Skip to content
TeamCOG
TeamCOG
Citizens Observing Government
Try
Reports Agencies Topics Broadcasts Newsroom About Subscribe
Environment

Topic: Environment

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Naval Shipyards: Complete Information Needed for Decision-Making on Multibillion-Dollar, 50-Year Infrastructure Program

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.

FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits

Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

Small Business Administration | Notice | In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on computer matching, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a document in the Federal Register of September 11, 2026, concerning request for comments on a Privacy Act notice for a modified matching program. Pursuant to the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, SBA is modifying a matching program consisting of the computerized comparison of systems of records for benefits programs at SBA with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Do Not Pay (DNP) Working System, which is administered by Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service. T.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

FEMA: Billions in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Subgrants Remain Unawarded

What GAO Found As of March 2025, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded 1,245 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) subgrants to communities over its first four grant cycles in fiscal years 2020 through 2023. These subgrants were for mitigation activities to address hazards, such as floods. FEMA allocated about $2.5 billion for these subgrants, half the $4.8 billion available. FEMA reimbursed $62 million, and 37 subgrants had completed work and initiated the closeout process. From April 2025 to March 2026, FEMA did not award subgrants nor obligate funds. GAO found the median time for FEMA to finalize its review of su.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Funding Status: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs and Inflation Reduction Acts at the Departments of Agriculture and Energy

What GAO Found The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided federal funding to agencies, including the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE), for a wide range of efforts. These efforts included projects to reduce wildfire risk, improve rural power production, and develop clean energy technologies. Of the $37 billion provided to USDA that was not later rescinded by Public Law 119-21, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, USDA obligated $32.2 billion for fiscal years 2022 through 2025. Of the $78 billion provided to DOE that was not later rescinded, DOE obligated $51 billion for fiscal years 2022 through 202.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Private Health Insurance: Federal and State Oversight of Contraceptive Coverage Requirements

What GAO Found In 2024, about 82 percent of women of reproductive age reported using some form of contraception in the past 12 months, according to research from KFF. Most private health plans are generally required to cover the full range of contraceptives for women. The Department of Labor (DOL), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)—an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services—and states each have responsibilities for overseeing private health plans, including plans' coverage of contraception. See table for descriptions of their general oversight responsibilities and activities. DOL, CMS, and States’ General Responsibilities for Overseeing Private Health Plan.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Military Installations: Remote and Isolated Locations Face Challenges Delivering Critical Support Services

What GAO Found Remote and isolated military installations are often away from population centers or located in austere environments, making the delivery of critical support services, such as health care or housing, challenging. GAO found that while remote and isolated installations consistently faced challenges in areas such as recruiting and retaining civilian personnel, the causes and severity of those challenges differed by location. For example, in Alaska, Eielson Air Force Base had the most vacant positions (428) while Fort Greely and Clear Space Force Station had no vacant critical support services positions. In 2024, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued guidance for designating ins.

EPA Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits

Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Charlotte-Rock Hill Area Maintenance Plan for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS

Environmental Protection Agency | Proposed Rule | On February 28, 2025, the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ), submitted a request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing the State's plan for maintaining the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) through 2035 for the North Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte-Rock Hill, North Carolina-South Carolina 2008 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (the entire area is hereinafter referred to as the "bi-state Charlotte Area" and the North Carolina portion is hereinafter..

FEDE Office of the Federal Register / National Archives and Records Administration · Rulemaking audits

Guidance and Procedures for Implementing Tariff Adjustments for Specialty Pharmaceuticals and Associated Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Technical Corrections to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States for Duties Imposed Under Proclamation 11020

Commerce Department, Industry and Security Bureau | Notice | This notice defines the pharmaceutical products and lists the jurisdictions that are eligible to receive an ad valorem tariff rate of zero pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 11020 of April 2, 2026, "Adjusting Imports of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Ingredients Into the United States," (Proclamation 11020). These pharmaceutical products include drugs and associated ingredients where all approved indications are designated as orphan; nuclear medicines; plasma derived therapies; fertility drugs; cell therapy product; gene therapy product; antibody drug conjugates; medical countermeasures related to chemical, biological, radi.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

K-12 Education: Actions to Improve Oversight of Key Federal Programs and Address High Chronic Absenteeism

What GAO Found All states that receive funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) are required to develop statewide accountability systems. Thirty-six states have chosen to include indicators related to chronic absenteeism in their statewide accountability systems. ESEA also has certain chronic absenteeism reporting requirements for all states, regardless of whether a state includes chronic absenteeism in its accountability system. In 2026, the Department of Education discontinued its most comprehensive monitoring of ESEA’s programmatic and fiscal requirements. The ESEA provision intended to improve oversight of funds does not explicitly d.

CABI U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Drug Scheduling: While DEA Decisions Have Aligned with Recent HHS Recommendations, Both Need Comprehensive Policies

What GAO Found Under the Controlled Substances Act, substances that pose a risk of abuse and dependence are placed in categories—referred to as schedules. To carry out certain scheduling actions, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is required to obtain a scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) based on a scientific and medical evaluation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Evaluations and recommendations from HHS or DEA are not required for substances scheduled through legislation. Of the 208 substances for which DEA took scheduling actions from 2020 through 2025, DEA considered HHS evaluations and recommendations for all 95 substance.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Veterans Health Care: Information on Eligibility for and Use of Dental Benefits

What GAO Found More than 9 million enrolled veterans are eligible to receive health care services through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) each year. Veterans who meet certain requirements (such as having a 100 percent service-connected disability or being former prisoners of war) are also eligible to receive VA dental benefits. According to VA, about 26 percent of VHA-enrolled veterans were eligible to receive dental benefits as of February 2026. According to VHA data, the number of veterans eligible for VA dental benefits increased from fiscal years 2020 through 2025, resulting in an overall increase of approximately 70 percent from fiscal year.

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

National Nuclear Security Administration: Use of Line Items in Management and Operating Contracts Could Be Improved

What GAO Found The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has traditionally used a single, all-encompassing management and operating (M&O) contract at each of its sites to acquire work performed, including to subcontract for construction services. Beginning in 2014, NNSA introduced individual contract line item numbers (line items) to some contracts to increase the visibility of specific efforts. Line items capture information about separately identifiable goods and services that the government seeks to acquire within the scope of the overall contract. Since introducing individual contract line items in 2014, NNSA has minimally used line items to separate contract deliverables, esp.