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                    Most Recent Reports**1 - 20 of 12042 Reports**
	
	

	
	  **Released on   Apr 16, 2024**
          Fraud Risk Management: 2018-2022 Data Show Federal Government Loses an Estimated $233 Billion to $521 Billion Annually to Fraud, Based on Various Risk Environments
    GAO-24-105833
      Published:   Apr 16, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 16, 2024
.
    No area of the federal government is immune to fraud. We estimated that the federal government could lose between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud. Given the scope of this problem, a government-wide approach is required to address it. The Office of Management and Budget, working with agencies and the oversight community, should develop guidance to improve fraud-related data—providing a more uniform approach...
      **Released on   Apr 1, 2024**
          2023 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Compliance with Requirements
    GAO-24-106799
      Published:   Apr 1, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 1, 2024
.
    To make government lobbying more transparent, paid lobbyists and firms must: Register with Congress File reports on who lobbied and what they did each quarter File semiannual reports on political contributions We assess compliance with these requirements in a sample of reports. As in past years, most lobbyists filed but some omitted information. For example, 23% of quarterly reports listed lobbyists who didn't disclose their...
          2020 Census: The Bureau Adapted Approaches for Addressing Unexpected Results and Developing Annual Population Estimates
    GAO-24-106594
      Published:   Apr 1, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 1, 2024
.
    The 2020 Census was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Census Bureau had to revise some of its data collection activities. This may have led to some unexpected census results. State, local, and tribal governments can challenge some of those results. For example, the Bureau received 74 cases challenging population counts of group quarters—e.g., university housing. The Bureau also received 123 cases challenging housing...
      **Released on   Mar 13, 2024**
          Freedom of Information Act: Additional Guidance and Reliable Data Can Help Address Agency Backlogs
    GAO-24-106535
      Published:   Mar 7, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 13, 2024
.
    The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to provide public access to government information. Agencies generally must process FOIA requests within 20 working days, but the government-wide backlog of requests grew over the last decade. Agency FOIA officers cited factors such as staffing challenges and complex requests as contributing to backlogs. The Justice Department, which helps agencies administer FOIA, could improve its backlog guidance...
      **Released on   Mar 4, 2024**
          Federal Real Property: More Consistent Monitoring of Asbestos Could Improve Oversight
    GAO-24-106324
      Published:   Mar 4, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 4, 2024
.
    The General Services Administration is responsible for the cost of cleaning up environmental contaminants—such as asbestos—on federal property. Contaminants can also make it harder or more costly for GSA to sell buildings that the government no longer needs. GSA requires asbestos inspections every 5 years for each federal building built before 1998. But about 2/3 of GSA's buildings haven't been inspected in the last 5...
      **Released on   Feb 28, 2024**
          Justice40: Use of Leading Practices Would Strengthen Efforts to Guide Environmental Justice Initiative
    GAO-24-105869
      Published:   Jan 29, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 28, 2024
.
    Some U.S. communities face heavy socioeconomic and environmental burdens like high rates of poverty, disease, and pollution. The Justice40 Initiative goal is for 40% of benefits from certain federal grants and programs to flow to disadvantaged communities. The Executive Office of the President collaborated with federal agencies, nonfederal entities, and federally recognized Tribes to develop Justice40 guidance and tools, such as a tool to identify...
      **Released on   Feb 26, 2024**
          Sexual Harassment: Actions Needed to Improve Prevention Training for Federal Civilian Employees
    GAO-24-106589
      Published:   Feb 26, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 26, 2024
.
    Sexual harassment remains an issue in federal agencies. In a 2021 survey of federal employees, 12% reported that they had experienced sexual harassment in the prior 2 years. All the agencies we reviewed require their federal employees to complete some sexual harassment prevention training. However, they could take steps to make their training more effective—such as clearly describing how to report misconduct in their training...
      **Released on   Feb 15, 2024**
          The Nation's Fiscal Health: Road Map Needed to Address Projected Unsustainable Debt Levels
    GAO-24-106987
      Published:   Feb 15, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 15, 2024
.
    The federal government faces an unsustainable long-term fiscal path that poses serious economic, security, and social challenges if not addressed. Our review of the nation's fiscal health found: Debt is projected to grow faster than the economy, reaching 200% of GDP by 2050 if revenue and spending policies are unchanged Large budget deficits drive the growing debt, as Medicare and Social Security spending outpace revenue...
      **Released on   Feb 13, 2024**
          Whistleblowers: Disclosures and Retaliation Complaints to Pandemic Auditors
    GAO-24-106655
      Published:   Feb 13, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 13, 2024
.
    Federal law protects people who work for federal contractors from being fired or retaliated against for blowing the whistle on fraudulent or illegal activity. The law also covers people who work for organizations that receive federal grant money. This Q&A report explains how three federal entities—including two auditing groups set up as part of COVID-19 relief laws—handle tips from whistleblowers. All three entities told us...
      **Released on   Jan 30, 2024**
          Critical Infrastructure Protection: Agencies Need to Enhance Oversight of Ransomware Practices and Assess Federal Support
    GAO-24-106221
      Published:   Jan 30, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 30, 2024
.
    Ransomware—software that makes data and systems unusable unless ransom is paid—can severely impact government operations and critical infrastructure. Such attacks have led to significant financial losses, health care disruptions, and more. Most federal agencies that lead and manage risk for 4 critical sectors—manufacturing, energy, healthcare and public health, and transportation systems—have assessed or plan to assess risks associated with ransomware. But agencies haven't fully gauged...
