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 Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Agriculture Department, Agricultural Marketing Service | Rule | This final rule amends Marketing Order No. 989, which regulates the handling of raisins produced from grapes grown in California. The Department of Agriculture approves and adopts amendments proposed by the Raisin Administrative Committee (Committee) after due consideration of a public hearing record, and after California raisin producers voted in favor of such amendments in a referendum. This rule reduces the Committee membership size from 47 to 21, removes producer district representation and adds an unaffiliated producer member seat, eliminates the designated cooperative bargaining association member seat, and lowers quorum..
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Proposed Rule | The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a finding that severe corrosion could occur on affected slotted nuts located at the wing thrust spigots. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the affected slotted nuts and applicable corrective actions. This proposed AD would also prohibit the installation of affected parts. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Proposed Rule | The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a girt bar fitting safety hook on an airplane in the production line was found stuck in the upward position due to excessive sealant applied between the girt bar fitting and door mat. This proposed AD would require a detailed inspection of each affected part and applicable corrective actions, and provide additional requirements for maintenance. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
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.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The insurance plan sponsors that provide Medicare Part D drug coverage have increasingly become vertically integrated—that is, under common ownership—with pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies. GAO found that, for four large Part D plan sponsors, the pharmacies they owned accounted for about 28 percent of the Part D drugs they provided to their enrollees (drug utilization) and about 24 percent of the total payments to pharmacies in 2023 (see figure). Payments included both reimbursement from plan sponsors and cost sharing paid by or on behalf of beneficiaries. When these vertically integrated plan sponsors’ own pharmacies provided drugs to their enrollees, they primarily d.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Rural Health Transformation program provides funding for states to conduct rural health activities, such as recruiting clinicians to rural areas and providing training and technology to improve care delivery in rural hospitals. In the latter half of 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) completed a number of early key actions to implement the Rural Health Transformation program. These actions included the release of the notice of funding opportunity—which provided details on program goals and requirements—and initial funding awards to all 50 states totaling $10 billion. The initial allotment of state funding ranged from $147 million for New Jersey to $2.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found When homebuyers apply for a mortgage, lenders request their credit reports from credit reporting agencies. These agencies may then sell the homebuyers’ contact and credit information to other lenders and brokers, which use it to send competing loan offers. Before recent legislation, credit reporting agencies could, without the homebuyer’s consent, provide this information to those that did not have an existing relationship with the homebuyer (see figure). Thus, homebuyers could receive dozens of mortgage solicitations by phone or text in a short period. Example of the Mortgage Trigger Lead Marketing Process According to industry stakeholders, the primary benefit of trigger le.
