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 Quantum computers leverage qubits (the quantum equivalent of classical computer bits) to solve specific problems significantly faster than classical computers. However, the emergence of quantum computers could undermine the cryptography (e.g., encryption) that federal agencies use to secure their systems. Today’s quantum computers cannot yet break this cryptography. But a future quantum computer of sufficient size and sophistication—referred to as a cryptographically relevant quantum computer (CRQC)—could potentially do so for certain cryptography. Most industry experts believe that a CRQC will be developed, possibly as soon as the 2030s. However, development estimates vary w.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503) requires certain federal contractors to take proactive steps to employ people with disabilities. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) within the Department of Labor (DOL) oversees contractors’ compliance with Section 503. Since January 2025, DOL has reduced its oversight activities. For example, DOL has suspended audits of selected contractors, which were a key tool for monitoring compliance. From fiscal years 2017 through 2025, 532 audits found Section 503 violations. Without resuming audits, DOL has less assurance that contractors are supporting employment of people with disabilities. Further,.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Proposed Rule | The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2025-13-08, which applies to all DG Aviation GmbH Model DG-1000T gliders. AD 2025-13-08 requires revising the glider flight manual and installing "Motor INOP" placards to prohibit operation with the powerplant. Since issuance of AD 2025-13-08, a design improvement to the propeller adapter ring has been developed that is considered terminating action for the operational prohibition of AD 2025-13-08. This proposed AD would retain the requirement to revise the flight manual, would provide an optional terminating action for the retained actions by incorporating.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration | Proposed Rule | The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2026-12-09, which applies to all Airbus Helicopters Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, and AS350D helicopters. AD 2026-12-09 requires revising the airworthiness limitations section (ALS) of the existing maintenance manual (MM) or instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) and the existing approved maintenance or inspection program, as applicable. Since the FAA issued AD 2026-12-09, a determination was made that new and more restrictive airworthiness limitations and maintenance tasks are necessary. This proposed AD would require incorporating these airworth.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Homeland Security Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection | Notice | The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 inflation adjustments to certain immigration-related fees required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). HR-1 requires that DHS annually adjust certain immigration-related fees for inflation. This notice sets the inflation-adjusted FY 2027 fee amounts for the following immigration fees required by HR-1: the fee for parole of an alien into the United States, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fees, and the fee for enrollment in the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS). In accordance with the inflation adjustment round.
FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Homeland Security Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | Notice | The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 inflationary adjustments for two of the immigration enforcement-related fees established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). HR-1 requires that DHS annually adjust certain immigration enforcement-related fees for inflation. The adjusted fee amounts for FY 2027 for aliens ordered removed in absentia who are subsequently arrested and inadmissible aliens apprehended between ports of entry are $5,300. On October 16, 2026, DHS will begin assessing and collecting these new amounts.
EPA Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits
Environmental Protection Agency | Rule | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice of the availability of data on the administration of the assurance provisions of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading program for the 2025 control period. Virginia units participating in the CSAPR NO X Ozone Season Group 2E Trading Program during the 2025 control period reported total nitrogen oxides (NO X ) emissions that exceeded the State's assurance level under the program. The EPA has posted on the Agency's website a spreadsheet that presents data demonstrating the exceedance and the Agency's final calculations of the additional allowances that owners and operators..
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sold 1,316 pieces of unneeded laboratory equipment in fiscal years 2022 through 2025. Of that 1,316, GAO identified nine pieces of equipment–freeze dryers and mass spectrometers–that were on the Commerce Control List and sold to individuals and companies in the U.S. and Canada, some of which appeared to be resellers. These items are subject to export controls because they could be used by certain countries of concern to develop biological weapons or to gain a military advantage. Examples of Laboratory Equipment on the Commerce Control List GAO found that HHS and USDA, in selling th.
FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits
What GAO Found The Fly America Act requires that, except under certain circumstances, all air travel funded by the U.S. government use a U.S.-flag air carrier service—which is generally provided by a U.S. airline or under a code share agreement with a foreign air carrier. GAO found that the Act increases State Department travel costs by an estimated $0.7 million to $1.5 million annually—about 1 to 2 percent of the $69 million State spent on air travel in fiscal year (FY) 2025. To derive this estimate, GAO analyzed a generalizable sample of simulated international travel itineraries for FY 2026. This sample consisted of 1,000 ticket pairs, each containing the least expensive unrestricted far.
