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As of May 8, 2024, there are 5108 open recommendations that still need to be addressed. 412 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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4981 - 5000 of 5108 Recommendations, including 412 Priority Recommendations

Military Bases: Opportunities Exist to Improve Future Base Realignment and Closure Rounds

GAO-13-149
Brian Lepore
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress If cost savings are to be a goal of any future BRAC round, Congress may wish to consider amending the BRAC statute by elevating the priority DOD and the BRAC Commission give to potential costs and savings as a selection criterion for making base closure and realignment recommendations.
Open

All the Matters for Congressional Consideration are contingent on the implementation of another round of BRAC. As of March 2024, Congress has not authorized another round of BRAC.
Congress If Congress authorizes additional BRAC rounds, it may wish to consider amending BRAC legislation by requiring the Secretary of Defense to formally establish specific goals that the department expects to achieve from a future BRAC process.
Open

All the Matters for Congressional Consideration are contingent on the implementation of another round of BRAC. As of March 2024, Congress has not authorized another round of BRAC.
Congress If Congress authorizes additional BRAC rounds, it may wish to consider amending BRAC legislation by requiring the Secretary of Defense to propose selection criteria as necessary to help achieve those goals, if necessary and appropriate.
Open

All the Matters for Congressional Consideration are contingent on the implementation of another round of BRAC. As of March 2024, Congress has not authorized another round of BRAC.
Congress If Congress decides to authorize a future base closure round, it may want to consider whether to limit or prohibit the BRAC Commission from adding a contingent element to any recommendation and, if permitted, under what conditions.
Open

All the Matters for Congressional Consideration are contingent on the implementation of another round of BRAC. As of March 2024, Congress has not authorized another round of BRAC.

Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Fees: Major Changes Needed to Align Fee Revenues with Program Costs

GAO-13-268
Susan J. Irving
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress In light of declining discretionary budgets, to reduce or eliminate the reliance of the AQI program on taxpayer funding, Congress should consider allowing USDA to set AQI fees to recover the aggregate estimated costs of AQI services--thereby allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to set fee rates to recover the full costs of the AQI program.
Open

As of March 2024, Congress had not passed legislation to give the Secretary of Agriculture authority to set fee rates to fully recover the aggregate costs of agricultural quarantine inspection (AQI) services, as GAO suggested in March 2013. The current AQI fee authority does not permit the U.S. Department of Agriculture to set AQI fees to recover the aggregate estimated costs of AQI services (21 U.S.C. ? 136a). Authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to set fee rates to recover the full costs of the AQI program would save the federal government money by reducing the program's reliance on U.S
Congress Congress should consider amending USDA's authorization to assess AQI fees on bus companies, private vessels, and private aircraft and include in those fees the costs of AQI services for the passengers on those buses, private vessels, and private aircraft.
Open

As of March 2024, Congress had not passed legislation to give the Secretary of Agriculture authority to assess agricultural quarantine inspection (AQI) fees on private vessels, private aircraft, and commercial buses and include in those fees the costs of AQI services for the passengers on those vehicles. The current AQI fee authority does not permit the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess AQI fees on private vessels, private aircraft, and commercial buses and to recover, through those fees, the costs of AQI services for the passengers on those vehicles (21 U.S.C. ? 136a).

End-Stage Renal Disease: CMS Should Improve Design and Strengthen Monitoring of Low-Volume Adjustment

GAO-13-287
James Cosgrove
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Priority Rec.
To reduce the incentive for facilities to restrict their service provision to avoid reaching the LVPA treatment threshold, the Administrator of CMS should consider revisions such as changing the LVPA to a tiered adjustment.
Open – Partially Addressed

CMS concurred with this recommendation and has taken some steps to implement it. For example, CMS obtained input on the LVPA from sources such as Technical Expert Panels that the agency convened as well as responses to a Request for Information as part of the CY 2022 rulemaking process. CMS stated that the agency planned to use this input to inform potential proposals for refining the LVPA through the rulemaking process. CMS also stated that, as of February 2024, the agency's plan was to issue a proposed and final rule in CY 2024 to revise the LVPA. Once CMS has issued the final rule to revise

Managing for Results: Data-Driven Performance Reviews Show Promise But Agencies Should Explore How to Involve Other Relevant Agencies

GAO-13-228
J. Christopher Mihm
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Office of Management and Budget To better leverage agency quarterly performance reviews as a mechanism to manage performance toward agency priority and other agency-level performance goals, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget should work with the Performance Improvement Council and other relevant groups to identify and share promising practices to help agencies extend their quarterly performance reviews to include, as relevant, representatives from outside organizations that contribute to achieving their agency performance goals.
Open

As of July 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Performance Improvement Council (PIC) have taken little action to address this recommendation. In August 2017, PIC staff told us that they were working to identify examples where agencies had included representatives from outside organizations in their performance reviews, and would then disseminate promising practices based on those experiences. However, according to information shared by OMB and PIC staff in March 2019, they had not taken any additional action, nor had they identified or shared any such practices. OMB staff

