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As of May 9, 2024, there are 5117 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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4901 - 4920 of 5117 Recommendations, including 412 Priority Recommendations

Personnel Security Clearances: Additional Guidance and Oversight Needed at DHS and DOD to Ensure Consistent Application of Revocation Process

GAO-14-640
Brenda S. Farrell
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7 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Defense To help ensure independence and the efficient use of resources, and, if the General Counsel determines that there are no legal impediments and that other obstacles to consolidation can be addressed, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Defense Legal Services Agency to take steps to implement the Secretary of Defense's direction to consolidate DOD's PSABs.
Open

DOD partially concurred with our recommendation. DOD stated that some DOD components disagreed with PSAB consolidation. Specifically, DOD stated that of the eleven components that provided responses to the draft report, eight concurred or had no issues or comments, while the remaining three components noted that the PSABs should remain at the component level and not be consolidated. One of these three components also commented that the perceived efficiencies from consolidation described in our report should be validated and that all models for consolidation should be evaluated before a
Department of Defense To help ensure that all employees within DOD receive the same rights during the revocation process, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to revise Army Regulation 380-67 to specify that any information collected by the Army PSAB from the employee's command or by the Army PSAB itself will be shared with the employee, who will also be given the opportunity to respond to any such information provided.
Open

DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of July 2018, DOD stated that the Army updated its PSAB guidance in 2016 to include the GAO-recommended verbiage regarding new information. Similar language will also be incorporated in Army Regulation 380-67, which is currently under revision. As of August 2023, this recommendation remains open pending a finalized version of Army Regulation 380-67. According to a DOD update to this recommendation, a major revision to Army Regulation AR 380-67, "Army Personnel Security Program," incorporates the Personnel Security Appeal Boards (PSAB's) requirement to
Department of Defense To facilitate coordination between personnel security and human capital offices regarding how a security clearance revocation should affect an employee's employment status, and to help ensure that individuals are treated in a fair and consistent manner, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, to review and revise policy regarding coordination between the personnel security and human capital offices to clarify what information can and should be communicated between human capital and personnel security officials at specified decision points in the revocation process, and when that information should be communicated.
Open

DOD concurred with our recommendation. As of August 2023, this recommendation remains open pending the department's issuance of pertinent guidance. According to DOD, changes to DOD Manual 5200.02, Procedures for the DOD Personnel Security Program" are being drafted and coordinated to revise policy and identify the appropriate intersections for the exchange of information between human capital offices and security officials. As of February 2022, DOD officials said that the revision of DOD Manual 5200.02 was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of FY2023; the update had not been
Department of Defense To help ensure that the respective DHS and DOD data systems contain sufficiently complete and accurate information to facilitate effective oversight of the personnel security clearance revocation and appeal process, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence to take steps to ensure that data are recorded and updated in the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS) and the department's new systems, so that the relevant fields are filled.
Open – Partially Addressed

DOD concurred with our recommendation. As of August 2023, this recommendation remains open pending receipt of information from DOD about the department's fielding of an updated Defense Information System for Security (DISS), which became the system of record in March 2021. According to an update provided by DOD, DISS contains an Appeals application that includes a variety of data fields to capture revocation and appeals related data. GAO is in the process of validating the fields and processes in DISS to ensure that fields in DISS related to revocations will be filled. GAO has requested
Department of Defense To help ensure independence and the efficient use of resources, the Secretary of Defense should direct the DOD General Counsel to first, resolve the disagreement about the legal authority to consolidate the PSABs (Personnel Security Appeals Board) and, in collaboration with the PSABs and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, address any other obstacles to consolidating DOD's PSABs.
Open – Partially Addressed

DOD partially concurred with our recommendation. DOD agreed with us to review legal or other impediments to consolidation, and stated that the DOD Office of General Counsel will address any unresolved disagreements about legal authority for consolidation of PSABs. DOD further commented that the DOD Office of General Counsel will work closely with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence to address other issues concerning consolidation of PSABs. However, DOD commented that some DOD components disagreed with PSAB consolidation. Specifically, DOD stated that of the eleven
Office of the Director of National Intelligence To facilitate department-wide review and assessment of the quality of the personnel security clearance revocation process, the DNI should, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, develop performance measures to better enable them to identify and resolve problems, and direct the collection of related revocation and appeals information.
Open

ODNI concurred with our recommendation. As of November 2019, ODNI stated that review proceedings considerations have been a focus of the ongoing Trusted Workforce 2.0 discussions with a view toward whether policy changes were necessary. ODNI further stated that one key to further examination of this issue is to gather metrics which can inform any subsequent adjustment to the current Executive Branch revocation and review proceedings area. They stated that metrics collection has begun with a January 2019 data call which includes the capture of metrics on denials, revocations, and national
Office of the Director of National Intelligence To help ensure that similarly situated individuals are treated consistently, and to facilitate oversight and help ensure the quality of the security clearance revocation process, the DNI should review whether the existing security clearance revocation process is the most efficient and effective approach. In this review, the DNI should consider whether there should be a single personnel security clearance revocation process used across all executive-branch agencies and workforces, with consideration of areas such as the timing of the personal appearance in the revocation process, and the ability to cross-examine witnesses. Further, to the extent that a single process or changes to the existing parallel processes are warranted, the DNI should consider whether there is a need to establish any policies and procedures to facilitate a more consistent process, and recommend as needed any revisions to existing executive orders or other executive-branch guidance.
Open

ODNI concurred with our recommendation. As of November 2019, ODNI stated that there is not currently an ongoing effort to review the security clearance revocation process across all executive branch agencies and workforces. Instead, the Trusted Workforce 2.0 efforts is conducting an end-to-end review of the current security clearance process for the executive branch and ODNI is currently gathering metrics on adverse security actions which can inform any subsequent determination on whether the revocation process requires policy adjustment by the DNI. As of August 2023, GAO had not received an

Crop Insurance: Considerations in Reducing Federal Premium Subsidies

GAO-14-700
Anne-Marie Fennell
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress To reduce the cost of the crop insurance program and achieve budgetary savings for deficit reduction or other purposes, Congress should consider reducing the level of federal premium subsidies for revenue crop insurance policies. In doing so, Congress should consider whether to make the full amount of this reduction in an initial year, or to phase in the full amount of this reduction over several years. In addition, Congress should consider directing the Secretary of Agriculture to monitor and report on the impact, if any, of the reduction on farmer participation in the crop insurance program.
Open

As of February 2024, Congress has not taken action to implement this matter.

