should be captured in the Enhanced Freight Tracking System in SCIP.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. The department commented that the relevant organizations have most, if not all, of the written procedures that are necessary for reporting these dates in the Enhanced Freight Tracking System. However, it would coordinate with all interested parties to update these procedures if needed. As of October 2019, GAO was continuing to monitor DOD's progress in addressing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To ensure that DOD program managers have the necessary information to maintain complete visibility and accountability of ITEF-funded equipment in SCIP, the Secretary of Defense should update the 1st Theater Sustainment Command's (1st TSC) written standard operating procedures to include the 1st TSC commander's verbal order requiring the inclusion of unique equipment case identifier information for ITEF-funded equipment on transfer documentation.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of October 2019, DOD officials said they had updated the 1st TSC's written standard operating procedures to include the 1st TSC's commander's verbal order, and GAO was in the process of obtaining documentation of these changes.

Recommendation: To determine how the use of RRCs and home confinement contribute to its goal of helping inmates successfully reenter society, and to better enable BOP to adjust its policies and procedures for the optimal use of these alternatives, as necessary and within statutory requirements, the Director of BOP should develop performance measures by which to help assess program outcomes.

Agency: Department of Justice: Bureau of Prisons
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2017, BOP reported that it developed a revised Statement of Work (SOW) for use with its RRC contractors that requires the contractors to track and report to BOP on, among other things, the number of placements into and releases from RRCs and home confinement; revocations from RRCs or home confinement; and RRC and home confinement residents that have secured full, part-time, or temporary employment. In a March 2019 update, BOP stated that it awarded nine contracts under the 2017 SOW and plans to use the data required under the SOW to conduct annual performance appraisals for RRCs after each performance period and intends to use this information in the future to track outcomes of the programs (e.g., employment, housing, individualized goals of offender). In a May 2020 update, BOP stated that that it had just received the first quarter of data from many of its RRC providers and that it continues to work with the providers to refine the data to determine if it can be utilized to develop performance measures. BOP stated that it anticipates being able to provide an update on this phase of their effort in September 2020. While the collection of this data is an important step, to fully implement this recommendation, BOP also needs to define and develop performance measures by which it can use such data to report and assess outcomes program-wide. We will continue to monitor BOP's ongoing efforts.

Recommendation: To better ensure agencies fulfill their requirements, including implementing IQA guidelines and helping to promote easier public access to IQA information on agency websites, the Director of OMB should consolidate and centralize on OMB's IQA guidance website a government-wide summary of requests for correction submitted under the IQA.

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: According to OMB, during the last two years OIRA has significantly improved the ease of access to and findability of documents on OMB's information quality website. OMB says it has a number of additional improvements in progress. We have requested information on those additional improvements. We will continue to monitor OMB's efforts related to this recommendation.

Recommendation: To better ensure agencies fulfill their requirements, including implementing IQA guidelines and helping to promote easier public access to IQA information on agency websites, the Director of OMB should work with the Department of Defense and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to help ensure that they post their IQA administrative mechanisms and IQA guidance online.

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: According to OMB, it worked with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to improve the accessibility of their Information Quality Act guidance. In addition, OMB stated that FHFA took it upon themselves to update their guidelines. OMB has not provided any information regarding its work with DOD in this area. We will continue to monitor OMB's efforts related to this recommendation.

Recommendation: To better ensure agencies fulfill their requirements, including implementing IQA guidelines and helping to promote easier public access to IQA information on agency websites, the Director of OMB should provide additional guidance for agencies to help improve the transparency and usability of their IQA websites to help ensure the public can easily find and access online information about agency IQA implementation. Such guidance should include (1) specific time frames for agencies to post information on the IQA correction requests they have received, including making it clear when agencies have not received IQA requests; (2) instructions for agencies to include a statement on their IQA websites that the agencies may address correction requests through other administrative processes; (3) instructions for agencies to include, when responding to correction requests, whether those agencies plan to address the request through another administrative processes, and if so, which process they will use; and (4) suggestions for improving usability of agencies' websites including fixing broken links.

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: According to OMB, in conjunction with its annual data call, the agency has and will continue to provide guidance to agencies about improving the transparency and usability of their websites, including the need to update broken links. In addition OMB issued M-19-15, designed to address a number of related and additional implementation concerns, including transparency and procedural improvements. OMB's guidance to date has not included specific items as specified in the recommendation. We will continue to monitor OMB's efforts related to this recommendation.

Recommendation: To ensure effective management and modernization of HUD's IT environment, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should direct the department's Chief Information Officer to define the scope, implementation strategy, and schedule of its overall modernization approach, with related goals and measures for effectively overseeing the effort.