Export Promotion: Small Business Administration Needs to Improve Collaboration to Implement Its Expanded Role

GAO-13-217
Loren Yager
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration
Priority Rec.
To more effectively implement SBA's expansion of OIT field staff as required by the SBJA, the Administrator of the SBA should update SBA's plan for additional OIT staff to include funding sources and time frames, as well as possible efficiencies from clearly defining roles and responsibilities and leveraging other entities' export assistance resources.
Open

SBA agreed with this recommendation. In December 2023, SBA officials said the Office of International Trade had filled 23 of the 30 Export Finance Manager positions required under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. According to SBA officials, its current staffing level adequately fills the export finance needs of small businesses due to SBA's use of technology to provide training and counseling to more exporters in the past 2 years and consolidation of the industry. In March 2024 SBA submitted a legislative proposal to Congress to reduce the Act's requirement of 30 export finance specialists

VA Health Care: Reliability of Reported Outpatient Medical Appointment Wait Times and Scheduling Oversight Need Improvement

GAO-13-130
Debra A. Draper
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs
Priority Rec.
To ensure reliable measurement of veterans' wait times for medical appointments, the Secretary of VA should direct the Under Secretary for Health to take actions to improve the reliability of wait time measures either by clarifying the scheduling policy to better define the desired date, or by identifying clearer wait time measures that are not subject to interpretation and prone to scheduler error.
Open – Partially Addressed

VA agreed with our recommendation. Since 2013, VA has taken actions intended to address the reliability of appointment wait times through improvements in appointment scheduling, including issuing a revised scheduling policy, providing and documenting scheduler training, and improving oversight through scheduler audits. While the revised scheduling policy and subsequent guidance changed the terminology of wait-time measures, they did not substantively clarify or define the wait time measurement. In February 2024, VA provided evidence to GAO that the department established "Third Next Available

Federal Rulemaking: Agencies Could Take Additional Steps to Respond to Public Comments

GAO-13-21
Melissa Emrey-Arras, Robert J. Cramer
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Office of Management and Budget To better balance the benefits of expedited rulemaking procedures with the benefits of public comments that are typically part of regular notice-and-comment rulemakings, and improve the quality and transparency of rulemaking records, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Chairman of Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), should issue guidance to encourage agencies to respond to comments on final major rules, for which the agency has discretion, that are issued without a prior notice of proposed rulemaking.
Open

OMB responded in 2021 that OIRA desk officers continue to work with agencies to promote appropriate responses to comments on final major rules. OMB stated that it agrees that agencies should respond to comments on final major rules, for which the agency has discretion, and that are issued without a prior notice of proposed rulemaking. OMB says it will continue to prioritize this issue during review of regulations under EO 12866. Further, the agency states it is considering whether additional guidance is appropriate and will consult with the staff of the Administrative Conference of the United

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Agency Faces Challenges in Responding to New Product Risks

GAO-13-150
Alicia Puente Cackley
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress To better enable CPSC to target unsafe consumer products, Congress may wish to amend section 29(f) of CPSA to allow CPSC greater ability to enter into information-sharing agreements with its foreign counterparts that permit reciprocal terms on disclosure of nonpublic information.
Open

As of March 4, 2024, Section 29 of CPSA had not been amended since 2008. In the 117th Congress, two identical bills were introduced in the House (H.R. 2813) and Senate (S.1355) that would amend Section 29 and decrease the limitations on disclosure of information. No actions on these bills have been taken since April 2021. In the 118th Congress, one bill proposed a change to Sec. 29(F) on disclosure requirements for manufacturers or private lenders, but no further action had been taken. Prior to this, in 2013, a bill was introduced (S.1887) but not passed. That bill would have allowed "the

Highway Trust Fund: Pilot Program Could Help Determine the Viability of Mileage Fees for Certain Vehicles

GAO-13-77
Susan Fleming
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Transportation To ensure that up-to-date data are available on the road damages imposed by all vehicles types compared with the revenues each contributes to the Highway Trust Fund, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FHWA Administrator to revise and publish the agency's Highway Cost Allocation Study and update it periodically as warranted.
Open

DOT neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-58) directed DOT, in coordination with State departments of transportation, to conduct a highway cost allocation study to determine the direct costs of highway use by various types of users. In February 2024, DOT officials told GAO that they plan to begin the study by the end of 2024, and complete it by 2028. GAO will continue to monitor both DOT and FHWA efforts to implement GAO's recommendation.

