CABI U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found In May 2025, GAO identified eight priority recommendations for the Department of Commerce (Commerce). Since then, Commerce has implemented one of those recommendations. In July 2026, GAO added one priority recommendation, bringing the total to eight. GAO is highlighting the following two areas that warrant timely and focused attention: Improving planning for the decennial census, and Protecting personally identifiable information. Addressing GAO's recommendations in these areas could improve census cost and accuracy, particularly for hard-to-enumerate populations, and help Commerce protect personally identifiable information from unauthorized access, tampering, or loss. Takin.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found As of March 31, 2025, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) awarded 57 task orders across nine contracts since implementing the End State Contract Model (ESCM) in fiscal year 2020. The ESCM uses task orders for contractors to achieve a stated outcome, or “end state,” to move sites toward completion, manage cost and schedule performance, and reduce DOE’s environmental liability. About half (29) included defined end states and the remainder were for support work or cleanup work that did not yet have a defined end state. EM has not consistently achieved intended results for selected task orders GAO reviewed. Of the nine selected task orders com.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Many countries are undertaking efforts to manage, treat, and dispose of nuclear waste. Several have taken actions that accelerated cleanup, reduced risks, and resulted in cost savings—lessons that could inform the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) efforts. For example: The United Kingdom (UK) saved a total of at least £2 billion (equivalent to $2.6 billion as of March 2026) by implementing a risk-informed approach to managing its nuclear waste. This approach helped minimize how much waste would need disposal in a repository for waste low in radioactivity. Canada has prioritized accelerating cleanup activities at key nuclear waste sites. As a..
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Proposed Rule | In response to a request from Varnum LLP (Varnum), NHTSA is announcing a 30-day extension of the public comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on June 26, 2026 proposing to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, "Light vehicle brake systems." The proposed modifications would distinguish how regulations apply to vehicles with and without manually operated driving controls. The comment period for the NPRM was originally scheduled to end on July 27, 2026. It will now end on August 26, 2026.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Rule | The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2024-19- 14, which applied to certain The Boeing Company Model 777-200, 777- 200LR, 777-300ER, and 777F series airplanes. AD 2024-19-14 required repetitive inspections and bond resistance measurement of the bonding jumpers on the first fuel feed tube installed immediately forward of the wing front spar at the left and right main fuel tank penetrations and applicable corrective actions. This AD was prompted by a determination that additional inspections are required to address the unsafe condition. This AD requires repetitive detailed inspections (DETs), repetitive bond res.
CABI Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Health and Human Services Department, Children and Families Administration | Notice | In accordance with subsection (e)(12) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), ACF Tech, is providing notice of a re-established matching program between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and State Public Assistance Agencies (SPAAs) participating in the Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) Program. The matching program provides the SPAAs with VA's compensation and pension data on a periodic basis to use in determining public assistance applicants' and recipients' eligibility for certain.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found In May 2025, GAO identified 39 priority recommendations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since then, DHS has implemented five of these recommendations. GAO also closed two recommendations that were no longer valid. In July 2026, GAO identified an additional seven priority recommendations, bringing the total to 39. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention: Improving disaster preparedness and response, Enhancing information technology and cybersecurity, and Strengthening immigration and border security policies and data. Addressing GAO's recommendations in these areas would improve DHS and Federal Emergency Management.
CABI Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Health and Human Services Department, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | Notice | The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collecti.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Office of Isotope Research and Development and Production (IRP), within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, produced, sold, and distributed 265 isotopes during fiscal years 2020 through 2025. Many of these isotopes are critical to medical diagnosis and treatment, national security, industrial processes and manufacturing, and quantum science. IRP made over 7,700 isotope shipments, most of which were for medical purposes. Department of Energy Isotope Production Facility IRP assesses market needs for isotopes on a case-by-case basis and manually tracks interactions with industry, customers, and others. However, IRP has not systematically assessed needs or ali.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER) is a web application that links service members’ and veterans’ military toxic exposures and related information from Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) databases. DOD and VA intend ILER to be a multi-purpose tool to support clinicians in providing diagnoses and treatment decisions, researchers in conducting health surveillance and epidemiological research, and Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) claims benefits staff in processing disability claims. Use of the ILER web application among DOD and VA staff increased after the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (PACT Act) was enacted in August 2022...
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has not fully implemented selected leading planning and management practices for its enterprise software asset management (eSAM) program. eSAM is a department-wide effort intended to change how VA manages software assets by, among other things, requiring VA offices to coordinate with, and centrally report software license data to, VA’s IT management organization. This will require a change in organizational practices, given that VA programs have historically acquired their software independently. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Implementation of Selected Leading Program Planning and Management Practice Areas for the Enterprise Soft.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Technologies like batteries and semiconductors are essential to the U.S. economy but rely on imports of lithium, gallium, and other critical minerals. GAO found that substitution and recycling technologies could help reduce U.S. reliance on these imports. But progress is likely to take many years in some cases. Potential for technologies to reduce critical mineral import reliance For batteries, substitution and recycling technologies offer near-term potential. For example, using lithium iron phosphate batteries for stationary grid energy storage might reduce imports of cobalt, manganese, and nickel in the next 2 to 3 years. But these batteries do not perform as well in other..