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: In July 2018, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) reported that the goal of the Chief Technology Officer's technical assessment of HUD's IT environment was to identify gaps and develop an implementation strategy and approach to establish a modernization roadmap. As of March 2020, OCIO reported that it had completed the technical assessment to identify gaps in IT. The department has also taken action to define an overall modernization approach, including the scope, implementation strategy, and schedule for modernizing its IT environment and systems. However, as of March 2020, HUD had not yet established measures for overseeing its modernization efforts.

Recommendation: In light of the agency's declining revenue associated with its basic statutory function and the charging for information that is often freely available elsewhere, Congress should consider examining the appropriateness and viability of the fee-based model under which NTIS currently operates for disseminating technical information to determine whether the use of this model should be continued.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: Congress had taken a number of actions that affect the NTIS fee-based model for disseminating technical information. Specifically, for the past 5 fiscal years and in the current Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, NTIS is prohibited from charging customers for reports generated by legislative branch offices unless the agency tells the customer how an electronic copy of the report can be accessed or downloaded for free online. The act further states that, if a customer still requires such a report from NTIS, the agency should not charge more than what is needed to recover the cost of processing, reproducing, and delivering the document requested. It remains to be seen whether these requirements will be continued under the yet to be introduced House and Senate bills making appropriations for the Department of Commerce (Commerce) for fiscal year 2021. Congress again has the opportunity to consider legislation that would ensure the assessment of the appropriateness or viability of NTIS functions.

Recommendation: To better ensure the credibility of IRIS assessments by enhancing their timeliness and certainty, the EPA Administrator should require the Office of Research and Development, should different time frames be necessary, to establish a written policy that clearly describes the applicability of the time frames for each type of IRIS assessment and ensures that the time frames are realistic and provide greater predictability to stakeholders.

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: As of March 2020, we have not seen a formal written memo from the IRIS program laying out this information - in detail - publicly, or how timelines for assessments are influenced by various criteria. While IRIS program staff have discussed this issue, no written guidance has been created. Such communication from the IRIS Program, as well as more frequent updates of the timelines for chemicals currently in assessment and projected starting dates for every chemical listed as "under assessment" is needed.

Recommendation: To ensure that current and accurate information on chemicals that EPA plans to assess through IRIS is available to IRIS users--including stakeholders such as EPA program and regional offices, other federal agencies, and the public--the EPA Administrator should direct the Office of Research and Development to annually publish the IRIS agenda in the Federal Register each fiscal year.

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open

Comments: As of March 2020, EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program has established the priority chemicals it is working on, and has published some timelines via the IRIS Program Outlook document. However, this information has not been published as an agenda in the Federal Register.

Recommendation: To help ensure that CFTC and SEC are strategically positioned to implement the joint report's recommendations and address remaining harmonization opportunities, as CFTC and SEC continue to develop the charter for the Joint Advisory Committee, the Chairmen of CFTC and SEC should take steps to establish, with associated time frames, clearer goals for future harmonization efforts and requirements for reporting and evaluating progress toward these goals. Specifically, the agencies could benefit from formalizing a plan to assess implementation of the joint report's recommendations and harmonization opportunities that may not have been fully addressed by the joint report, such as differences in market structure and investor definitions. Such a plan could include goals for future harmonization efforts, such as time frames for implementing the recommendations; assessment of whether remaining differences in statutes and regulations result in inconsistent regulation of similar products and entities that could lead to opportunities for regulatory arbitrage; and periodic reports to Congress on their progress, including the implementation and impact of the recommendations.

Agency: Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2018, the CFTC and SEC Chairmen signed an updated version of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) originally signed in 2008. The new MOU created an updated framework for information sharing to make it easier for the two agencies to share information. A CFTC official noted that the MOU underscored two agencies' commitment to addressing harmonization efforts. In addition, CFTC officials identified examples of harmonization areas where CFTC and SEC have made some additional progress. This recommendation remains open until CFTC identifies steps taken to create a plan for assessing progress on working with SEC on remaining harmonization opportunities.

Recommendation: Given the increasing extent of business travel to the U.S. and the eroding effect of inflation, Congress may wish to consider raising the amount of U.S. income paid by a foreign employer that is exempt from tax for nonresidents who meet the other conditions of the exemption.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, Congress has not raised the amount of U.S. income paid by a foreign employer that is exempt from tax for nonresidents who meet the other conditions of the exemption.

Recommendation: Given the difficulty of enforcing the requirement for aliens to obtain certificates of compliance--sailing permits--before departing the country and the existence of withholding requirements and tax treaties, Congress may wish to consider eliminating the sailing permit requirement.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, Congress has not eliminated the sailing permit requirement.

