Reports & Testimonies

The military services use digital marketing on social media platforms—such as Facebook, X, and Instagram, among others—to inform young people about career paths and military life. But favorable views of the military are declining among Gen Z. And in FY 2023, several military services missed their recruiting goals by thousands. The services need to better manage risks to their brands, assess whether marketing efforts are...

Women amputees, in particular, have unique needs when they seek prosthetics. For example, there may be fewer commercially available prosthetic devices available for women. Women are also studied less than their male counterparts in prosthetic and amputee rehabilitation research. Prosthetic care is an important part of veterans health care. This statement for the Congressional Record discusses the prosthetic services the Veterans Health Administration provided to...

Emerging technologies—like facial recognition or AI—have rapidly increased the amount of personally identifiable information federal agencies collect, share, and use. This Q&A report examines how agencies protect the public's civil rights and civil liberties while using personal data. Some agencies have policies and procedures to guide them in these efforts. But the specifics are different across agencies because there's no government-wide laws or guidance. We...

Cyberattacks can disrupt the transportation systems that many people and businesses rely on, like mass transit and freight rail. The TSA is responsible for protecting the nation's transportation sector. We testified about our work on TSA's efforts to address cybersecurity issues. For example, TSA has taken steps to bolster its cybersecurity workforce and meet workforce needs. But TSA could do more to reduce risks from...

Each year thousands of migrant children enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian. We testified on efforts to address 9 of our prior recommendations related to the Office of Refugee Resettlement's role in caring for unaccompanied children. Our recommendations included: Ensuring care providers are qualified Overseeing and monitoring care facilities Tracking services after the children are released to sponsors The agency fully addressed 5...

Bank failures in 2023 raised questions about federal regulators' ability to promptly address unsafe banking practices. For this report, we reviewed documents from 60 institutions, interviewed 109 bank examiners, and more. We found weaknesses in regulators' processes for addressing issues. For example, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. examiners told us managers sometimes altered their reports without consultation or documentation, potentially introducing risk of bias. Also, the...

The Department of Energy is responsible for cleaning groundwater contamination that poses threats to public health and the environment. At 4 sites we examined, of the 13 involved, DOE is cleaning groundwater to drinking water standards. Site officials estimated these efforts will collectively cost at least $10 billion over the next 5 decades. However, DOE doesn't have comprehensive information on cleanup progress at all 13...

Millions of Americans—many of them children—have a rare disease. But only about 5% of the nearly 10,000 identified rare diseases have Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments. Developing rare disease drugs is challenging. The diseases aren't well understood, and small patient populations can limit clinical trial results. FDA has 18 rare disease programs to address such complexities. FDA is also implementing a new Rare Disease Innovation...

The Coast Guard rotates about 40% of its active-duty service members to new duty stations each year. The rotations are often to remote or expensive areas with a large proportion of vacation rentals. Coast Guard officials told us that service members can face challenges during rotations such as few moving company options and reduced access to specialty health care. However, the Coast Guard doesn't have...

Since 1974, the Shadow Wolves—a highly trained Native American investigations unit—have used traditional and modern methods to combat smuggling from Mexico to the Tohono O'odham Nation reservation in Arizona. They're part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We assessed ICE's progress in addressing our 6 prior recommendations to improve the Shadow Wolves program. ICE fully addressed 1 and made progress on 2 others, but more...

Greenhouse gas emissions from public transportation can contribute to climate change. These can be reduced by transitioning to zero-emission (e.g., electric) buses. Their use is expected to triple by 2030. But frontline transit workers—drivers and mechanics—will need new skills to service and operate electric buses. The Federal Transit Administration has taken several steps to help address workforce needs. For example, the FTA helps transit agencies...

Federal aid to tribal, state, local, and territorial governments—primarily through grants—accounted for approximately 18% of spending in FY 2023. Across the government, managing these grants has presented longstanding challenges. We looked at how 4 other countries reformed their grants management processes to address challenges. For example: The United Kingdom established a central department to support excellence in grantmaking, and to ensure the government-wide workforce has...

The State Department's Foreign Service shapes the face of U.S. diplomacy abroad. In 2020, State launched an initiative to transform its Foreign Service promotion process to be more fair, inclusive, and effective. But a 2022 survey found that employees perceived a lack of these values in the process. Selection boards are responsible for recommending employees for promotion. We found a shortage of historically disadvantaged ethnic...

Federal courthouse construction projects usually cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The U.S. Courts' Design Guide is intended to help ensure these projects result in functional and cost-effective courthouses. The U.S. Courts didn't fully collaborate with its agency partners—or get input from multiple court officials who use the courthouses—when updating the Design Guide in 2021. We found that changes in the update will increase courthouse...

The Securities and Exchange Commission enforces securities laws that protect investors. The SEC collected $4.1 billion in penalties for securities law violations in FY24. Some of that goes to the Investor Protection Fund, which rewards whistleblowers and supports investor education. We audit and issue opinions annually on SEC and Fund financial statements and on related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's goal is to keep the housing finance system healthy by supervising and regulating Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. The agency spent $407 million in FY 2024 to do its work. We audit and issue opinions annually on the agency's financial statements and on related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are...

GAO's work yielded $67.5 billion in financial benefits for the federal government in FY 2024—a return of $76 for every dollar invested in us. We did it by recommending ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs and more. For example, we: Prompted the Department of Defense to improve its efforts to identify improper payments—i.e., payment errors and fraud—resulting in $4.8 billion in...

Caribbean countries accounted for 6 of the world's 10 highest murder rates, according to the United Nations. Caribbean law enforcement asked the U.S. to trace 7,399 guns recovered in crimes from 2018 to 2022. About three-fourths came from the U.S. U.S. agencies have a variety of programs to help improve law enforcement, such as the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, a U.S. partnership with 13 countries...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau works to enhance citizens' financial education and ensure that banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat people fairly. The agency spent $923.7 million in FY 2024 to do its work. We audit and issue an opinion annually on CFPB's financial statements and on related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are properly authorized and recorded). In FY...