Recommendation: The Administrator of FEMA should work with regional emergency communications coordination working group members to reach consensus on and implement an ongoing mechanism to encourage nationwide collaboration across these groups, considering the costs of one or more suitable methods, such as a national-level working group that uses virtual or other means of coordination, as appropriate. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Status: Open

Comments: DHS concurred with our recommendation. DHS created a national RECCWG website as part of the Homeland Security Information Network in fall 2019, and began a phased roll-out of 10 regional sub-pages available to all RECCWG members can post content and share information on exercises and training. In August 2020 FEMA officials confirmed the national site and all 10 regional sites were operational. They said that briefings on how to use the website for the regions are ongoing. We will continue to follow up on DHS's actions to implement the recommendation.

Recommendation: To help NMFS and the Councils incorporate climate information into the fisheries management process and better manage climate-related risks, the Secretary of Commerce should direct NOAA's Assistant Administrator for Fisheries to, in finalizing the regional action plans for implementing the NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy, (1) incorporate the key attributes associated with successful performance measures in the final performance measures developed for the plans and (2) assess whether agency-wide performance measures may be needed to determine the extent to which the objectives of the Strategy overall are being achieved, and develop such measures, as appropriate, that incorporate the key attributes of successful performance measures.

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Commerce and NOAA agreed with this recommendation. In October 2019, NOAA provided GAO with a written update on actions taken in response to this recommendation, including the development of agency-wide metrics for the NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy. In September 2020, NOAA informed GAO that it plans to update the performance metrics for the regional action plans to include our key attributes in 2021. We will continue to monitor NOAA's progress on this effort and will review the updated performance metrics to assess the extent to which the agency has addressed our recommendation.

Recommendation: To better position the Coast Guard to effectively plan its Arctic operations, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should develop measures, as appropriate, for gauging how the agency's actions have helped to mitigate the Arctic capability gaps.

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2016, we reviewed and reported on the U.S. Coast Guard's efforts in the Arctic. We found that the Coast Guard had taken actions to implement its Arctic strategy and conduct Arctic operations, which may help the Coast Guard to better understand and mitigate identified Arctic capability gaps. Further, we found that the Coast Guard was tracking, or had plans to track, its various activities in the Arctic, but that it had not developed measures to systematically assess how its actions have helped to mitigate Arctic capability gaps. We recommended that the Coast Guard develop measures, as appropriate, for gauging how the agency's actions have helped to mitigate the Arctic capability gaps. Since that time, the Coast Guard updated its Arctic strategy in April 2019. In February 2020, Coast Guard officials stated that they are revising the implementation plan for its Arctic Strategy and are working on a framework tool to measure the impacts of its actions in the Arctic. According to Coast Guard officials, they expect the implementation plan to include actionable items that can be measured and the framework tool to include outcome and success measures. In July 2020, officials estimated that the implementation plan would be finalized by the end of fiscal year 2020. Further, the Coast Guard issued a contract in August 2019 to help develop the framework tool by the end of fiscal year 2020. Officials stated that the tool may require revisions before it is finalized and implemented and that throughout fiscal year 2021 they will test, evaluate, and adjust the framework tool, as appropriate. To fully address this recommendation, the Coast Guard will need to finalize the development of its measures to gauge how its actions have helped to mitigate Arctic capability gaps, which we will continue to monitor.

Recommendation: To better position the Coast Guard to effectively plan its Arctic operations, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should design and implement a process to systematically assess the extent to which actions taken agency-wide have helped mitigate the Arctic capability gaps for which it has responsibility.

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2016, we reviewed and reported on the U.S. Coast Guard's efforts in the Arctic. We found that the Coast Guard had taken actions to implement its Arctic strategy and conduct Arctic operations, which may help the Coast Guard to better understand and mitigate identified Arctic capability gaps. Further, we found that the Coast Guard was tracking, or had plans to track, its various activities in the Arctic, but that it had not systematically assessed how its actions have helped to mitigate Arctic capability gaps. We recommended that the Coast Guard design and implement a process to systematically assess the extent to which actions taken agency-wide have helped mitigate the Arctic capability gaps for which it has responsibility, so that it will better understand the status of these gaps and be better positioned to effectively plan its Arctic operations. Since that time, the Coast Guard updated its Arctic strategy in April 2019. In February 2020, Coast Guard officials stated that they are revising the implementation plan for its Arctic Strategy and are working on a framework tool to measure the impacts of its actions in the Arctic. Officials estimated that the implementation plan would be finalized by the end of fiscal year 2020. Further, the Coast Guard issued a contract in August 2019 to help develop the framework tool by the end of fiscal year 2020. Officials stated that the tool may require revisions before it is implemented and utilized for assessment of its progress. In July 2020, Coast Guard officials stated that they plan to test, evaluate, and adjust the framework tool, as appropriate, throughout fiscal year 2021. To fully address this recommendation, the Coast Guard will need to assess how its actions have helped to mitigate Arctic capability gaps, and provide documentation that identifies the progress it has made in helping to mitigate Arctic capability gaps and its plans to systematically assess progress, which we will continue to monitor.

Recommendation: To help federal, state, local, and private sector decision makers access and use the best available climate information, the Executive Office of the President should designate a federal entity to develop and periodically update a set of authoritative climate change observations and projections for use in federal decision making, which state, local, and private sector decision makers could also access to obtain the best available climate information.

Agency: Executive Office of the President
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, the Executive Office of the President has yet to take action in response to this recommendation.

Recommendation: To help federal, state, local, and private sector decision makers access and use the best available climate information, the Executive Office of the President should designate a federal entity to create a national climate information system with defined roles for federal agencies and nonfederal entities with existing statutory authority.

Agency: Executive Office of the President
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, the Executive Office of the President has yet to take action in response to this recommendation.

Recommendation: To strengthen formal collaboration efforts, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should direct the appropriate program offices, to develop a plan to ensure that data collected on the various programs of the agencies related to affordable housing and transit are sufficient to measure the agencies' performance toward goals and outcomes established in the HUD-FTA action plan and the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: On November 30, 2009, we received a response from HUD stating that actions were planned or underway to address this and the other recommendation in this report. As of July 2019, we are reviewing additional documentation provided by DOT and HUD on actions they have taken.

Recommendation: To strengthen formal collaboration efforts, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should direct the appropriate program offices, to develop a plan to ensure that data collected on the various programs of the agencies related to affordable housing and transit are sufficient to measure the agencies' performance toward goals and outcomes established in the HUD-FTA action plan and the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Transit Administration
Status: Open

Comments: On November 30, 2009, we received a response from HUD stating that actions were planned or underway to address this and the other recommendation in this report. As of July 2019, we are reviewing additional documentation provided by DOT and HUD on actions they have taken.