FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the most recent data available at the time of review, 11 federal agencies issued $4.4 billion in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards, split almost equally between open and conventional topics. For open topics, agencies define broad areas of interest, and small businesses submit proposals defining potential agency needs and solutions. In contrast, for conventional topics, agencies define specific problems, and small businesses submit proposals that address those needs. One goal of SBIR and STTR is to increase commercialization of federally funded research and development (R&D), such as by sell.
CABI U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Four agencies in GAO’s review—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Department of Education, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) teams and collectively reported that those teams had access to more than 23 systems. These systems were used to manage contracts, grants, human resources, and finances and contained sensitive information, including personally identifiable information (PII). However, whether DOGE team members had specific system permissions or were allowed certain actions (e.g., view PII or modify data) could not be determined based on th.
CABI U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Fires on vessels are among the most dangerous and challenging incidents to which firefighters can respond. Vessels may also carry hazardous cargo, like lithium-ion batteries, further complicating marine firefighting responses. According to U.S. Coast Guard data, there were 886 nearshore marine fires that occurred between 2015 and 2025. About one quarter (206) of these resulted in either death, injury, over $200,000 in damage, or a total loss of the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard is the principal federal agency responsible for overseeing marine safety. For marine firefighting, the Coast Guard plays a coordinating role while land-based fire departments extinguish fires. Following.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Proposed Rule | This action supplements a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published by the FAA in the Federal Register on June 17, 2025, which proposed to establish Class E domestic en route airspace (Class E6) within a designated landmass and within 12 miles from a designated shoreline associated with the state of Alaska to facilitate the vectoring of instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft on direct routes where the current en route structure is insufficient or improper within the proposed airspace areas. As revised in this SNPRM, the FAA now proposes to establish five discrete areas of Class E domestic en route airspace ove.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Rule | Based on safety concerns and a review that revealed widespread non-compliance with the exemptions, the FAA is announcing its decision to cease issuing exemptions that allow certain Cessna aircraft that require two pilots to operate as a single-pilot operation, and notifying current exemption holders that their exemptions will be rescinded by separate action. This notice also serves to inform pilots who obtained single-pilot endorsements from training providers that held exemptions that they must cease single-pilot operations in aircraft that require two pilots under the regulations as they have no relief from the regulation.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found GAO convened a panel discussion to gather industry perspectives on potential duplication or conflict among federal cybersecurity regulations affecting selected critical infrastructure sectors. The industry participants identified multiple federal cybersecurity regulations within their sectors as duplicative or conflicting with other regulations (see figure below). In such cases, participants said it could be difficult to fully satisfy all reporting requirements while remediating cyber threats. Number of Duplicative or Conflicting Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Identified by Selected Industry Sector Representatives For example, participants in all three sectors noted that t.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The average number of noncitizens incarcerated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) each year decreased 44 percent from fiscal year 2017 (approximately 36,300) through fiscal year 2024 (approximately 20,300). This includes noncitizens with lawful immigration status. During this time, noncitizens, as a proportion of all BOP-incarcerated individuals, also decreased. Immigration-related offenses accounted for more than half of the offenses for which BOP-incarcerated noncitizens were convicted; another 30 percent were drug-related. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed approximately 84,800 (76 percent) of the 111,200 noncitizens who completed, at least one term of BO.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Transnational criminal organizations (TCO) in Mexico seek to acquire semi-automatic firearms—AR-15s, AK-47s, and .50-caliber rifles—which they often convert to fully automatic firearms, according to agency officials. Armed with these weapons, TCOs pose a serious threat to Mexican law enforcement and military. TCOs acquire firearms from the U.S. primarily through straw purchasers—third parties who buy them on the TCOs’ behalf—and middlemen who smuggle the firearms through ports of entry on the border. U.S. agencies collect data on trafficked firearms, but some data have limitations that limit their utility. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has faced longstanding challenges in hiring and retaining adequate staff. NRC officials and most of the stakeholders GAO interviewed stated that increased attrition and industry competition have affected NRC’s workforce more in recent years. GAO found that from July 2024 through June 2026, NRC lost, on net, about 500 staff in various positions, most of which were due to voluntary retirements. This loss of staff has increased concerns about the stability of NRC’s workforce. Total Number of NRC Employees from July 2024 Through June 2026 In July 2024, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Visitor visa adjudications, which account for most nonimmigrant visas (NIV), have surpassed pre-COVID numbers. The Department of State adjudicated 9.2 million visitor visas pre-COVID in fiscal year (FY) 2019. That number dropped to 1.5 million in FY 2021. By FY 2025, the number of adjudications surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reaching 11.7 million. The average wait time to obtain an interview for a visitor visa was almost 8 times higher than before the pandemic, increasing from 26 days in FY 2019 to 201 days in FY 2025. In addition, the number of consular officers working on NIVs almost recovered from a COVID-era low of 1,104 in FY 2021 to pre-pandemic levels in FY 2024, reach.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What the OIG Found Proper contract administration is critical to ensure GAO complies with contract terms and conditions. In FY 2019, GAO entered into a blanket purchase agreement for commercial facility maintenance (the BPA), which it awarded under the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule program. After subsequent modification, the BPA’s maximum value was about $119 million. Although the contractor submitted adjusted labor rates from a collective bargaining agreement, GAO did not modify the BPA and associated time-and-materials orders to reflect these higher rates before payment. As a result, the agency paid about $94,000 more than the previously negotiated rates during the second.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) will surpass $200 billion and take over 50 more years to execute, based on GAO’s analysis of Navy plans. Developing the plans and cost estimates to rebuild the Navy’s four public shipyards has taken the Navy years longer—and will cost much more—than originally anticipated due to multiple challenges and changes involved in the program. For example, environmental issues led to additional projects and more extensive work affecting project plans and costs at the shipyards, including Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (see figure). Seismic Risks Identified at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard The Navy established an oversight framewo.
