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Open Recommendations

Tribal Water Infrastructure: Opportunities Exist to Improve Federal Assistance
GAO-26-107178
Sep 22, 2026
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15 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Indian Health Service The Director of IHS should ensure that the Director of the Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction updates IHS policy, in consultation with Tribes, to reflect a new statutory definition of "Indian homes, communities, and lands" if such a definition is enacted. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Indian Health Service The Director of IHS should ensure that the Director of the Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction, in consultation with Tribes, evaluates whether $10,000 is an appropriate limit for funding existing community buildings, in light of inflation and increases in costs for labor and materials since the amount was set in 1985, and adjust the limit as appropriate. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Indian Health Service The Director of IHS should ensure that the Director of the Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction, in coordination with the HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Programs, aggregates IHS's information about the potential estimated costs to serve homes and HUD's information about the number of new homes built with IHBG funding to estimate the cost of providing water connections for newly built HUD-funded homes, and report this information to Congress, to be updated as requested. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Housing and Urban Development The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Programs, in coordination with the IHS Director of the Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction, aggregates HUD's information about the number of new homes built with IHBG funding and IHS's information about the potential estimated costs to serve homes to estimate the cost of providing water connections for newly built HUD-funded homes, and report this information to Congress, to be updated as requested. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Housing and Urban Development The Secretary of HUD should ensure that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Programs publicly communicates information to Tribes about how HUD considered tribal input provided through its tribal consultation about the statutory prohibition on IHS using its appropriations to provide water infrastructure for new homes built with HUD housing grant programs, along with any outcomes from that consultation. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Administrator of EPA should direct its regions that use a solicitation process to administer the Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant Tribal Set-Aside program to streamline the application process for projects that are already included in IHS's Sanitation Deficiency System database and where Tribes request that EPA transfer project funding to IHS. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

National Register of Historic Places: Selected States and Tribes Identified Challenges to Participation
GAO-26-107879
Sep 14, 2026
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure NPS develops a plan to update its guidance for developing and submitting nominations to the National Register that includes identifying the information that SHPOs and THPOs need in guidance to effectively participate in the program. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure NPS includes steps to enhance the accessibility of its National Register guidance to the public as a part of its plan to revise its guidance. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure NPS conducts outreach to Tribes and THPOs to inform Tribes how properties of tribal significance can be included under the National Register criteria for evaluation, including use of the Traditional Cultural Places bulletin and the best practices update on using criterion A. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure NPS conducts outreach to Tribes to clarify NPS's policies and processes for withholding National Register property locations from the public. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Is Missing Opportunities to Apply Lessons from Other Countries That Could Reduce Risks and Costs
GAO-26-108082
Jul 29, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management should strategically engage with existing or new partner countries to identify and evaluate alternatives they have pursued that could help reduce risks and costs or accelerate nuclear cleanup efforts across the EM complex and periodically disseminate these approaches to EM site managers and EM decision-makers to explore and integrate into cleanup efforts, as appropriate. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Needs to Better Use End State Contracts to Achieve Intended Results
GAO-26-107745
Jul 29, 2026
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure sites using Approach B report contract modification data at the individual subtask level in procurement data systems and correct existing and future data discrepancies. (Recommendation 1)
Open
As of July 2026, DOE concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. Specifically, DOE said that EM, in collaboration with the Office of Management (MA), will ensure accurate reporting of data through STRIPES to SAM.gov for future contract actions. DOE said that while SAM.gov is not configured to display subtask or contract line-item number level data, EM will strive to ensure this information is publicly available via the respective EM site's conformed contract website. DOE also said that EM, in conjunction with MA, will correct any remaining data discrepancies and post contract line-item number (CLIN) level data on EM's conformed contract sites. When we confirm what actions DOE has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for EM should strengthen how EM headquarters oversees cleanup work under ESCM task orders to better ensure sites consistently define and achieve end states. (Recommendation 2)
Open
As of July 2026, DOE concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. Specifically, DOE said that EM will strengthen Headquarters oversight of cleanup work under ESCM task orders to better ensure sites consistently define and achieve end states. DOE said that EM will develop an implementation plan to better define and achieve ESCM task order end states. When we confirm what actions DOE has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary of EM should direct sites to follow requirements for 10-Year Strategic Task Order Plans to discuss the reduction to environmental risk and financial liability as a result of completing work under proposed task orders. (Recommendation 3)
Open
As of July 2026, DOE concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. Specifically, DOE said that EM will reinforce existing guidance for 10-Year Strategic Task Order plan development with all EM sites that are currently administering end state contracts, which includes a requirement to discuss reductions in environmental risk and financial liability. When we confirm what actions DOE has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for EM should ensure that EM headquarters identifies, analyzes, and addresses the root causes for task order cost growth. (Recommendation 4)
Open
As of July 2026, DOE partially concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. Specifically, DOE said that for ESCM task orders that experience cost control performance below a satisfactory level (as reported in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)), EM will identify, analyze, and address root causes. DOE also said that contractors will be held accountable in both their fee and CPARS ratings as warranted. We continue to believe that DOE should identify, analyze, and address the root causes for task order cost growth for all task orders where cost growth is present and not just a subset based on contractor ratings in CPARS. When we confirm what actions DOE has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure sites implement steps to improve the accuracy of cost data including better incorporating changes to scopes of work in task order IGCEs during negotiations. (Recommendation 5)
Open
As of July 2026, DOE concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. Specifically, DOE said that EM will develop an implementation plan to ensure that IGCEs are updated, as warranted, when material changes to scopes of work are identified up to and during negotiations. DOE said that for each ESCM task order, EM will continue to thoroughly document a comprehensive pre-negotiation plan to incorporate a detailed cost analysis, a technical evaluation, and the IGCE. When we confirm what actions DOE has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary of EM should direct EM headquarters to implement a process to ensure all task orders awarded as UCAs are definitized by the regulatory deadline. (Recommendation 6)
Open
As of July 2026, DOE concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. Specifically, DOE said that MA will reinforce guidance to EM sites that task orders awarded as UCAs should be minimized to the extent practicable, and that any task orders awarded as UCAs shall be definitized by the regulatory deadline. When we confirm what actions DOE has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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