Reports & Testimonies
GAO’s reports and testimonies give Congress, federal agencies, and the public timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can improve government operations and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Most Recent Reports
1 - 20 of 58268 Reports
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Retirement Investments: Agencies Can Better Oversee Conflicts of Interest Between Fiduciaries and Investors
The interests of financial professionals and retirement investors often conflict. For example, a financial professional may earn a commission from selling a product to a client—whether it makes money for the client or not. We reviewed how such conflicts are communicated, their link to returns, and more. Our review of 2,000 conflict disclosures and our calls posing as potential clients to 75 financial professionals found...
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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL FOR GAO-24-106360: Technical Materials for Regression Analyses on Student, Teacher, and School Characteristics Associated with English Learners' Academic Performance
In the U.S., students whose native language isn't English may have academic trouble in school, where the instruction is primarily delivered in English. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of students learning English grew from 4.5 to 5 million in K-12 schools. For our recent Q&A report on this topic, we performed regression analyses on three Department of Education datasets to test the association between...
K-12 Education: Student, Teacher, and School Characteristics Associated with English Learners' Academic Performance
In the U.S., students whose native language isn't English may have academic trouble in school, where the instruction is primarily delivered in English. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of students learning English grew from 4.5 to 5 million in K-12 schools. Our Q&A report examines the student, teacher, and school characteristics associated with these students' academic performance. For example, having positive feelings about school...
Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Homeland Security
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Department of Homeland Security outlines 37 open recommendations that it should prioritize. The recommendations relate to emergency preparedness, border security, countering violent extremism and domestic terrorism, domestic intelligence and information sharing, cybersecurity and IT...
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IT Systems Annual Assessment: DOD Needs to Improve Performance Reporting and Development Planning [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 22, 2024]
The Department of Defense requested about $45.2 billion for FY 2023 for its unclassified information technology, such as communications and business systems. We reviewed the performance of DOD's 25 major IT business programs, including their software development and cybersecurity practices. Of the 25 programs, we found: 8 didn't fully report on the extent to which they achieved their goals, including 3 programs that didn't identify...
Telecommunications: Administration of Universal Service Programs Is Consistent with Selected FCC Requirements
The Universal Service Administrative Company—a private corporation—administers 4 federal programs and about $8 billion a year in subsidies on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission. The programs aim to expand availability of broadband and other telecommunications services to low-income consumers, high-cost areas, schools, and rural healthcare facilities. We reviewed FCC and the corporation's efforts to set and report on its goals, budgeting practices, and more...
Immersive Technologies: Most Civilian Agencies Are Using or Plan to Use Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and More
Immersive technologies integrate the physical environment with digital content. Their uses have expanded beyond entertainment to include education, training, and more. We surveyed 23 civilian federal agencies on their use of and plans for immersive technologies. Most of the agencies use them, often for training. For example, the Department of Homeland Security uses simulators as part of law enforcement training on the use of force...
Priority Open Recommendations: Office of Science and Technology Policy
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) outlines 8 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, we recommended that OSTP identify the best available climate information for use in infrastructure planning to help...
Transition to Civilian Life: Better Collection and Analysis of Military Service Data Needed to Improve Oversight of the SkillBridge Program
The Defense Department offers the SkillBridge program to service members who are transitioning back to civilian life. The program allows them to participate in a civilian job and job training up to 180 days before they leave military service. About 12,000 service members participated in the first half of FY 2024. The services reported that 83% were enlisted personnel. However, the services don't consistently collect...
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Veterans Community Care Program: VA Needs to Strengthen Contract Oversight
The Department of Veterans Affairs allows veterans to get medical care from community providers when they can't access VA facilities. VA must effectively manage 5 contracts with contractors that maintain health care provider networks to deliver consistent, high-quality care—currently to 2.8 million vets. But program staff don't have clearly defined procedures, such as how to track and communicate about problems, and VA eliminated program manager...
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Evidence-Based Policymaking: Agencies Need Additional Guidance to Assess Their Capacity
Federal decision-makers need evidence—such as data and the results of studies—to determine if programs are working as intended and to identify potential improvements. As part of a government-wide push to improve the collection and use of evidence, agencies are required to assess their related efforts every 4 years. Of the 23 agencies we reviewed, 21 said the assessment process helped them to better understand what...
Ukraine: U.S. Agencies Should Improve Tracking of Authorized U.S.-Origin Defense Article Transfers Requested by Foreign Donors
At least 30 countries have pledged over $148 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022. This includes $2 billion worth of defense items of U.S. origin—such as missiles and ammunition—that foreign donors requested to transfer to Ukraine. The State Department approves these transfers, and the Defense Department is required to monitor the items. However, State hasn't consistently shared approval information with...
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Clean Water: Revolving Fund Grant Formula Could Better Reflect Infrastructure Needs, and EPA Could Improve Needs Estimate
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over $630 billion will be needed to overhaul clean water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 20 years. EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund gives states grants to build or replace such infrastructure. However, we found that this money is allocated using a formula from 1987—which does not reflect states' current population and clean water needs. We convened experts...
Priority Open Recommendations: Office of Management and Budget
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Office of Management and Budget outlines 37 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, we recommended that OMB take a more strategic approach to buying products and services to better leverage federal buying...
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Medical Devices: FDA Has Begun Building an Active Postmarket Surveillance System
More than 1.7 million injuries and 83,000 deaths over a recent 10-year period in the U.S. have been potentially linked to faulty medical devices. These medical products range from surgical masks to implantable pacemakers. FDA has begun building a surveillance system to look for potential safety issues in such devices. It plans to start with a few devices and expand over time. However, it has...
Homelessness: Supportive Services Provided by Federal Programs
Over 650,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2023, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development—the highest number since reporting began in 2007. Ending homelessness requires both housing and supportive services. HUD's Continuum of Care program funds supportive services—such as case management or transportation—to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This report describes the program's services and challenges...
VA Volunteer Transportation Network: Rides, Donations, and Program Administration
Travel to medical appointments has been a major barrier to health care for veterans. To help, VA administers the Volunteer Transportation Network, which offers rides to veterans. From 2018-2023: The annual number of rides provided dropped by more than half The number of volunteers dropped by nearly half VA facilities we surveyed attributed the decreases, in part, to COVID-19 disruptions. They also said recruiting and...
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Federal Student Loans: Preliminary Observations on Borrower Repayment Practices after the Payment Pause
Federal student loan payments resumed in October 2023 after more than 3 years of pause due to COVID-19. As of January 2024, the Education Department held $1.5 trillion in federal loans for nearly 43 million borrowers. Of the borrowers whose loans had entered repayment and weren't in default: About half—accounting for about $706 billion in loans—were current on their payments Nearly 30%—accounting for about $290...
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Coast Guard: Complete Performance and Operational Data Would Better Clarify Arctic Resource Needs
The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic nation. The Coast Guard has assessed evolving risks in the region—including geopolitical tensions and climate change—and has taken steps to manage them. For example, it deployed ships to the area and participates in training exercises. But it hasn't always spent as much time as it planned for these activities. The Coast Guard hasn't fully tracked...
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Discretionary Transportation Grants: DOT Should Fully Document Key Selection Decisions for Its Rural Program
State and local governments are struggling to maintain rural roads. Underinvestment, the U.S. Department of Transportation says, has resulted in their slow and steady decline. Funding the surface transportation system has been on our High Risk List since 2007. We reviewed DOT's selection process for awarding $300 million slated for rural road projects. In year 1 of the program, DOT awarded $274 million to 12...