Reports & Testimonies

This Health Care Capsule summarizes our work on health care access in rural areas. Rural residents face several access challenges, including: Fewer health care providers, which limits access to specialized services Longer travel distances to get to health care and fewer transportation options than urban areas Less broadband internet, which limits access to telehealth services We've recommended that federal agencies learn more about the needs...

It's critical that the public receive alerts about destructive tsunamis. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sends tsunami alerts to the public via: Emergency broadcast messages on TV and radio Emergency texts on mobile devices Social media posts and website alerts NOAA has taken steps to improve how it alerts the public, such as updating its website to allow easy access to critical information during...

The Veterans Health Administration operates the nation's largest health care system. In recent years, VHA has had difficulty attracting and retaining enough staff to meet the growing health care needs of veterans. We testified about our recent work on VHA's workforce challenges, including: meeting staffing needs to manage referrals to health care providers outside of VHA recruiting and retaining mental health care staff to provide...

Noncompete agreements can restrict workers from seeking employment with a competitor or from starting a competing business. These agreements can help companies protect confidential information, but they can also lead to less job mobility and lower wages for workers. Employers have historically used these agreements for highly skilled workers and executives with access to trade secrets or other proprietary information. However, employers we surveyed reported...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Department of Labor outlines 11 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, we recommended that it examine and publicly report on the extent and potential causes of racial and ethnic inequities in the...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to USAID outlines the 2 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, one recommendation is for USAID to establish performance goals that will help it assess its progress on a global food security initiative. USAID...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Social Security Administration outlines 4 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, one of these recommendations would help SSA safeguard recipients' personal data by ensuring privacy officials are reviewing and approving protections for...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Environmental Protection Agency outlines 15 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, 4 of the recommendations would help EPA protect bodies of freshwater by monitoring, forecasting, and preventing algae overgrowths that can make...

Artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving technology that presents operational and workforce challenges for the federal government. We testified on our key practices for the responsible use of AI in federal agencies. The practices are organized around four principles—governance, data, performance, and monitoring. For example, "monitoring" calls for agencies to ensure AI systems remain reliable and relevant over time. Also, there is a severe shortage...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development outlines 11 open recommendations to prioritize. For example, HUD's "Point-in-Time" counts may underestimate the number of persons experiencing homelessness and may not accurately reflect changes in this population...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation outlines 20 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, in January 2023, we recommended that DOT develop a comprehensive strategy to safely integrate drones into the national airspace. DOT...

The Transition Assistance Program helps servicemembers choose a career, pursue higher education, or find a job after military service. The program tailors support to individuals' needs based on how prepared they are to enter civilian life. We testified that nearly 25% of servicemembers who needed maximum support didn't attend a mandatory 2-day class. And most servicemembers didn't start the program at least 1 year before...

Ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft connect passengers with drivers via mobile apps. Most ridesharing drivers use their personal vehicles. All passenger vehicles can be subject to recalls—when automakers notify car owners that certain repairs are needed for safety. Most drivers aren't legally required to fix recalled cars, and ridesharing passengers don't know the recall status of their rides. About 16% of ridesharing vehicles...

Each year, federal agencies award hundreds of billions of dollars in grants. After each grant ends, the awarding agency generally has 1 year to officially close out the grant. Until then, unspent funds from the grant can't be used for any other purpose. Grants that aren't closed out in time are considered "expired." Agencies must report on expired grants with unspent funds. However, some parts...

The Department of Transportation has established cybersecurity roles and responsibilities for officials that manage cybersecurity at agencies within the department. DOT's Chief Information Officer regularly communicates with staff about cyber threats, and provides cybersecurity tools and technical assistance. However, we found that DOT could improve how it implements cybersecurity policies. For example, DOT reviewed component agency cybersecurity programs for agencies within the department, but didn't...

DOD has been working to improve its long-standing financial management problems and achieve its goal of a "clean" audit opinion on its financial statements. A clean opinion is when auditors find that the statements are presented fairly and consistent with accounting principles. DOD has taken steps, such as developing corrective actions and roadmaps, to get to a clean audit opinion. But we found DOD's plans...

Stormwater, sewage, and agricultural runoff have polluted waters of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin for decades. From 2002 to 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded about $31 million for projects to help restore this basin by, for example, improving local sewer systems. EPA has a plan that describes restoration goals for this basin and projects that could help reach the goals. However, it doesn't have a...

The Coast Guard protects more than 100,000 miles of U.S. coastline and waterways. But the service has reported that it needs more staff and has missed recruiting targets for the past four years. This testimony covers our work on the Coast Guard's recruitment and retention challenges. The service may miss key opportunities to tackle these issues unless it implements plans to address future workforce needs...

The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for leading and coordinating the federal government's preparedness for and response to public health emergencies. We testified about our work from over a decade, which identified persistent, systemic problems with HHS's performance in this role. The issue was added to our High Risk List in January 2022. These problems affected the nation's response to COVID-19 and...

This testimony discusses our review of the March 2023 bank failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Risky business strategies, weak risk management practices, and weak liquidity drove the failures. Both banks grew rapidly from 2019-2021—which can signal risk. Further, the growth was fueled heavily by deposits that weren't federally insured. Federal regulators raised concerns about these risks with the banks but didn't take...