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As of May 23, 2024, there are 5113 open recommendations that still need to be addressed. 411 of these are priority recommendations, those that we believe warrant priority attention. Learn more about our priority designation on our Recommendations page.

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301 - 320 of 5113 Recommendations, including 411 Priority Recommendations

Bank Supervision: More Timely Escalation of Supervisory Action Needed

GAO-24-106974
Michael Clements
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress Congress should consider requiring the adoption of noncapital triggers that require early and forceful regulatory actions tied to unsafe banking practices before they impair capital, such as by amending the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to incorporate noncapital triggers into the prompt corrective action framework. (Matter for Consideration 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Board of Governors The Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors should ensure that the Director of the Division of Supervision and Regulation revise its procedures on when to escalate supervisory concerns to informal or formal enforcement actions to be clearer and more specific and to include measurable criteria. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Higher Education: Employment Discrimination Case Referrals Between Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Could Be Improved

GAO-24-105516
Melissa Emrey-Arras
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Education Education should track the number of days it takes regional offices to refer employment discrimination complaints to EEOC and use the information to develop a plan to reduce referral delays. Such a plan could include applying good practices from certain regional offices agency-wide, or reallocating resources. (Recommendation 1)
Open

Education agreed with this recommendation and stated that it will develop a system to track the number of days it takes to refer employment discrimination complaints to EEOC. Education also stated that it will periodically review the new data to identify any effective measures to reduce referral times, and make appropriate changes, depending on available resources. We continue to recommend that Education, in addition to developing the tracking system, use the resulting data and information from the periodic reviews to develop a plan to reduce referral delays. We will monitor the agency's
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC should develop and finalize a protocol to ensure that its field offices receive and process all complaint referrals from Education. The protocol could include: consistently documenting the referrals in its new data system; communicating regularly with Education on the number of complaint referrals Education sends to EEOC and the number EEOC receives from Education; and reconciling any differences in the number of complaints sent and received. (Recommendation 2)
Open

EEOC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. The agency noted the importance of ensuring that all referrals from Education's OCR are received and processed. EEOC also noted that it will carefully consider the areas for improvement we identified. EEOC stated that in November 2023, it adopted an interim protocol with OCR to ensure receipt of all complaint referrals from OCR. Specifically, OCR is to copy EEOC headquarters officials when it refers a complaint to the appropriate EEOC field office. According to EEOC, this allows it to maintain a complete and centralized record of all

Coast Guard: Action Needed to Evaluate Efforts to Address Sexual Assault and Harassment

GAO-24-107388
Heather Macleod
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
United States Coast Guard The Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard should develop an evaluation plan with mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of actions taken to help ensure service members have an experience aligned with Coast Guard's core values and free from sexual assault and harassment. (Recommendation 1)
Open

Coast Guard reported in April 2024 that they plan to develop relevant metrics to measure cultural change through various surveys, reports, and other sources. Officials plan to use surveys such as the Defense Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS), Federal Employee Viewpoints Survey, Workplace and Gender Relations Survey, and Service Academy Gender Relations Survey to assess whether the Service is providing a safe work environment for all its members. According to Coast Guard officials, the estimated completion date is February 2025. We will continue working with the Coast Guard to monitor the

Special Operations Forces: Documented Policies and Workforce Planning Needed to Strengthen Civilian Oversight

GAO-24-106372
Diana Maurer
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict implements a systematic approach for identifying and addressing areas that require documented policies. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict develops a staffing plan for the Secretariat for Special Operations that incorporates strategic workforce planning principles, including aligning with the Secretariat's mission and goals, identifying critical skill gaps, and developing strategies to address any gaps. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy finalize their ongoing efforts by documenting an agreement that clarifies their respective administrative roles, including those related to the Secretariat's hiring, office space, and IT needs. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Real Property: More Consistent Monitoring of Asbestos Could Improve Oversight

GAO-24-106324
David Marroni
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should either implement a plan to ensure that asbestos inspections are conducted in accordance with GSA's current asbestos management policy or revise the policy to incorporate a risk-based approach. Such a plan could include strategies to address funding gaps, a timeline for completing missing inspections or updating the asbestos management policy, and steps to update the IRIS database to allow GSA to better monitor compliance with the policy. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Weapon System Sustainment: DOD Identified Operating and Support Cost Growth but Needs to Improve the Consistency and Completeness of Information to Congress

