This report updates our oversight of federal actions to support public health, individuals, and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings include: There have been shortages of personal protective equipment and testing supplies because very few of them are made in the U.S. and global demand for them is highHHS may be able to collect more complete data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, a...

Normally, if federal contractors can't work, agencies don't pay them. But section 3610 of the CARES Act allows agencies, at their discretion, to reimburse contractors for the cost of paid leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act was passed in March 2020. Between then and early July, all the agencies we reviewed issued some form of guidance to implement section 3610. In July, the Office of Manag...

In January 2017, then President-elect Trump stated that he and the VA would consult private citizens to help address VA’s issues related to managing and overseeing its operations. This has raised questions about the influence of these citizens on VA’s decisions. We found that the interactions between VA officials and private citizens took place between 2016 and 2018. Our analysis showed that...

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...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help improve the federal government. We alert department heads to the recommendations where they can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve government operations. This report outlines our 33 priority open recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs as of April 2020. We recognize VA is en...

Antibiotic-resistant infections can be difficult or impossible to treat. We examined federal challenges to addressing antibiotic resistance: Surveillance—Tracking resistant infections is tough because of reliance on sampling and voluntary reporting Diagnostics—Lack of data on clinical outcomes impedes the development and use of antibiotic-resistance tests New treatments—The pipeline of n...

The federal government’s Black Lung Disability Trust Fund faces financial challenges and has borrowed billions to cover costs. The Trust pays benefits to certain coal miners when no coal mine operator can be held responsible, or when the liable operator does not pay. Three coal mine operator bankruptcies have further strained Trust finances by transferring $865 million in estimated benefit resp...

Biological threats range from naturally occurring diseases to deliberately created biological weapons. The National Biodefense Strategy, issued in 2018 along with guidance on how to implement it, spells out the nation’s plan to address these threats. Among other things, it calls for a joint effort by multiple agencies as well as private sector partners. We reviewed how well the strategy has wor...

States must determine whether people are eligible for Medicaid. The accuracy of these determinations affects federal and state spending. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversees this process. Our review found: Federal and state audits showed several accuracy issues—some of which resulted in errors For decades, CMS hasn’t recouped federal funds from states with eligibility error...

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) oversees and coordinates federal drug policy. In 2018, new legislation reauthorized ONDCP and imposed a number of new requirements. We found that ONDCP met some of the new requirements. For instance, ONDCP designated officials for two new coordinator positions. However, ONDCP does not have key planning elements needed to ensure it can meet other...