We make more than 1,000 recommendations annually to help improve government. We alert department heads to the recommendations that can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve their operations. This report outlines our 55 priority open recommendations for HHS as of April 2020. For example, HHS should work with its interagency biodefense team to document...

CRISPR is a gene editing technology that allows scientists to make specific, targeted changes to DNA. Scientists are using CRISPR to develop treatments for medical conditions, including blindness and some cancers, as well as to create tests to rapidly identify COVID-19 and other infections. CRISPR may also be used to strengthen crops, develop new biofuels, and more. As with any gene editing tech...

A December 2019 outbreak of a new coronavirus, COVID-19, has seen a high infection rate and a mortality rate of about 3%, as of February 2020. Coronaviruses are most commonly transmitted by coughing, sneezing, person-to-person contact, and touching objects that have viral particles on them, according to CDC. The best prevention is washing hands with soap and avoiding close contact with the sick a...

People whose disabilities keep them from working can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance. People who claim these benefits may also be on prescription opioids for chronic pain. Opioids are addictive and can be misused. Social Security staff must deny claims if claimants who stopped using drugs or alcohol would be employable. Staff in 5 of 6 offices we visited were confused about when to...

Researchers often use animals to study disease, test product safety, experiment, or teach. Some uses cause animals pain or distress. Federal agencies require researchers to consider alternatives to animal use, such as computer modeling or working with cell cultures. The Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies have developed animal use alternatives and collaborate on these effor...

Federal agencies must treat research animals humanely in their quest to answer scientific questions. As a check on their practices, the agencies must submit data about their animal use to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the National Institutes of Health. Concerned members of the public seek data on animal use to help ensure humane treatment. We found that agencies publi...

Tens of thousands of American Indians and Alaska Natives do not have safe drinking water or wastewater disposal in their homes, which may negatively affect their health. We found that the Indian Health Service (and other federal agencies that fund tribal water projects) spent about $370 million on these projects in 2016. However, they didn't always prioritize projects in areas that lacked safe dr...

Laboratories conduct research on hazardous pathogens—such as Ebola virus or anthrax bacteria—in more than 200 labs in the United States. Safety lapses have occurred at some of these labs, raising concerns about whether oversight is effective. For this testimony, we looked at the Federal Select Agent Program, which is responsible for overseeing these labs, and found room for improvement. For e...

Laboratories conduct research on hazardous pathogens—such as Ebola virus or anthrax bacteria—in more than 200 labs in the United States. Safety lapses continue to occur at some of these labs, raising concerns about whether oversight is effective. We looked at the Federal Select Agent Program, which is responsible for overseeing these labs, and found room for improvement. For example, the prog...

Ninety percent of the seafood eaten in the United States is imported, and about half of that is raised on fish farms. Farmers may treat fish with antibiotics and other drugs because these fish can be susceptible to infections. Misuse of drugs can leave residues in seafood that cause health problems for consumers. We looked at how the two agencies charged with ensuring seafood safety protect again...