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Open Recommendations (84 total)

Small Business Contracting: Actions Needed to Demonstrate and Better Review Compliance with Select Requirements for Small Business Advocates

GAO-17-675
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture To address demonstrated noncompliance with section 15(k) of the Small Business Act, as amended, the Secretary of Agriculture should comply with sections 15(k)(2), (k)(15), and (k)(17) or report to Congress on why the agency has not complied, including seeking any statutory flexibilities or exceptions believed appropriate.
Open
For section 15(k)(2), related to the compensation and seniority of the person heading the OSDBU office, and for section 15(k)(15), related to collateral duties, on September 13, 2018, an agency official stated that the agency currently does not have an OSDBU director. The official stated that the agency does not have an estimate for when this would occur because the director is appointed by the White House. We will continue to monitor USDA's efforts to address this part of the recommendation. For section 15(k)(17), related to undue restriction on the ability of small businesses to compete, an agency official stated that the OSDBU is working on an internal policy which will include guidelines for action. The official stated that the estimated completion date is January 2019. We will continue to monitor USDA's efforts to address this part of the recommendation.

Foreign Investments in U.S. Agricultural Land: Enhancing Efforts to Collect, Track, and Share Key Information Could Better Identify National Security Risks

GAO-24-106337
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FPAC-BC to improve its verification and monitoring of collected AFIDA data, such as reviewing and validating information throughout the AFIDA data collection process. (Recommendation 4)
Open
USDA concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, we have not received any additional information.

IT Modernization: USDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area

GAO-21-512
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) directs the Business Center Chief Operating Officer to have the FPAC mission area implement the key IT workforce planning activity of monitoring the agency's progress in addressing competency and staffing gaps. (Recommendation 10)
Open
In August 2023, agency officials noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Workforce Steering Committee had updated the technical competencies for its IT workforce. Subsequently the FPAC Human Resources group used the updated competencies to develop a competency assessment process. However, agency officials stated that that the assessment process was put on hold. FPAC officials noted that in August 2023 they began the process of restarting the competency assessments. We will continue to review FPAC's progress in this area.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) directs the Business Center Chief Operating Officer to have the FPAC mission area implement the key IT workforce planning activity of reporting to agency leadership on progress in addressing competency and staffing gaps. (Recommendation 11)
Open
In August 2023, agency officials noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Workforce Steering Committee had updated the technical competencies for its IT workforce. Subsequently the FPAC Human Resources group used the updated competencies to develop a competency assessment process. However, agency officials stated that that the assessment process was put on hold. FPAC officials noted that in August 2023 they began the process of restarting the competency assessments. We will continue to review FPAC's progress in this area.

Tribal Economic Development: Action is Needed to Better Understand the Extent of Federal Support

GAO-22-105215
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Director of USDA's Office of Tribal Relations, in coordination with tribes, should establish a plan for periodically analyzing and publicly reporting the amount of economic development assistance provided to tribal entities by USDA and using that analysis to identify opportunities to improve assistance to tribal entities. This could include leveraging methods already used by specific USDA program offices such as Rural Development (Recommendation 4)
Open – Partially Addressed
USDA has taken steps to address the recommendation. For example, in May 2023, USDA's Office of Tribal Relations produced an action plan in response to the recommendation. Additionally, for FY2022 and FY2023, USDA's Office of Tribal Relations analyzed data and publicly reported on tribal obligations for relevant USDA Farm Service and Rural Development programs. In order to fully implement the recommendation, USDA's Office of Tribal Services should work closely with and inquire about the steps the Farm Service Agency has taken to explore additional data analysis methods beyond self-reported data to understand the reach of that agency's programs/funding in tribal communities.