GAO-24-107378
Diana Maurer
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in coordination with CAPE and the military departments, develops and implements clarifying guidance about what independent cost estimate information to include in the sustainment review submissions to the congressional defense committees to ensure the military departments are consistently presenting sunk costs, the time frames for the independent cost estimates, the cost categories, and the effects of inflation in their critical O&S cost growth information. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

International Military Students: DOD and State Should Assess Vetting Implementation and Strengthen Information Sharing

GAO-24-106421
Diana Maurer, Chelsa L. Kenney
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—in coordination with the secretaries of the military departments—assess the implementation of vetting procedures for international military students. The assessment should include in-country data collection and the process for sharing information between stakeholders. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—in coordination with the secretaries of the military departments—take action to mitigate any ongoing factors affecting the implementation of the vetting procedures as identified in the assessment of vetting implementation. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor—clarify roles and responsibilities for sharing information on issues related to international military students. This should include roles and responsibilities for policy updates, data sharing, and analysis. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor—in collaboration with the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—clarify roles and responsibilities for sharing information on issues related to international military students. This should include roles and responsibilities for policy updates, data sharing, and analysis. (Recommendation 4)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Biomedical Research: Actions Needed to Adopt Collaboration Practices to Address Research Duplication

GAO-24-106757
Candice N. Wright
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health The Director of ARPA-H should finalize the ARPA-H Interagency Advisory Committee's charter to clearly define how the participating members agree to share information to avoid ARPA-H's unnecessary research duplication with that of HHS and other federal agencies.
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Trusted Traveler Programs: DHS Has Enrollment Processes, but CBP Should Provide Additional Information on Reconsiderations

GAO-24-106314
Tina Won Sherman
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
United States Customs and Border Protection The CBP Commissioner should include written instructions in CBP's trusted traveler program denial and revocation decision letters on how travelers can seek additional information regarding the specific reason(s) for the decision. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Autism Research and Support Services: Federal Interagency Coordination and Monitoring Efforts Could Be Further Strengthened

GAO-24-106446
John Dicken
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should establish a process for clearly tracking and reporting progress made toward goals established by the IACC for federal autism activities, coordinating with federal partners as appropriate. Such progress tracking should describe where performance is lagging, and why desired results were not achieved, if any. (Recommendation 1)
Open

HHS agreed with GAO's recommendation. We will update the status of this recommendation when HHS provides its 180 day letter (expected in summer 2024).
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should ensure that NIH documents the procedures the Office of National Autism Coordination uses, in its support of the IACC and the National Autism Coordinator, to help ensure federal autism activities are not unnecessarily duplicative. Such documentation should describe the roles and responsibilities of different entities, sources of information used, the time frames for conducting analyses, and how outcomes will be reported. (Recommendation 2)
Open

HHS agreed with GAO's recommendation. We will update the status of this recommendation when HHS provides its 180 day letter (expected in summer 2024).

Aviation Security: Transportation Security Administration Could Further Improve Officer Engagement

GAO-24-106052
Tina Won Sherman
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Transportation Security Administration The TSA Administrator should identify and implement actions, as appropriate, to address the underlying root causes of TSO dissatisfaction the agency has identified with how TSA manages and recognizes performance. (Recommendation 1)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation and said in its comment letter that it would take steps to address it by December 2024. Specifically, TSA reported plans to solicit and use feedback on employees' perceptions of the quality of their performance discussions. In addition, TSA planned to update and provide training for supervisors on performance management, though it was unclear how the training would address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction. These planned steps could help TSA collect additional information on TSO dissatisfaction and enhance supervisory training. To fully address the
Transportation Security Administration The TSA Administrator should conduct an analysis to identify the underlying root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with their opportunities for career development. (Recommendation 2)
Open

DHS concurred with this recommendation and said in its comment letter it would take steps to address it by July 2024. Specifically, TSA reported plans to use airports' submitted Local Action Plans to identify root causes on a national level. While the plans could provide useful information for TSA's root cause analysis, it will not provide the complete information TSA needs to obtain quality results if TSA reimplements its Local Action Planning process and analysis carried out in recent years. To fully address our recommendations, TSA's root cause analysis would need to include root causes
Note: the list of open recommendations for the last report may continue on the next page.

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