Reports & Testimonies

From FYs 2017-2021, Veterans Affairs spent over $25 billion on IT products and services, including efforts to update its electronic health records system. Long-standing problems with IT acquisitions is one reason VA is on our High Risk list. Over the same period, VA awarded more dollars in IT contracts annually to fewer contractors. The growth in IT contract dollars was due in part to VA's...

Hurricanes and wildfires affected millions of people in the U.S. and its territories in 2017 and 2018—and the U.S. government provided billions of dollars in grants to help with recovery efforts. But funding for housing activities—such as home repairs—has been slow to reach affected communities. As of July 2022, states and territories that received the vast majority of the grants had disbursed only 28% of...

Can gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and other barriers explain why women make up less than 10% of special operations forces? U.S. Special Operations Command may not have the information needed to fully assess barriers affecting women's careers in the command. For example, the command doesn't have full access to timely, complete data on its assigned personnel, including incidents of discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault. Collaborating...

The federal government annually spends more than $100 billion on IT and cyber investments—many of which have been ineffectively managed. Congress passed laws to address these issues, including provisions such as the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). We testified that, since 2015, Congress has issued scorecards to monitor agencies' implementation of FITARA and key IT topics. The scorecards have evolved and served as...

From June 2020 through December 2021, nursing homes faced many separate COVID-19 outbreaks, with the average outbreak lasting 4 weeks. We found that certain factors increased the likelihood that a nursing home would have a longer outbreak. Specifically, transmission of COVID-19 in the community surrounding a nursing home had the strongest association, with nursing homes located in areas with high transmission more likely to have...

A majority of Americans are covered by private health insurance plans. Health plans set up provider networks—contracted doctors, other providers, and facilities—to provide medical care to enrollees. A provider network is considered "inadequate" if it doesn't have enough providers for enrollees to receive timely care nearby. Inadequate networks may lead enrollees to seek higher-cost care from out-of-network providers. Most states said they review plans for...

Over 40 million people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as "food stamps," to buy food. Benefits are based on the Thrifty Food Plan, which estimates how much it would cost a family of 4 to eat a healthy diet on a budget. In response to COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expedited a planned update to the Thrifty Food Plan...

Through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Treasury provided $33 billion to 3 federal programs to help prevent home foreclosures. We reviewed the status of these programs. The Hardest Hit Fund ended in March 2022. The Short Refinance program is slated to wind down by the end of 2022. The Making Home Affordable (MHA) program is slated to wind down by early 2024. Treasury has already...

In 2008, Congress required the Department of Justice to create and implement a national strategy to combat the exploitation of children. The strategy must be updated every 2 years, led by an appointed senior official, and include 19 specific elements, such as setting measurable goals. But in the past 14 years, 9 detailees have rotated through the national coordinator position. DOJ has only issued a...

Federal agencies need services like payroll and IT to support their work, and they can save money by sharing those services with other agencies. The Department of Commerce's Working Capital Fund finances some of these shared services. Since our last review in 2011, Commerce has taken many steps to more effectively manage the Fund. For example, it established performance standards for service providers. But it...

Since 2003, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has provided over $100 billion for combating HIV/AIDS and saved an estimated 20 million lives. The State Department oversees about $6 billion a year in program spending across U.S. agencies in over 50 countries. Agencies have said that State's top-down culture and complex planning process have hampered program implementation. State has announced significant changes to improve...

The Transition Assistance Program helps servicemembers choose a career, pursue higher education or entrepreneurship, or find a job after military service. The program tailors support to individuals' needs based on how prepared they are to enter civilian life. But 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...

Commercial satellite imagery and data can play a key role in national security. For example, the war in Ukraine has drawn attention to how governments are using commercial satellites to track troop movement and the impact of attacks. The commercial space industry is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and therefore may be able to address more of the federal government's imagery needs...

Scientists are developing advances in battery technologies to meet increasing energy storage needs for the electric power grid and electric vehicle use. Efforts are underway to replace components of widely used lithium-ion batteries with more cost-effective, sustainable, and safe materials. Advances in longer duration storage technologies, such as flow batteries, also have the potential to help integrate renewable energy sources for electricity generation and reduce...

In 1998, terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed hundreds and injured thousands of people. In December 2020, Congress enacted the Sudan Claims Resolution Act, requiring the State Department to compensate certain victims and their families. State verified that 78 people were eligible for compensation under the terms of the act, such as being U.S. citizens and involvement in certain lawsuits related...

DOD spends $90 billion a year to keep ground systems, ships, and aircraft combat-ready using scheduled maintenance or waiting until things break to fix them. Using predictive maintenance based on data analysis could allow personnel to avoid doing work too soon—and prevent accidents. DOD told the military services to begin using predictive maintenance 20 years ago, but they made limited progress until recently. Also, DOD...

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is required to help incarcerated people obtain ID documents, such as driver's licenses, before their release. ID documents may help them to secure housing or work when they reenter society. The Bureau is collecting data on the number of people leaving prison with ID documents. But that data has often been incomplete or inconsistent, making it difficult for the Bureau...

Climate change has led to record low levels of ice in the U.S. Arctic region—prolonging the maritime shipping season and opening up shipping routes. But Arctic conditions are harsh and volatile, and a lack of maritime infrastructure poses safety risks. We testified that the White House and Coast Guard have strategies to address the infrastructure gaps but the strategies don't include ways to measure the...

We have issued several reports since 2017 reviewing the share of women and different racial/ethnic groups in the financial services industry, challenges associated with recruiting and retaining diverse staff, and practices to expand opportunities. We testified about these reports and how the financial services industry is addressing challenges and expanding opportunities. For instance firms are: assessing data on the diversity of their employees conducting targeted...

The ways colleges present cost and aid information in their financial aid offers vary—making it difficult for students to compare offers and assess college affordability. According to best practices, colleges should estimate the net price—how much a student will pay to attend that college—by deducting only grants and scholarships from all key costs like tuition, books, housing, and meals. But about 91% of colleges understate...