Thrifty Food Plan: Better Planning and Accountability Could Help Ensure Quality of Future Reevaluations

GAO-23-105450
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that FNS designs, documents, and implements key internal controls related to data processing, including standards and procedures for review of the computer code used in generating the TFP Market Baskets. (Recommendation 7)
Open
USDA did not explicitly agree or disagree with this recommendation. In June 2023, USDA stated that the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has designed, documented, and implemented expanded internal controls related to data processing, including review of the computer code, and said they were described in the "Thrifty Food Plan Cost Estimates for Alaska and Hawaii" report. For example, according to FNS, the calculations were performed independently by two economists and results were compared at each step to ensure the final analyses yielded consistent results. In February 2024, FNS stated they will follow these same steps for the 2026 Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) reevaluation. The agency also provided us with a USDA departmental regulation and an FNS Implementation Guide for Public Access to Scholarly Publications and Digital Scientific Research Data. However, these documents do not specifically cover the TFP and do not document any specific controls, standards, or procedures related to code review. Further, the documents state that USDA-published reports, software code, and computer models are not covered by the departmental regulation, although making this type of information publicly available is encouraged. We will close this recommendation when we receive documentation of the specific controls, including standards and procedures, for review of the computer code used in generating the TFP Market Baskets.

Meat and Poultry Worker Safety: OSHA Should Determine How to Address Persistent Hazards Exacerbated by COVID-19

GAO-23-105104
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture should ensure that the Food Safety and Inspection Service meets regularly with DOL's OSHA through their interagency workgroup to resolve longstanding collaboration challenges and incorporate leading collaboration practices. In incorporating these practices, the agencies should clearly define short and long-term outcomes, track and monitor progress towards these outcomes, and publicly report collaborative outcomes. (Recommendation 2)
Open
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) agreed with this recommendation and noted its commitment to partnering with OSHA and to doing a better job collaborating to resolve challenges. Specifically, FSIS stated that it is committed to clearly defining short- and long-term outcomes, tracking and monitoring progress, and publicly reporting collaborative outcomes related to meat and poultry worker safety. We laud these plans and, as FSIS and OSHA develop additional outcomes through their workgroup, we encourage them to clearly link these outcomes to the leading collaboration practices and to the challenges we identified in this report. In August 2023, DOL stated that OSHA plans to work with FSIS to employ the leading collaborative practices that are already in use to identify and track specific short- and long-term outcomes. As of April 2024, USDA had not provided additional updates on its efforts to implement the recommendation. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of FSIS's collaboration with OSHA as they implement this recommendation.

Crop Insurance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Program Delivery and Reduce Costs

GAO-17-501
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture
Priority Rec.
To reduce year-to-year fluctuations in the administrative and operating expense subsidies that companies receive at the crop, state, and county levels, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency to consider adjusting the administrative and operating expense subsidy calculation method in a way that reduces the effects of changes in premiums caused by changes in crop prices or other factors when it renegotiates the standard reinsurance agreement.
Open
RMA stated it would take steps to implement this recommendation. According to a USDA official, to take action on this recommendation, USDA would need to renegotiate its agreement with insurance companies. As of April 2024, USDA had not taken action to implement this recommendation and it is unclear when USDA will renegotiate the agreement.

Foreign Investments in U.S. Agricultural Land: Enhancing Efforts to Collect, Track, and Share Key Information Could Better Identify National Security Risks

GAO-24-106337
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FPAC-BC, in coordination with the Administrator of FSA, to continue data mining activities that compare AFIDA data to FSA program data to identify suspected non-filers. (Recommendation 5)
Open
USDA concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, we have not received any additional information.

Cloud Security: Selected Agencies Need to Fully Implement Key Practices

GAO-23-105482
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the agency fully documents the access authorizations for its selected PaaS system. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
In September 2023, Agriculture officials described their plans for addressing our recommendation. Specifically, the officials stated that they will review their existing identity, credential and access management procedures, and will document the access authorizations for the selected system. In January 2024, the agency provided documentation of its procedures for the system's authorization process. However, the procedures did not document the access authorizations for the system. We will continue to monitor the agency's efforts to address our recommendation.
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