FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear waste cleanup is proceeding largely under three laws that set cleanup and waste management requirements. Each law has different requirements, applications, and regulators. Selected Cleanup and Waste Management Laws and Regulators for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Waste Cleanup GAO and experts GAO convened with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identified several legal and regulatory factors that affect the cost and schedule of DOE’s nuclear waste cleanup. Certain state regulatory actions may exceed state authority. According to experts who participated in GAO’s National Academies meetings, some st.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The U.S critical mineral supply chain faces numerous constraints, including the need for substantial capital investment and limited domestic processing capacity. The U.S. exports large quantities of domestically extracted ore to Canada, Mexico, and China, among other countries. Copper Mine on Federal Lands The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service oversee hardrock mines on federal land. As of February 2026, there were 632 approved hardrock mining plans of operation on federal land. The 1872 Mining Law generally requires mining claimants to be U.S. citizens or business entities incorporated in the U.S. Foreign businesses can meet this requirement by having a U.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Ghost preparers are paid tax preparers who do not comply with requirements to identify themselves on tax returns they prepare for others. Ghost preparers may intentionally leave identifying information off to get away with filing fraudulent income tax returns, stealing taxpayers’ refunds, and stealing taxpayers’ identities. Courts have ordered individual ghost preparers to pay millions in restitution to the government, but according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials, the total effect of ghost preparers is likely greater, in part, because ghost preparers are difficult to detect. IRS maintains some data on identified ghost preparers, but the systems IRS uses to track..
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) oversees a $25 billion annual budget and approximately 70,000 management and operating contractor personnel to maintain the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and nuclear nonproliferation efforts. NNSA took steps to build its federal workforce to meet mission needs in 2024, with its workforce peaking at 1,991 early in fiscal year 2025. However, since then through the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, NNSA has reduced its federal workforce by 236 employees—or 11.9 percent. These reductions have impacted NNSA’s mission critical workforce, including occupations like nuclear engineers and contract specialists. Number of National N.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reduced its workforce by 29 percent in 2025 and modified the types of programs it funds in response to presidential directives and executive branch guidance. HUD largely achieved workforce reductions through deferred resignation programs. Over half the employees who separated had at least 10 years of service at HUD, including 41 percent with more than 20 years of service. HUD did not publish notice of any reorganization plans that led to field office closures in 2025, though in 2026 it announced plans to consolidate one field office into a nearby regional office. Workforce Changes at the Department of Housing and Urban Dev.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Body-worn cameras provide law enforcement personnel with the capability to record interactions with the public. When initiating their body-worn camera programs, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) each developed a plan that included key components of a comprehensive program management plan. However, CBP and ICE have not updated their program plans since 2022 and 2024, respectively. They have therefore not taken into account significant changes in the program, such as increases in the number of cameras scheduled for deployment and a 2025 pause in further camera deployment. Body-Worn Camera and Functional Buttons CBP and IC.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in a variety of scenarios, or use cases, in the Department of Defense (DOD). In guidance, DOD established AI Ethical Principles and the concept of Responsible AI to ensure the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems. DOD further defined six tenets to guide Responsible AI implementation. Most of the 10 DOD components GAO surveyed reported taking at least initial steps to establish oversight and implement Responsible AI tenets in the selected surveyed use cases. The Office of the Chief Digital and AI Officer (CDAO), through its Responsible AI Division, established the Responsible AI Working Council as the working-level collaborative g.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has processed an increasing volume of land nominations, leases, and permits for geothermal development on federal lands since 2019. Geothermal projects use heat from the earth’s interior to generate electricity. Parties interested in developing geothermal projects on federal lands nominate acres for BLM to review against land use plans. Such nominations increased from about 25,800 acres in 2020 to more than a million acres in 2025. BLM then offers qualifying lands for lease at auctions known as competitive lease sales, which have also increased since 2020. Once land is leased, developers submit plans to BLM for..
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Through its Civil Works program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans, constructs, and maintains water resources projects around the country. For any Civil Works projects submitted to Congress for authorization, federal statute requires the Corps to report its plans for environmental mitigation—that is, actions to avoid, minimize, or compensate for any expected losses to fish and wildlife and damage to ecological resources resulting from its projects. If the Corps determines no mitigation is necessary, it is required to report that determination. Of the 74 Civil Works projects submitted to Congress for authorization during calendar years 2020–2025, the Corps determined that.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to modernize GPS continue to face delays. In response, DOD is developing new complementary sources of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) data to mitigate GPS threats. In 2026, after years of delays, DOD canceled the Next Generation Operational Control System ground control system and began modernizing the existing GPS Operational Control Segment. Among other effects, this creates risks for the launch, checkout, and operation of new GPS satellites. Given ongoing threats to GPS, DOD is operating and continuing development of (1) satellite-based PNT systems, (2) non-satellite-based PNT systems, and (3) backup timing solutions. Ope.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Federal Information Technology (IT) Dashboard is intended to show the level of risk for an investment. The Dashboard reflects Chief Information Officers’ (CIO) ratings of risk. Selected agencies that GAO reviewed used different processes to develop their ratings. Most of these processes included some, if not all, of six factors that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) suggested. GAO’s assessments generally identified the presence of more risk compared to the associated CIO ratings. GAO determined its assessments based on investment risk documentation. Of the 53 investments assessed, GAO’s assessments matched the CIO ratings 27 times, showed more risk 24 times, and s.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Economic Development Administration (EDA) and five regional commissions—the Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority, Denali Commission, Northern Border Regional Commission, and Southeast Crescent Regional Commission—awarded more than $12 billion in grants during fiscal years 2016 through 2024 (Southwest Border Regional Commission awarded its first grants in fiscal year 2025). GAO found that economic conditions, such as poverty and unemployment rates, generally improved in regional commission areas, although these changes were difficult to attribute to EDA or regional commission funding. Grantees and local development officials GAO selected for interviews.
