Skip to main content

Budget and Spending

Jump To:

Recent Reports

View More Reports

Open Recommendations

Democracy Assistance: State Department Should Improve Congressional Notification of Its Use of Certain Legal Authorities
GAO-27-107900
Nov 06, 2026
Show
2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of Legislative Affairs develops guidance for congressional notifications that addresses congressional reporting criteria for notwithstanding authorities. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of Legislative Affairs develops guidance for congressional notifications that calls for the notifications to identify specific programs and activities, if known, for which State plans to use a notwithstanding authority, such as the democracy assistance notwithstanding authority. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Geostationary Weather Satellites: Next Generation Program Challenges Put Vital Observations at Risk
GAO-26-107739
Oct 16, 2026
Show
3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the NOAA Administrator) develops documentation for the updated cost estimate for the GeoXO program that incorporates the best practices for the well-documented characteristic. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the NOAA Administrator) updates contingency plans to identify procedures to deploy call-up spares and address weather data gaps, including impacts of failure scenarios and alternative solutions to address the failure scenarios. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the NOAA Administrator) documents a comprehensive TRA report for each instrument. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Real Property: New Occupancy Data Help Agencies Shed Unneeded Office Space But Gaps Limit the Full Picture
GAO-27-108503
Oct 16, 2026
Show
4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA, in consultation with OMB, should ensure that future utilization reporting includes additional information to more fully reflect space utilization. Specifically, GSA should:

  • Ensure that utilization reporting to Congress and the public includes both utilization data for all spaces occupied by agencies and all GSA-controlled vacant space, regardless of whether owned and leased spaces have active occupancy agreements in place; and
  • Provide Congress with utilization data at the building level, including for all GSA-controlled vacant space, to allow for an understanding of building-wide utilization. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should either clarify that spaces meeting or exceeding the USE IT Act's 60 percent utilization rate threshold are excluded from the full dataset on GSA.gov or publish utilization data for all spaces subject to the USE IT Act, regardless of whether the spaces achieved 60 percent utilization. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA, in consultation with OMB, should evaluate the effects of its USE IT Act data collection and reporting guidelines on agencies' calculated utilization rates and, as needed, adjust the guidelines based on its findings. At a minimum, this evaluation should examine the GSA guidelines' definition of typical office space and the effects of the inclusion of non-workdays in utilization rate calculations to identify potential ways to improve the quality of the data without excluding spaces that contribute significantly to a space's overall capacity. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA, in consultation with OMB, should develop and implement a plan to coordinate with CFO Act agencies to improve the consistency and completeness of occupancy data reported for all spaces subject to USE IT Act requirements. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

FEMA: Billions in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Subgrants Remain Unawarded
GAO-26-107774
Sep 24, 2026
Show
7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should assess FEMA's processes for reviewing subapplications to finalize its decisions to award BRIC subgrants to identify any inefficiencies and apply lessons learned that help ensure the agency awards subgrants in a timely manner. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should assess FEMA's internal communication to identify and apply any lessons learned that could help ensure the agency communicates relevant program information, and any future program changes, to internal regional managers and staff in a timely and actionable manner. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should assess FEMA's external communication to identify and apply lessons learned that help ensure the agency communicates relevant program information, and any future program changes, to applicants and recipients in a clear and timely manner. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should establish BRIC performance goals that reflect key practices of results-oriented performance management such as including methods to measure the goal and setting targets. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should ensure that FEMA consistently generates annual performance information for BRIC. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Administrator of FEMA should use BRIC's established performance goals and information to identify trends, effective approaches, and problems to inform agency decision-making. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
View More Recommendations

Related Pages

GAO Contacts

Multimedia

Podcasts

A Foggy Forecast for the Next Generation of Weather Satellites
Transcript
As Debt Limit Deadline Looms, What is Needed to Avoid A Default and Its Potential Widespread Consequences?
Transcript
U.S. Funding of Entities Located In China
Transcript