Reports & Testimonies

Hundreds of billions of dollars were likely lost to fraud during the pandemic. As of December 2024, the Department of Justice has charged more than 3,000 people, companies, and other entities with fraud-related crimes. Defendants were typically sentenced to prison, usually 1–5 years. Most were also ordered to pay restitution in varying amounts, with the highest over $71 million. It’s crucial for agencies to learn...

We testified that many federal buildings are in poor condition and the problem is getting worse. Federal building repair backlogs more than doubled to $370 billion from FYs 2017 to 2024. This prompted us to add federal building condition to the "Managing Federal Real Property" area of our High Risk List in 2025. Unless this trend reverses, federal assets will continue to deteriorate and need...

Domestic terrorism threats have increased in recent years. In 2021, the White House issued the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, which tasked multiple federal agencies with actions to address these threats. Agencies have taken steps to implement 49 of the 58 activities we identified. We found ways the strategy could be more effective. For example, it doesn't clarify which federal agency is responsible for...

Drug shortages are a serious public health problem affecting patient access to care, such as cancer treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened existing drug supply chain issues and shortages are lasting longer. The Food and Drug Administration aims to prevent and respond to drug shortages, but can't do it alone. Fully addressing shortages will require the Department of Health and Human Services to work across FDA...

COVID-19 led to over a million deaths in the U.S. and disrupted travel. TSA is the primary federal agency responsible for securing our transportation systems. This Q&A looks at TSA's preparedness plan for another potential communicable disease outbreak. We found that TSA: Coordinated with other agencies to help ensure its plan aligned with existing federal plans Eventually distributed its plan to federal agencies, its workforce...

The Environmental Protection Agency lists some of the nation's most seriously contaminated sites on its Superfund National Priorities List. As of March 5, 2025, the list included 1,340 active sites across the United States. We testified that appropriations to the Superfund program generally declined from fiscal years 1999 through 2024. The program also received supplemental appropriations in some years. Our prior work identified some factors...

In fiscal year 2024, GAO's work yielded $67.5 billion in financial benefits, a return of about $76 for every dollar invested in GAO. Our average return on investment for the past 6 years is $123 to $1. In this testimony before the House Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations, U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro discusses GAO's FY 2026 budget request. Our budget request will enable...

The federal government loses $233 billion–$521 billion annually to fraud, based on data from 2018-2022. We testified about AI and other tools the government can use to combat fraud. Federal agencies have existing tools to combat fraud and other improper payments. Our prior work offered recommendations on improving and using these tools. AI-enabled tools could also help by sifting through large volumes of data to...

While serving their country, military service members make decisions that affect their financial security. Some choices—like whether to pay down debt—can affect them now. Others—like saving for retirement—can affect them in the future. The Department of Defense and the military services provide training and resources to help service members understand these and other financial topics. DOD and the military services don't know how many service...

Scammers manipulate victims into sending them money. These scams may be costing Americans billions of dollars annually. For example, based on banking data filed in 2021, Treasury estimated $200 billion in impersonation-related suspicious activity. That's when a scammer impersonates someone else—like a potential romantic partner or employer, or a customer service representative—to get money. There is no government-wide estimate of the money lost to scams...

This Q&A looks at how states use federal funds to address child abuse and neglect. In FY 2015-2022, states spent $23.5 billion on child welfare from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a grant that helps families with lower incomes. During that time, states also spent $68.6 billion from Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which funds foster care and other family services. This is...

The Department of Defense is working to help military commanders better analyze and share information in real time. This complex effort is not a singular system and depends on contributions by all military services. Six years in, the military services are pursuing projects largely in isolation and without clear goals. This approach will likely result in delivering capability much more slowly and inefficiently, if at...

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant provides money and services such as job training to people in financial need. We testified about recommendations from our prior reports to improve how the Department of Health and Human Services oversees TANF. For example, HHS could: Find ways to improve states' reporting on TANF expenditures Find ways to help states resolve problems found in TANF audits...

The federal government struggles to manage a vast real estate portfolio. Problems identifying and letting go of unneeded property, keeping up maintenance and security, and more has put this issue on our High Risk List since 2003. We testified before the House Oversight's Subcommittee on Delivering Government Efficiency on findings from our recent work. For example: Maintenance and repair backlogs have more than doubled to...

U.S. Border Patrol's Missing Migrant Program helps rescue migrants in distress and recover and identify human remains along U.S. borders. Border Patrol collects data on program activities, such as migrant rescues and deaths, and submits it in annual reports to Congress. However, Border Patrol hasn't developed an approach for evaluating the program that includes research questions and methods. So, it may not be collecting all...

This Q&A report examines how the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Homeland Security Investigations agencies coordinate on drug investigations. We found: DEA authorized an average of over 4,000 HSI agents per year to participate in drug investigations in FY 2019-2023 DEA doesn't track the time it takes to process HSI agent requests to participate in drug investigations DEA and HSI haven't implemented the agent training...

States get $16.5 billion a year in federal funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. States must audit their use of these funds and report the results to the Department of Health and Human Services. Recent audits found 162 deficiencies—56 of which were severe. For example, auditors found a state that didn't report required information for grants it gave with federal funds. 105...

The Department of Defense relies on its civilian employees and contractors in Japan and Guam to provide services such as engineering, food service, and teaching. They may receive health care at military facilities but only on a space-available basis—after active-duty service members and their families. Accessing health care through local providers can be difficult. For example, in Japan, they face language barriers and must pay...

The Medical Reserve Corps provides volunteer medical and other services to communities in times of emergency. Health and Human Services—the leader of the nation's public health emergency response—oversees, supports, and relies on information from the Medical Reserve Corps about numbers and locations of available volunteers. However, we found that data on the number of Medical Reserve Corps' volunteers was not always up to date, and...

Federal police forces play a role in protecting federal property, employees, and visitors. Their work environment and duties have changed recently due to increased threats, staffing shortages, and more—raising questions about whether their pay and retirement should change. Federal police officers are not considered federal law enforcement officers for the purposes of pay and retirement benefits. Their retirement benefits accrue at a lower rate than...