      **Released on   Jan 25, 2024**
          Paid Parental Leave: OPM Should Take Steps to Further Raise Awareness of the Program
    GAO-24-106654
      Published:   Jan 25, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 25, 2024
.
    Starting October 1, 2020, most federal civilian employees became eligible to take up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the arrival of a new child whether by birth, adoption, or foster care. The Office of Personnel Management's government-wide data showed that most federal employees were aware of the benefit, and the number of employees who took paid parental leave generally aligned with OPM's...
          Federal Regulation: Selected Emerging Technologies Highlight the Need for Legislative Analysis and Enhanced Coordination
    GAO-24-106122
      Published:   Jan 25, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 25, 2024
.
    Agencies face challenges regulating drones, medical devices with artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies in a timely manner. We asked agencies that regulate some of these complex, rapidly evolving technologies about their strategies. They told us that they: Use varied approaches—including strategic foresight tools like "scenario planning"—to anticipate regulatory issues Coordinate with other federal agencies and foreign governments to share information and achieve shared goals...
          VA Acquisition Management: Oversight of Service Contracts Needing Heightened Management Attention Could Be Improved
    GAO-24-106312
      Published:   Jan 25, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 25, 2024
.
    VA increasingly relies on contractors for a wide range of services. But if contractors perform certain functions—e.g., providing legal advice or supporting budget prep—without additional oversight from government officials, they could pose risks to government decision-making and accountability. The Office of Management and Budget issued guidance to help agencies determine which contracted services need this oversight. However, VA has yet to fully implement this guidance...
          Grants Management: Action Needed to Ensure Consistency and Usefulness of New Data Standards
    GAO-24-106164
      Published:   Jan 25, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 25, 2024
.
    The federal government spent roughly $1.2 trillion on grants in 2022. But it's hard to track and manage this spending because agencies collect data in different ways. The Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act may help—setting standards for agency data collection throughout the government. The Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Health and Human Services identified 540 data elements—such as...
      **Released on   Jan 22, 2024**
          Federal Workforce: Actions Needed to Improve the Transfer of Personnel Security Clearances and Other Vetting Determinations
    GAO-24-105669
      Published:   Jan 22, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 22, 2024
.
    The government's security clearance and other "personnel vetting" processes help ensure that federal employees are trustworthy. Personnel vetting decisions are supposed to be reciprocal: if one agency clears an employee, that employee should be able to transfer to another agency without a new background check. But the Offices of Personnel Management and the Director of National Intelligence—who oversee the vetting processes—don't have good data on...
      **Released on   Jan 18, 2024**
          Federal Telework: Interior Can Benefit from Strategic Workforce Planning and Following Key Practices
    GAO-24-107162
      Published:   Jan 18, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 18, 2024
.
    The pandemic abruptly changed how and where people work—and federal agencies, like other employers, are now figuring out what a "new normal" might be. In this testimony, we discussed our prior reports on telework, some recent federal policies, and specific considerations for the Department of the Interior. Even before the pandemic, federal agencies were encouraged to use telework to meet mission needs and realize other...
          Cloud Security: Federal Authorization Program Usage Increasing, but Challenges Need to Be Fully Addressed
    GAO-24-106591
      Published:   Jan 18, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 18, 2024
.
    The Office of Management and Budget established the FedRAMP program to authorize secure cloud services for federal use. From 2019-23, agencies increased FedRAMP use—authorizations were up 60%. But some agencies reported using services that weren't FedRAMP-authorized. OMB still hasn’t fully implemented our previous recommendation to monitor program use. OMB is proposing new guidance that aims to help reduce the cost of pursuing FedRAMP authorizations. Some...
      **Released on   Jan 10, 2024**
          Discretionary Transportation Grants: DOT Should Improve Transparency in the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program
    GAO-24-106378
      Published:   Jan 10, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 10, 2024
.
    The Department of Transportation awarded $1.5 billion in grants to 26 significant freight and highway projects in the FY 2022 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program (INFRA). DOT combined some phases of the INFRA grant award process with 2 of its other competitive grant programs. DOT has taken steps to improve the transparency of the INFRA award process—such as writing a new memo to explain the...
      **Released on   Jan 9, 2024**
          Federal Real Property: Improved Data and Access Needed for Employees with Disabilities Using Secure Facilities
    GAO-24-107117
      Published:   Jan 9, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 9, 2024
.
    Federal employees use secure facilities—known as "SCIFs"—to work with classified information. But some SCIFs aren't accessible for employees with disabilities—e.g., some doors are too heavy to open, or doorways are too narrow for wheelchairs. While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has taken some steps to address access issues, it can do more. For example, it should improve its guidance on SCIFs...
          Legislative Branch: Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of Legal Counsel  [Reissued with revisions on Jan. 9, 2024]
    GAO-24-105870
      Published:   Dec 19, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 9, 2024
.
    Oversight of the executive branch is one of Congress's main responsibilities. In recent years, Congress has explored ways to modernize its operations in this area, including regulatory oversight and congressional legal representation for working with the executive branch. To help, we researched Congress's options. It can create new regulatory or legal offices, oversight processes, or regulatory requirements—or change existing ones. Each of these options comes...
    
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