Recommendation: The Congress may wish to consider broadening IRS's ability to use math error authority (MEA), with appropriate safeguards against misuse of that authority.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: Congress has expanded IRS's math error authority in certain circumstances, but not as broadly as we suggested in February 2010. Section 208 of division Q of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114-113 enacted in December 2015) gave IRS the authority to use math error authority if (1) a taxpayer claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, or the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) during the period in which a taxpayer is not permitted to claim such credit as a consequence of either having made a prior fraudulent or reckless claim; or (2) a taxpayer omitted information required to be reported because the taxpayer made prior improper claims of the Child Tax Credit or the AOTC. In addition, Congress expanded math error authority for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit in November 2009. While expanding math error authority is consistent with what we suggested in February 2010, we maintain that a broader authorization of math error authority with appropriate controls would enable IRS to correct obvious noncompliance, would be less intrusive and burdensome to taxpayers than audits, and would potentially help taxpayers who underclaim tax benefits to which they are entitled. If Congress decides to extend broader math error authority to IRS, controls may be needed to ensure that this authority is used properly such as requiring IRS to report on its use of math error authority. The Administration also requested that Congress expand IRS's math error authority as part of the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2021. Specifically, the Administration requested authority to correct a taxpayer's return in the following circumstances: 1) the information provided by the taxpayer does not match the information contained in government databases; 2) the taxpayer has exceeded the lifetime limit for claiming a deduction or credit; or 3) the taxpayer has failed to include with his or her return certain documentation that is required by statute. As of January 2020, the Congress had not provided IRS with such authority. We continue to believe that Congress should broaden IRS's math error authority with appropriate safeguards in order to help reduce the tax gap, which is the difference between tax amounts that taxpayers should have paid and what they actually paid .

Recommendation: To improve compliance with shareholder basis rules, Congress may wish to require S corporations to calculate and report shareholder's stock and debt basis as completely as possible. S corporations would report the calculation on the Schedule K-1 and send it to shareholders as well as IRS. If Congress judges that stock purchase price information that is currently only available to shareholders should not be transmitted to the S corporation due to privacy concerns, an alternative is to require that S corporations report less complete basis calculations using information already available to the S corporation.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, Congress had not enacted legislation to require S corporations--a federal business type that provides certain tax benefits like passing income and losses to shareholders' individual returns-- to calculate and report shareholder's stock and debt basis as completely as possible and report the calculation to shareholders and IRS, as GAO suggested in December 2009.

Recommendation: To help DOD obtain reasonable assurance that all active and Reserve component servicemembers to whom the PDHRA requirement applies are provided the opportunity to have their health concerns identified, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and the military services should take steps to ensure that PDHRA questionnaires are included in DOD's central repository for each of these servicemembers.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: In its comments to this report, the Department of Defense (DOD) concurred with this recommendation. On October 2009, DOD's Force Health Protection and Response Office sent a memo to each of the military service Surgeons General emphasizing the need for the post-deployment health reassessment (PDHRA) to be offered to all service members who are eligible to complete the assessment. In 2010, DOD's noted that the services would work with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC) repository to ensure PDHRAs are submitted correctly, without transmission errors. DOD's 2011 case records showed that the Air Force and Army had developed data verification processes to ensure that AFHSC received PDHRAs. Further, the Defense Medical Data Center (DMDC) had planed to create a file consisting of the date of deployment for deployed personnel, and that the file would be available to the services in order to match DMDC with data from each of the service-specific systems, in accordance to requirements. In September 2011, although DMDC and the services had agreed to match rosters of deployed service members, there were still inconsistencies in deployment dates. In March 2012, DOD was still verifying data inconsistencies which, until resolved, leads to inaccurate reporting based on errors in the deployment dates. As of September 2019, DOD has not provided information or documentation to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: To develop timely chemical risk information that EPA needs to effectively conduct its mission, the Administrator, EPA, should require the Office of Research and Development to re-evaluate its draft proposed changes to the IRIS assessment process in light of the issues raised in this report and ensure that any revised process periodically assesses the level of resources that should be dedicated to this significant program to meet user needs and maintain a viable IRIS database.

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: As of February 2020, EPA officials indicated that the IRIS Program had almost completed internal review of a "Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments," intended to guide staff through the sequential stages of the IRIS assessment process and ensure consistency across assessments. The Handbook, when finalized and used by staff, codifies the agency's effort to reevaluate their assessment process, but doesn't address the resources that should be dedicated to the IRIS Program. A workforce plan that includes both staff and budget resources consistent with user needs is necessary. As we reported in March 2019, the program has made strides utilizing project management software and project management techniques that enable the IRIS Program to better plan assessment schedules and utilize staff. However, we also reported in March 2019 that the President's budget requests since fiscal year 2018 have repeatedly cut the budget by as much as 40 percent for the Health and Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA) area, of which IRIS is a part. While these cuts were not enacted by Congress, the President's fiscal year 2021 budget request again cuts the HERA program by 34 percent, or approximately $12.7 million dollars. These cuts could have an impact on the IRIS program's ability to meet EPA program and regional office needs, if enacted by Congress.