*HomeU.S. Government Accountability Office*
Menu

      close


          
          
                          	
				
				
	
	
					Reports & Testimonies
									
																				
				
				
	
	
								Reports & Testimonies
													
																												
																						
							
																Recommendations Database
							
																												
																						
							
																Month in Review
							
																												
																						
							
																Order Copies
							
																												
																						
							
																Restricted Reports
							
																												
																						
							
																View Topics
							
																												
																						
							
																View Agencies
							
																												
																						
							
																Bid Protests & Appropriations Law
									
																				
				
				
	
	
								Bid Protests & Appropriations Law
													
																												
																						
							
																Bid Protests
							
																												
																						
							
																Appropriations Law
							
																												
																						
							
																Federal Vacancies Reform Act
							
																												
																						
							
																Other Legal
							
																												
																						
							
																About
									
																				
				
				
	
	
								About
													
																												
																						
							
																What GAO Does
							
																												
																						
							
																U.S. Comptroller General
							
																												
																						
							
																Careers
							
																												
																						
							
																Contact UsFor Congress
                                
                          
        
                Press Center
                                
                          
        
                Careers
                                
                          
        
                BlogSearch Breadcrumb
        Home
                            Reports & Testimonies
                            High-Risk Series: Efforts Made To Achieve Progress Need To Be Maintained and Expanded To Fully Address All Areas
    High-Risk Series:
                          Efforts Made to Achieve Progress Need to Be Maintained and Expanded to Fully Address All Areas **GAO-23-106674**
        Published: Apr 20, 2023. Publicly Released: Apr 20, 2023.Jump To:
    Jump ToElder Abuse
          Services for Older Adults
          State and Local-Level Drivers and Trends
          State and Local Fiscal Projections
          Federal Borrowing
          Managing the Debt
          Summary of Funding Provisions
          Auditing the Government's Books
          Unpacking the Financial Report
          Highlights
          Recommendations
          Background
          About This Work
          About This Work
          Trends
          About the Center
          Why It's High Risk
          What Remains To Be Done
          Key Reports
          Newest COVID-Related Reports
          AI Use Cases
          Flood Insurance
          Past Pandemic-Related Reports
          CARES Act Oversight Reports
          All COVID-19 Reports
          Report Suspected Fraud
          Subjects
          How to Get Notified
          Past Reports
          Public Health Threats
          Explore the FY 2022 and 2023 Funds
          Lessons Learned
          Agency Reports
          Recent Reports
          Recommendations
          Supplemental Material
          Full Report
          Additional Data
          View Decision
          Downloads
          Previously Identified Actions
          Related Pages
          Associated Agencies
          Tough Choices and Opportunities Ahead
          Americas Fiscal Future Key Areas
          Retirement Security Key Areas
          Current List
          About The High Risk List
          Area Ratings
          Previous High Risk Products
          Search Federal Vacancies
          Past Federal Vacancies
          Violation Letters
          About the Yellow Book
          Advisory Council
          Related Resources
          Comment Letters
          Related Publications
          Contacts and Resources
          Major Issues Facing the Nation
          Meeting Strategic Challenges
          Additional Resources
          Resources
          GAO Contacts
          Mission Teams
          Operations and Staff Offices
          Organization Chart
          Why a Career at GAO?
          Am I Qualified?
          Company Culture
          Reasonable Accommodations
          Video Gallery
          Paid Internships
          Student Volunteers
          Professional Development Program
          Advancement
          Executive Candidate Program
          Summer Associates
          Externships
          Benefits
          Contacts
                    Fast Facts
              This testimony discusses an update to our High Risk List—which highlights 37 areas across the federal government that are vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, or that need broad reform.

Overall, 16 areas on our list improved—including VA health care and the Postal Service. One area—DOD's business systems modernization—regressed. We also removed two existing areas—the 2020 decennial census and pension benefit programs.

We added the federal prison system partly due to its longstanding issues with managing staff and resources, and planning and evaluating programs that help incarcerated people successfully return to the community.

A graphic describing the updates made to the High Risk List in 2023.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
  What GAO Found

Congress and executive agencies have made substantial progress addressing high-risk issues since the previous High-Risk List update in 2021. Sixteen of 34 high-risk areas improved since 2021. This is the most progress in the 8 years since GAO started rating high-risk areas. Two of the 16 areas are being removed from the list: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Insurance Programs and the 2020 Decennial Census. Since our last update, there were approximately $100 billion in financial benefits due to improvements in high-risk areas.

Changes to the High-Risk List Since 2021

Changes to the High-Risk List Since 2021

The PBGC Insurance Programs ** area is being removed because Congress provided funding to troubled multiemployer pension plans, which has led to an improved financial position for the PBGC multiemployer insurance program. Additionally, the financial position of the PBGC single-employer insurance program has improved gradually in recent years. PBGC now projects a very low risk of insolvency over the next 15 years for both programs. GAO will continue to monitor the funds.

The 2020 Decennial Census is being removed because the Census Bureau made progress in addressing data quality concerns, chartered a high-level governance group, and implemented priority recommendations. GAO will monitor 2030 Census planning—already underway—for emerging risks and challenges.

GAO is adding one new area to the 2023 High-Risk List: Strengthening Management of the Federal Prison System. This area is being added, in part, due to the Bureau of Prisons' long-standing challenges managing staff and resources, and planning and evaluation programs that help incarcerated people have a successful return to the community.

