Reports & Testimonies

The Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the nation's only facility for disposal of certain defense-related nuclear waste. Its operations were reduced after accidents in 2014. Improved ventilation would allow full operations but construction of a new ventilation system has run into major cost increases and delays. DOE identified the primary root causes of these problems as contractor inexperience and...

Starting in January 2020, presidential executive actions restricted international air travel from certain countries and mandated face masks on transportation systems due to COVID-19. In response, the Transportation Security Administration coordinated with other federal agencies and industry stakeholders to develop and issue directives. For example, TSA worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate incidents involving non-masked passengers. Of the more than 3,800 incidents investigated...

This report is the sixth in a series on the Census Bureau's 2020 Census activities. It includes information on operations since our Dec. 2020 report, such as the release of redistricting data, ongoing work to assess the quality of the data collected, and plans for protecting the privacy of respondent data. For example, the Bureau implemented a new method to protect the privacy of respondent...

The VA allows eligible veterans to receive care from community providers when they face challenges accessing care at VA medical facilities. The VA is still responsible for ensuring that these community providers are qualified and competent. However, the VA may have mistakenly allowed some ineligible community providers to participate in this program. For instance, we found 1,600 potentially ineligible providers in VA's system—including some who...

Indian country contains oil, gas, and coal as well as potential for wind and solar energy development. Multiple federal and tribal agencies are involved in regulating development of these resources and distributing royalty payments. We previously reported that the Bureau of Indian Affairs' inefficient management of these resources has hindered development. In 2015, the Indian Energy Service Center was established to improve collaboration and management...

The Indian Health Service delivers health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Much of IHS facilities' funding comes from third-party collections—payments for patients' medical care received from public programs (such as Medicare) or from private insurers. IHS relies on these funds to procure medical supplies and services needed for its operations. IHS's facilities report data on their collections to IHS headquarters twice a year...

Together, the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security and NASA invest hundreds of billions of dollars each year to develop and deliver a wide range of systems, from stealth jets to lunar rovers. Leading companies rely on certain principles to ensure product development success. But we found that these federal agencies aren't generally required to meet such principles. For example, DOD's policies don't require acquisition...

Natural disasters in the U.S. have caused an average of almost $150 billion in damages per year over the past five years. These costs are likely to rise as the climate changes, creating a key source of federal fiscal exposure (see our High Risk List). We testified that applying the 3 principles in our Disaster Resilience Framework—information, integration, and incentives—can help promote climate resilience. For...

The Office of Management and Budget manages a government-wide effort to optimize and consolidate federal data centers. In FY 2020, 24 agencies planned to close a total of 46 data centers—and ended up closing 96, saving $875.10 million. However, these agencies reported mixed progress meeting their goals to optimize their existing data centers (such as reducing the number of underutilized servers), due to technical and...

This is our 7th annual assessment of cost and schedule goals for the Department of Homeland Security's major acquisition programs. We reviewed 23 programs with approved baselines—which establish how the system being acquired will perform, when it will be delivered, and what it will cost. We found that 20 were meeting their cost and schedule goals by the end of fiscal year 2021. The other...

Medicare adjusts the amount it pays for physician services based on the geographic area where a physician works. Specifically, Medicare will pay more for a physician's service in an area where approximate costs for a physician's time, skills, and effort are higher than the national average and less in an area where costs are lower. We found that Medicare's payment system generally does a good...

Low-income, less-educated, and minority households are less likely to have bank accounts—which are essential for households' financial well-being. People have cited high fees, minimum balance requirements, and other reasons why they don't have bank accounts. Federal agencies have worked to increase banking access. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation piloted a public awareness campaign on the benefits of bank accounts. Are these agencies' efforts...

U.S. Capitol Police officers protect Congress, including members, staff, visitors, and facilities. The January 6th attack on the Capitol raised concerns about their preparation to respond to violent demonstrations. We surveyed officers who were working the day of the attack. They provided their perspectives on use of force, training, and other issues. The U.S. Capitol Police took some actions to better prepare officers after the...

VA provides health care to a veteran population that is growing older and more diverse. These demographic shifts will drive changes in veterans' needs. How is VA preparing to meet those needs? VA is trying to identify potential ways to realign its medical facilities by assessing 96 health care markets nationwide. Our review of VA's assessments to date found more information was needed to determine...

American Indians and Alaska Natives have worse health outcomes than the general U.S. population—such as a life expectancy that is 5.5 years shorter than the U.S. average. To provide public health support, Congress established tribal epidemiology centers and authorized their access to data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services. However, we found that the 12 centers had varying access to HHS's data...

The internet is a vast system of interconnected networks used by billions of people. Its architecture—the backbone of the internet—is owned and governed by organizations around the world. No one organization is responsible for its policy, operation, or security. Generally, internet architecture is considered resilient, in part because of its decentralized nature. But reports we reviewed and subject matter experts have identified risks to key...

Every 2 years, we update our High Risk List of federal programs and operations vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement, or needing broad reform. Working on the problems we've flagged has saved more than $626 billion for the government over FYs 2006–2021. We often get asked what agencies can do to get off the list. In this report, we discuss cases in which agencies...

How many people in the U.S. have developed "long COVID"? It could be in the range of 7.7–23 million, some estimates say. We discuss what is and isn't known about long COVID—new, returning, or ongoing health problems 4 or more weeks after an initial case of COVID-19. For example, some people with the condition experience chronic fatigue and have to stop working, which can affect...

To avoid worsening a dispute between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia, U.S. law generally restricts assistance to the government of Azerbaijan. However, the President may waive this restriction by certifying that the assistance is necessary and won't hamper peace efforts between the two countries. The State Department, which makes these certifications, must report the assistance annually to Congress. But we found State didn't provide Congress with...

Even before the pandemic, virtual public school enrollment was growing—mostly in virtual charter schools. Compared to students in brick-and-mortar public schools, 2018-2019 data shows that a lower percentage of virtual school students took state achievement tests, and their scores were significantly lower. Also, Education officials said the virtual environment makes it harder to monitor attendance. Certain federal funds are allocated using attendance data, so there's...