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Open Recommendations

DOE Contracting: Risk-Informed Oversight and Clearer Expectations for Assurance Systems Would Improve Accountability
GAO-26-107850
Aug 26, 2026
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should develop and implement a process for conducting CAS effectiveness evaluations, including defining CAS effectiveness and establishing specific, measurable evaluation criteria. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should document how it will use CAS information from field offices to ensure a tailored and risk-informed oversight program, to include determining the information it needs from field offices, standardizing key terms and metrics, and determining how it will use CAS information to tailor oversight. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should design and implement oversight assessment schedules of field offices, to include assessments of field offices' oversight of CAS effectiveness, to determine how to prioritize its direction and feedback to field offices to address the greatest risks. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should use appropriate contract mechanisms to establish and communicate clear contractor performance expectations for CASs and consequences for not meeting those expectations. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Carbon Capture Tax Credit: Actions Needed to Improve Federal Administration and Evaluation of Tax Expenditure
GAO-26-107711
Aug 06, 2026
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7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Congress Congress should consider directing agencies to collect and analyze data to answer key questions about the performance of the 45Q credit, such as how well it is working to achieve specific goals, how efficiently it is performing, and how it compares to other policy tools. (Matter for Congressional Consideration 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in coordination with DOE, should determine the minimum time period of production system direct data needed to determine the displacement factor in the LCA pre-approval, and update guidance to allow for taxpayers that meet that minimum to submit an LCA for pre-approval prior to the end of the tax year. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in coordination with DOE, should continue creating additional comparison product system technology baselines, including by implementing a process for taxpayers to request specific technology baselines, similar to the process for requesting provisional emissions rates for the 45V and 45Z credits. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in coordination with DOE, should determine the feasibility, including the costs and benefits, of developing a Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model for common 45Q utilization pathways, allowing an LCA process that can be submitted upon tax return filing without prior review, similar to the 45V and 45Z credits. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with IRS, should adjust the 45Q credit guidance on LCAs to clarify which GREET model data are acceptable for use with a 45Q credit LCA and how and when they can be used. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in coordination with DOE, should modify the IRS/DOE memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide taxpayers, with appropriate limitations, an opportunity to modify elements of their LCAs prior to rejection, rather than having to resubmit their LCAs and restart the process. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Managing Critical Isotopes: DOE Could Better Assess Market Needs and Respond to Risks
GAO-26-108053
Jul 23, 2026
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science The Director of the Office of Science should develop a mechanism to systematically assess demand proactively and develop actions to address isotopes in short supply. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Science The Director of the Office of Science should establish an advisory committee to assess isotope supply and demand as statutorily required. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Science The Director of the Office of Science should mitigate risks to isotope production and supply chains, including identifying actions and time frames for completion. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Science The Director of the Office of Science should establish a means for communicating isotope production and supply chain risks and mitigation plans to affected customers. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Department of Energy: Efforts to Streamline Project Management at National Laboratories and Nuclear Sites [Reissued with revisions on Jul. 17, 2026]
GAO-26-108520
Jul 17, 2026
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that specific, identifiable goals, outcomes, and performance measures are established and used to evaluate the overall, agencywide effectiveness of the Secretary's directed revisions to streamline project management. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOE concurred with the recommendation. In written comments, DOE stated that the department will leverage Project Assessment and Reporting System (PARS) data fields to evaluate the overall, agencywide effectiveness of the Secretary's directed revisions to streamline project management. Specifically, DOE will establish an evaluation methodology to compare the performance metrics of streamlined projects against a baseline of non-streamlined projects of similar scope and complexity. DOE will focus analysis on existing key performance indicators to determine if streamlining efforts achieve their goals without introducing baseline instability. The DOE Office of Science will synthesize findings into a continuous assessment process. DOE estimated completion of these actions by September 30, 2027.
National Nuclear Security Administration The NNSA Administrator should ensure that specific, identifiable goals, outcomes, and performance measures are established and used to evaluate the overall, NNSA-wide effectiveness of the Secretary's directed revisions to streamline project management. (Recommendation 2)
Open
NNSA concurred with the recommendation. In written comments, NNSA stated that in coordination with DOE, NNSA will support implementation of the DOE processes described in response to recommendation 1, as necessary. NNSA estimated completion of actions by September 30, 2027.
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