In 2022, GAO added two other areas to the High-Risk List. The Department of Health and Human Services' (H H S) Leadership and Coordination of Public Health Emergencies was added because, for more than a decade, GAO has found persistent deficiencies in HHS's leadership role preparing for and responding to public health emergencies, including those that result from extreme weather events. GAO added the Unemployment Insurance System area because administrative and program integrity challenges in the joint federal-state program have affected the system's ability to meet the needs of unemployed workers. These challenges also expose the system to significant financial losses.

**GAO's 2023 High-Risk List**

**High-risk area**
			**Change since 2021****Strengthening the Foundation for Efficiency and Effectiveness**Strategic Human Capital Management
			↑Managing Federal Real Property
			●Funding the Nation's Surface Transportation Systema, b
			n/aModernizing the U.S. Financial Regulatory Systema
			●Resolving the Federal Role in Housing Financea
			●USPS Financial Viabilitya
			↑Management of Federal Oil and Gas Resources
			●Limiting the Federal Government's Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risksa
			↑Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and Operations
			●Improving Federal Management of Programs that Serve Tribes and Their Members
			↑U.S. Government's Environmental Liabilitya
			↑Emergency Loans for Small Businessesc
			n/aStrengthening Management of the Federal Prison System (new)b
			n/a**Transforming DOD Program Management**DOD Weapon Systems Acquisition
			●DOD Financial Management
			●DOD Business Systems Modernization
			↓DOD Approach to Business Transformation
			↑**Ensuring Public Safety and Security**Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nationa
			↑Strengthening Department of Homeland Security IT and Financial Management Functions
			●Ensuring the Effective Protection of Technologies Critical to U.S. National Security Interests
			↑Improving Federal Oversight of Food Safetya
			●Protecting Public Health through Enhanced Oversight of Medical Products
			●Transforming EPA's Process for Assessing and Controlling Toxic Chemicals
			↑Government-wide Personnel Security Clearance Process
			●National Efforts to Prevent, Respond to, and Recover from Drug Misusec
			n/aHHS Leadership and Coordination of Public Health Emergencies (new in 2022)b
			n/a**Managing Federal Contracting More Effectively**Acquisition and Program Management for DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management
			↑NASA Acquisition Management
			↑DOD Contract Management
			●VA Acquisition Management
			↑**Assessing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Tax Law Administration**Enforcement of Tax Lawsa
			●**Modernizing and Safeguarding Insurance and Benefit Programs**Medicare Program and Improper Payments
			●Strengthening Medicaid Program Integritya
			●Improving and Modernizing Federal Disability Programs
			●National Flood Insurance Programa
			↑Managing Risks and Improving VA Health Care
			↑Unemployment Insurance System (new in 2022)b
			n/aLegend: ↑****indicates area progressed on one or more criteria since 2021; ↓****indicates area declined on one or more criteria **;** ● indicates no change; n/a = not applicable

Source: GAO. | GAO-23-106674

aLegislation is likely to be necessary to effectively address this high-risk area.

bNot rated because this high-risk area is newly added or primarily involves congressional action.

cRated for the first time because this high-risk area was newly added in 2021.

Why GAO Did This Study

The federal government is one of the world's largest and most complex entities. About $6.3 trillion in outlays in fiscal year 2022 funded a broad array of programs and operations. GAO's High-Risk Series identifies government operations with vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or in need of transformation.

This biennial update describes the status of high-risk areas, outlines actions that are needed to ensure further progress, and identifies new high-risk areas needing attention by the executive branch and Congress.

Lasting solutions to high-risk problems save billions of dollars, improve service to the public, and strengthen government performance and accountability. In the past 17 years, financial benefits totaled $675 billion.

GAO uses five criteria to assess progress in addressing high-risk areas: (1) leadership commitment; (2) agency capacity; (3) an action plan; (4) monitoring efforts; and (5) demonstrated progress.

Recommendations
      
            Executive branch agencies need to address hundreds of open GAO recommendations to bring about lasting solutions to the 37 remaining high-risk areas. Continued congressional oversight is essential to achieve greater progress and legislation is needed in some cases.Full Report
    Highlights Page (2 pages)
              Full Report (21 pages)
              Accessible PDF (28 pages)
GAO Contacts
    
      Michelle Sager
            
            Managing Director
      
            sagerm@gao.gov
      
            (202) 512-6806
Office of Public Affairs
    
      Chuck Young
            
            Managing Director
      
            youngc1@gao.gov
      
            (202) 512-4800
Topics
    
      Government OperationsBudget outlaysFraud, waste, and abuseHigh risk seriesHigh-risk issuesHigh-risk listHigh-risk seriesProgram managementPublic health emergenciesCybersecurityFederal prisons
                                                      MultimediaVideo
    
      U.S. Comptroller General Testifies to U.S. Senate on GAO's 2023 High Risk List Update
      
        
        U.S. Comptroller General Testifies to U.S. Senate on GAO's 2023 High Risk List Update
          Thursday, April 20, 2023Transcript
 Receive GAO Updates
  Stay informed as we add new reports & testimonies.

    GAO Logo
      U.S. Government Accountability Office


                                   Column 1
                            Press Center
                              Contact Us
                              Inspector General
                              Restricted Reports
                              Column 2
                            Copyright & Terms of Use
                              Privacy Policy
                              Accessibility
                              Sitemap
                              Column 3
                            FOIA Requests
                              Scam Alerts
                              No FEAR Act Data
                              Health Care Advisory Committees