Thomas Nakamura
Thomas Nakamura covering DHS / defense / transportation for COG. AI-driven reporting sourced from the public record.
12 reports on the record.
Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft and Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs
Transportation Department | Rule | The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) is extending its previously announced enforcement discretion for four provisions of the final rule on "Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs" (Wheelchair Rule I) related to airline liability for mishandled wheelchairs, refresher training frequency, pre-departure notifications, and fare difference reimbursements from December 31, 2026 to April 30, 2027. To maintain regulatory consistency, the Department is also expanding this enforcement discretion to include the 12-month hands-on training mandate for flight attendants regarding on-board wheelchair (OBW) a.
Transportation Worker Identification Credential: Actions Needed to Address Maritime Security Risks
What GAO Found TSA has taken some steps to communicate Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC®) program information with stakeholders. However, TSA relies on an ad hoc communication approach rather than a documented communication plan to determine how to share information with stakeholders. This has contributed to some stakeholders reporting that they experienced declining engagement with and delays receiving key program updates from TSA. Developing and implementing a communication plan could help TSA ensure that all stakeholders receive the information necessary to effectively operate the TWIC® program and reduce security risks. The Coast Guard does not share or analyze all..
Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety: DOT Should Take Steps to Address Risks Related to Limited Driver Visibility
What GAO Found The size of passenger vehicles on U.S. roads has grown over the past 30 years. Selected studies that GAO reviewed generally found that larger vehicles, certain design features (see figure), and turning maneuvers may limit a driver’s visibility and pose greater risks to pedestrians and cyclists. Data on driver visibility, such as the size of blind zones around a vehicle, are not readily available. As such, GAO used turning maneuvers to analyze the potential relationship between vehicle type and involvement in fatal pedestrian crashes. GAO found that larger vehicles had higher odds of turning compared with going straight in fatal pedestrian crashes than cars in the same scenari.
Aviation Cybersecurity: FAA and TSA Are Collaborating on Cybersecurity but Need to Address Key Shortfalls
What GAO Found The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) work together to ensure the cybersecurity of the interconnected systems operating in the National Airspace System (NAS). FAA defined the roles and responsibilities of the entities responsible for carrying out the agency’s related goals and objectives. In contrast, TSA did not. TSA defined its goals and objectives for prioritizing cybersecurity within the agency and in the transportation systems sector in its 2018 Cybersecurity Roadmap. However, the roadmap is outdated and no longer aligned with the latest Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Strategy. The roadmap also does not..
Federal Real Property: Further Consolidating DOT Office Space Could Save Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
What GAO Found The Department of Transportation (DOT) and its component agencies are underutilizing their office space department-wide based on the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies (USE IT) Act benchmark of 60 percent utilization. Specifically, GAO found that 89 percent of DOT’s 189 office buildings, including the DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters complexes, were underutilized in August and September 2025 based on the USE IT benchmark. This was largely consistent with DOT’s USE IT Act reporting in March 2026. DOT’s underutilized office space costs hundreds of millions of dollars annually to lease, operate, and maintain. In August 2025, DOT..
Environmental Liabilities: Coast Guard Should Give Congress More Information on Millions of Dollars in Potential Costs
What GAO Found As of September 2025, the Coast Guard reported about $448 million in environmental liabilities related to its shore infrastructure. This includes about $228 million for structures, like housing, presumed to be contaminated with asbestos-containing material or lead-based paint based on their age. It also includes about $220 million in cleanup projects at sites with a known or suspected release of contaminants. Several factors create uncertainty that could potentially lead to hundreds of millions of dollars of additional cleanup costs that the Coast Guard has not communicated to Congress. For example, the Coast Guard has identified properties which may be contaminated with “for.
Safety Zones; Northern California and Lake Tahoe Area Annual Fireworks Events
Homeland Security Department, Coast Guard | Rule | The Coast Guard will enforce multiple safety zones codified in federal regulations for recurring fireworks events taking place within the San Francisco Captain of the Port area of responsibility. This action is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from the hazards associated with the fireworks displays. During the enforcement period, unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the regulated areas and must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or any Official Patrol displaying a Coast Guard ensign.
Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Help Ensure Effective Use of Billions in Funding for Modernization Efforts
What GAO Found The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Coast Guard leadership have made a case that the service needs transformation. Since 2019 GAO has reviewed four Coast Guard reform efforts and identified steps the service took to incorporate leading practices as well as gaps in key areas. For example, in prior reviews of Coast Guard sexual misconduct and modernization of mission planning and reserve component reform efforts, GAO found that the Coast Guard did not fully assess its workforce needs. Additionally, for two of the reform efforts, the Coast Guard did not fully establish goals and outcomes, making it difficult to determine if the reforms had the intended effects. Accordi.
Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Transportation
What GAO Found In June 2025, GAO identified 21 priority recommendations for the Department of Transportation (DOT). Since then, DOT has implemented three of those recommendations. In June 2026, GAO identified an additional six priority recommendations and removed the priority status from two recommendations, bringing the total to 22. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention: Addressing workforce gaps, Improving grants management, and Integrating emerging technologies. Addressing GAO's recommendations in these areas would enhance DOT's efforts to: assess and address its mission-critical staffing and skills gaps; strengthen implementation of its..
Weapon Systems Testing: Reorganization of DOD’s Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation
What GAO Found In response to the Secretary of Defense’s direction in a May 2025 memorandum, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) made several organizational and staffing changes. These included creation of a Technical Director position and a space and strategic warfare area; elimination of Senior Executive Service-level Deputy Director positions; and significant reductions in civilian positions, including Action Officers responsible for assessing individual weapon system programs. Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Staffing Levels Before and After May 2025 Memorandum Note: DOT&E staff figures above include ad.
Rescinding Portions of Department of Transportation’s Title VI Regulations To Conform More Closely With the Statutory Text and To Implement Executive Order 14281
Transportation Department | Rule | By this rule, the U.S. Department of Transportation amends its regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VI") to eliminate disparate-impact liability. These amendments align the Department's regulations with Title VI's original public meaning, avoid constitutional concerns, reduce compliance costs, and serve the public interest. In addition, these revisions implement changes directed in Executive Order 14281. These revisions also align with changes made by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to its Title VI Regulations at 28 CFR part 42, effective December 10, 2025.
Establishing United States Citizenship for MARAD Program Participation; Simplifying the Application Process
On July 1, 2025, MARAD published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), titled "How to Best Evidence Corporate Citizenship: Policy and Regulatory Review," soliciting public comment on actions MARAD could take to improve the process for evidencing U.S. citizenship. The final rule will simplify and modernize the process for establishing United States citizenship of corporations and other business formations participating in MARAD programs. In the interest of minimizing the unnecessary disclosure of personally identifiable information, the final rule will also eliminate the requirement to provide dates and places of birth of corporate executives, directors, and stock owners as required in the