Federal agencies must enforce Title IX—which prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment—at universities receiving federal financial assistance. We looked at 5 agencies funding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research and found: 4 of 5 agencies received 3 or fewer complaints over the last 5 years 2 of 5 agencies lack or have outdated complaint procedure...

Environmental justice seeks to address the disproportionately high health and environmental risks found among low-income and minority communities by seeking their fair treatment and involvement in environmental policy. California's mostly minority and low-income community of West Oakland, for example, is surrounded by 3 freeways and a port. Its residents are exposed to diesel air pollution 3 times...

Federal agencies must enforce Title IX—which prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment—at universities receiving federal funds. 5 agencies provide most of the federal STEM research grant funding. We testified on our early observations of their sexual harassment prevention efforts for grantees: Agencies' communications on these efforts vary, with some issuing more types of gui...

Three of the six federal grant-making agencies we reviewed that support research in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields—the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture—routinely collect demographic information about the individual researchers who apply for and receive federal g...

The parties charged with carrying out the terms of the Pigford II settlement agreement have created numerous internal control measures designed to balance various interests including accuracy, efficiency, and cost. Many of these measures serve to identify and deny fraudulent or otherwise invalid claims. For example, the parties conduct iterative reviews of each claim and identify potential fraud c...

In summary, as of August 2012, USDA had fully addressed three of our recommendations, made significant progress toward addressing two, and made some progress toward addressing one.Why GAO Did This StudyFor decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been the focus of federal inquiries into allegations of discrimination against minorities and women both in the programs it administers and...

Generally consistent with the views of key stakeholders we interviewed, state and school district officials cited 17 federal requirements as most burdensome for them. These requirements were related to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I, Part A; the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B; national school meals programs; or other requirements related to the...

Most USDA and Interior agencies did not have readily available information on attorney fee claims and payments made under EAJA and other fee-shifting statutes for fiscal years 2000 through 2010. As a result, there was no way to readily determine who made claims, the total amount each department paid or awarded in attorney fees, who received the payments, or the statutes under which the cases were...

The current fiscal environment, ongoing deliberations for the next Farm Bill, and the public's expectations for a high-performing and efficient government underscore the need for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to focus on program results and customer needs, work across organizational lines to help minimize any overlap and duplication, and build its internal capacity. USDA comprises 15 a...

For decades, there have been allegations of discrimination in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and workforce. Reports and congressional testimony by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a former Secretary of Agriculture, USDA's Office of Inspector General, GAO, and others have described weaknesses in USDA's programs--in particular...