Reports & Testimonies

The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space manages the International Space Station National Laboratory for NASA. Some companies and universities not affiliated with NASA may want access to the lab for research that can't be done on Earth. The Center allocates resources, such as time astronauts may spend on these research projects. Recently, the Center formed an advisory committee of these users to...

The government spends billions on services every year (such as consulting and engineering services) using various types of contracts. We looked at the government's use of two contract types that are considered higher-risk because contractors bill by the hour. With hourly billing, contractors could conceivably work less efficiently in order to charge more hours. From FYs 2017-2021, the government spent $139 billion on these contracts...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, historic job losses and demand for benefits worsened existing problems in the unemployment insurance system. Millions of workers faced delays in receiving benefits while the risk of payment errors, including those resulting from fraud, greatly increased. The Labor Department estimates that payment errors rose from 9.2% of payments to 18.9% ($78.1 billion) from FYs 2020 to 2021. We see an urgent...

To respond to historic job losses during the pandemic, a temporary federal program expanded unemployment benefits to typically-ineligible contingent workers and others. Issues ramping up the new program to meet urgent, immense demand meant some claimants went months without income. We also found racial disparities in who received benefits in 3 of 4 states we analyzed, e.g., Black applicants were half as likely to obtain...

U.S. Border Patrol's immigration checkpoints operate 25 to 100 miles inland from the borders. At checkpoints, agents screen vehicles to identify people in the U.S. unlawfully and they may enforce U.S. criminal laws, such as by seizing illegal drugs. Agents are required to collect data on checkpoint activity, including how many smuggled people are apprehended and how many drug seizures were made using canines. However...

Some U.S. global health funding goes to family planning and reproductive health services. A U.S. policy change and the COVID-19 pandemic affected these services. From 2017-2021, to receive U.S. funds, foreign nongovernmental organizations had to agree not to perform or promote abortion. Effects of this policy included: Disrupted access to services while USAID looked for replacements for 2 large NGOs that declined to comply Reduced...

Women's participation is a key driver of economic growth. But women may face barriers to participation—violence, restricted rights, and more. Trade agreements can help empower women to participate in economies. A small but growing number of U.S. and other countries' trade agreements contain gender-specific provisions. Less than half of U.S. Free Trade Agreements, and 7 of 62 U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreements, include provisions...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help improve the federal government. We alert department heads to where they can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve government operations. This report outlines our 56 priority open recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services, as of May 2022. For example, the Food and Drug Administration...

We reviewed the Air Force's process for identifying the preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters. We assessed the process against 21 "Analysis of Alternatives" best practices, which can help increase transparency and avoid the presence or appearance of bias. The practices are grouped into four characteristics of a high-quality analysis: comprehensive, well-documented, unbiased, and credible. We found that the Air Force's process did not...

The World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) provides low-interest loans and grants to the poorest countries. IDA has traditionally financed its operations primarily through contributions from donors (such as the U.S.) and loan repayments. In 2018, IDA began borrowing from capital markets to raise additional funds, which increased its financial risks. However, the potential for IDA borrowers to default on their loans remains the largest...

The Global Food Security Strategy calls for a whole-of-government approach to reducing global hunger and food insecurity. The U.S. Agency for International Development coordinates with other agencies to fulfill this goal. In the 4 countries we selected for our review, agencies reported many ways of coordinating assistance with each other and key stakeholders. But we found their coordination could be improved. For example, the agencies...

Millions of Americans lost jobs and employer-sponsored health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Short-term insurance was one option for them. We found that there hasn't been enough data collected about short-term plans to understand the role they played during the pandemic. Short-term plans, which may feature lower premiums, generally are not subject to federal health insurance requirements, such as pre-existing condition coverage. Some stakeholders said...

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to disrupt learning for millions of students during the 2020-21 school year. However, our nationwide survey of public K-12 teachers showed that certain student populations were more likely to face significant obstacles to learning in a virtual environment. For example: Teachers with mostly high-poverty students were more likely to report that their students lacked an appropriate workspace. Teachers with at least...

Broadband internet is increasingly critical for work, school, shopping, and other parts of daily life. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the "digital divide" and the disadvantages for people who don't have access. In its efforts to expand broadband access, the federal government has subsidized investment in rural areas that haven't attracted private investment. We identified over 100 federal programs—administered by 15 agencies—that could be used to...

The Army estimates that 40,000 soldiers were sexually harassed and 6,700 soldiers were sexually assaulted in 2018. However, only a fraction of them reported their experiences. We found that the Army's program for preventing and resolving sexual harassment and sexual assault needs to be improved. For example, the Army hasn't consolidated its policies for sexual harassment and assault prevention and response. It also hasn't assessed...

The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act requires some federal contractors to take affirmative action to employ and promote certain veterans—such as those with disabilities and those who served in particular wars. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs helps contractors comply with the law. For example, it provides information on veteran recruitment. However, it doesn't include key practices such as how to write veteran-friendly...

The Congressional Award Foundation is a privately-funded charity established by Congress that recognizes American youth for their public service, personal development, physical fitness, and exploration of other cultures or the wilderness. The Foundation is required to have its financial statements audited each year, and we are required to review those audits. The Foundation's auditor issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on its FY 2021 and 2020...

Companies increasingly use numeric scores to predict how consumers will behave. Scores are based on hundreds of pieces of information about a person's purchases, consumer characteristics, and more. Scores are used to target ads, to help companies collect debts from consumers, to assess the likelihood of criminal behavior and flight risk, and more. Unlike traditional credit scores, these scores may not be subject to consumer...

The Coast Guard invests millions of dollars each year in "non-major" IT acquisition programs—those with assets totaling less than $300 million. When designating an IT program as non-major, acquisition staff consider 8 factors, including technical risks and legal concerns. They rank potential risks as low, medium, or high, but Coast Guard guidance doesn't define what constitutes such risk levels. As a result, the Coast Guard...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help improve the federal government. We alert department heads to where they can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve government operations. This report outlines our 2 priority open recommendations for the U.S. Agency for International Development as of May 2022. For example, in August 2021, we recommended that...