Medicaid: More Transparency of and Accountability for Supplemental Payments Are Needed

GAO-13-48
Katherine Iritani
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress To improve transparency of and accountability for Medicaid non-DSH supplemental payments, Congress should consider requiring the Administrator of CMS to (1) improve state reporting of non-DSH supplemental payments, including requiring annual reporting of payments made to individual facilities and other information that the agency determines is necessary to oversee non-DSH supplemental payments; (2) clarify permissible methods for calculating non-DSH supplemental payments; and (3) require states to submit an annual independent certified audit verifying state compliance with permissible methods for calculating non-DSH supplemental payments.
Open – Partially Addressed

In December 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law legislation requiring additional state reporting on Medicaid supplemental payments. The annual reports are to include a description of how these payments are consistent with economy and efficiency, criteria used to determine which providers are eligible to receive these payments, and a comprehensive description of the methodology used to calculate the amount of, and to distribute, the payments to each eligible provider, among other things. As of March 2024, there had been no legislative action regarding required annual

Information Management: National Technical Information Service's Dissemination of Technical Reports Needs Congressional Attention

GAO-13-99
Valerie C. Melvin
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress In light of the agency's declining revenue associated with its basic statutory function and the charging for information that is often freely available elsewhere, Congress should consider examining the appropriateness and viability of the fee-based model under which NTIS currently operates for disseminating technical information to determine whether the use of this model should be continued.
Open – Partially Addressed

Congress had taken a number of actions that affect the NTIS fee-based model for disseminating technical information, as GAO recommended in November 2012. Specifically, for the past 10 fiscal years, appropriations acts have prohibited NTIS from charging customers for reports generated by legislative branch offices unless the agency tells the customer how an electronic copy of the report can be accessed or downloaded for free online. This statutory language further states that, if a customer still requires such a report from NTIS, the agency should not charge more than what is needed to recover

Motorcycle Safety: Increasing Federal Funding Flexibility and Identifying Research Priorities Would Help Support States' Safety Efforts

GAO-13-42
Susan Fleming
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress In order to provide states with greater flexibility to pursue a range of strategies to address the various factors contributing to motorcycle crashes and fatalities, Congress should consider allowing states to use the Motorcyclist Safety Grants for purposes beyond motorcyclist training and raising motorist awareness of motorcycles.
Open

As of March 2024, legislation has not been introduced into the 118th Session of Congress to expand the use of Motorcyclist Safety Grants beyond motorcyclist training and awareness efforts. GAO will continue to monitor Congressional actions related to this matter.

General Aviation Safety: Additional FAA Efforts Could Help Identify and Mitigate Safety Risks

GAO-13-36
Gerald L. Dillingham
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Transportation To enhance FAA's efforts to improve general aviation safety, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FAA Administrator to improve measures of general aviation activity by requiring the collection of the number of hours that general aviation aircraft fly over a period of time (flight hours). FAA should explore ways to do this that minimize the impact on the general aviation community, such as by collecting the data at regular events (e.g., during registration renewals or at annual maintenance inspections) that are already required.
Open

FAA did not concur with this recommendation. FAA indicated that it does not require the collection of the number of hours that general aviation aircraft fly over a period of time (flight hours) because the collection of flight hour data during registration renewals or annual maintenance inspections would require rulemaking and potentially have a significant economic and paperwork impact on the general aviation community. FAA stated that non-regulatory approaches to enhancing the general aviation survey, such as targeted surveys and outreach to stakeholders, have produced results sufficiently
Department of Transportation To enhance FAA's efforts to improve general aviation safety, and to ensure that ongoing safety issues are addressed, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FAA Administrator to set specific general aviation safety improvement goals--such as targets for fatal accident reductions--for individual industry segments using a datadriven, risk management approach.
Open

FAA did not concur with this recommendation. FAA told us that the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) has undertaken a data-driven approach to resolving and mitigating the risks associated with all General Aviation (GA) fatal accidents. For example, FAA stated that segments of the GA community that have higher accident rates will appear proportionally in the accident databases they analyze, therefore adequately addressing our concerns about differences across industry segments. FAA also told us that they track and report internally on various segments within GA on a monthly basis
Department of Transportation To enhance FAA's efforts to improve general aviation safety, and to determine whether the programs and activities underlying the 5-year strategy are successful and if additional actions are needed, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FAA Administrator to develop performance measures for each significant program and activity underlying the 5-year strategy.
Open

FAA did not concur with this recommendation. Although we did confirm that FAA had established performance metrics for the activities underlying the 5-year strategy, FAA did not provide documentation of how the metrics for those activities were tracked against safety outcomes, and this recommendation has remained open. FAA recently told us that their primary performance measure is the GA fatal accident rate, but the pillars of the original 5-year strategy, though still relevant, have been superseded. We still believe that the development of performance measures for each significant program

Medicare: Higher Use of Advanced Imaging Services by Providers Who Self-Refer Costing Medicare Millions

GAO-12-966
James Cosgrove
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services In order to improve CMS's ability to identify self-referred advanced imaging services and help CMS address the increases in these services, the Administrator of CMS should insert a self-referral flag on its Medicare Part B claims form and require providers to indicate whether the advanced imaging services for which a provider bills Medicare are self-referred or not.
Open

HHS disagreed with our recommendation and, as of February 2024, had no plans to take further action. CMS believes that a new checkbox on the claim form identifying self-referral would be complex to administer and that providers may not characterize referrals accurately. We maintain that such a flag on Part B claims would likely be the easiest and most cost-effective way for CMS to identify self-referred advanced imaging services and monitor the behavior of those providers who self-refer these services.
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