Medicare Advantage: CMS Should Fully Develop Plans for Encounter Data and Assess Data Quality before Use

GAO-14-571
James Cosgrove
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Priority Rec.
To ensure that MA encounter data are of sufficient quality for their intended purposes, the Administrator of CMS should complete all the steps necessary to validate the data, including performing statistical analyses, reviewing medical records, and providing MAOs with summary reports on CMS's findings, before using the data to risk adjust payments or for other intended purposes.
Open – Partially Addressed

HHS generally agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2024, CMS has made progress in examining the completeness and accuracy of Medicare Advantage encounter data, but more work remains to fully validate these data. For example, CMS has established some performance metrics for MA encounter data completeness and accuracy and conducted associated analyses. CMS has communicated findings from these analyses to MAOs, with the expectation that MAOs provide plans within 60 days to address identified concerns. In addition, CMS stated in February 2024 that the agency has conducted various

Defense Health Care: US Family Health Plan is Duplicative and Should be Eliminated

GAO-14-684
Debra A. Draper
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Congress To eliminate unnecessary program duplication and to achieve increased efficiencies and potential savings within the integrated MHS, Congress should terminate the Secretary of Defense's authority to contract with the USFHP designated providers in a manner consistent with a reasonable transition of affected USFHP enrollees into TRICARE's regional managed care program or other health care programs, as appropriate.
Open

As of March 2024, no legislation has been identified that would terminate the Secretary of Defense's authority to contract with USFHP designated providers, as GAO suggested in July 2014. DOD uses two regional managed care support contractors to administer the TRICARE program. These two contractors provide military beneficiaries the same health care benefit across many of the same service areas as the statutorily required USFHP contracts, allowing duplication and inefficiencies to persist. GAO maintains that DOD could achieve cost savings if the USFHP was eliminated because the department would

Human Capital: OPM Needs to Improve the Design, Management, and Oversight of the Federal Classification System

GAO-14-677
Robert N. Goldenkoff
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
Office of Personnel Management
Priority Rec.
To improve the classification system and to strengthen OPM's management and oversight, the Director of OPM, working through the Chief Human Capital Officer Council, and in conjunction with key stakeholders such as the Office of Management and Budget, unions, and others, should use prior studies and lessons learned from demonstration projects and alternative systems to examine ways to make the GS system's design and implementation more consistent with the attributes of a modern, effective classification system. To the extent warranted, develop a legislative proposal for congressional consideration.
Open

Although OPM originally partially agreed with this recommendation, it later reported that it concurred with the recommendation. In March 2024 , OPM reported that it is preparing to modernize the GS classification system into a skills-based system. For example, it plans to update work fields such as artificial intelligence, information technology, cybersecurity, and human resources, among others . First, OPM plans to develop a white paper and a modernization plan that will include resource needs and a timeline. OPM also reported it is partnering with stakeholders such as OMB, the Office of the

Medicaid Financing: States' Increased Reliance on Funds from Health Care Providers and Local Governments Warrants Improved CMS Data Collection [Reissued on March 13, 2015]

GAO-14-627
Katherine Iritani
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The Administrator of CMS should develop a data collection strategy that ensures that states report accurate and complete data on all sources of funds used to finance the nonfederal share of Medicaid payments. There are short- and long-term possibilities for pursuing the data collection strategy, including (1) in the short-term, as part of its ongoing initiative to annually collect data on Medicaid payments made to hospitals, nursing facilities, and other institutional providers, CMS could collect accurate and complete facility-specific data on the sources of funds used to finance the nonfederal share of the Medicaid payments, and (2) in the long-term, as part of its ongoing initiative to develop an enhanced Medicaid claims data system (T-MSIS), CMS could ensure that T-MSIS will be capable of capturing information on all sources of funds used to finance the nonfederal share of Medicaid payments, and, once the system becomes operational, ensure that states report this information for supplemental Medicaid payments and other highrisk Medicaid payments.
Open

As of February 2024, this recommendation remains unimplemented. CMS did not concur with GAO's recommendation; however, the agency acknowledged that it does not have adequate data on state financing methods and that it will examine efforts to improve data collection toward this end. In December 2021, CMS issued guidance on new supplemental payment reporting requirements beginning with information about payments made on or after October 1, 2021. States have begun reporting supplemental payments to CMS, but the new state reporting does not include information on the sources of funds used to

Space Launch System: Resources Need to be Matched to Requirements to Decrease Risk and Support Long Term Affordability

GAO-14-631
Cristina T. Chaplain
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2 Open Recommendations
2 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Priority Rec.
To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program planning and affordability, and to decrease the risk of cost and schedule overruns, NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to take the following action: Provide decision makers with an informed basis for making investment decisions regarding the SLS program, NASA should identify a range of possible missions for each future SLS variant that includes cost and schedule estimates and plans for how those possible missions would fit within NASA's funding profile.
Open

NASA agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2023, NASA stated that as it implements the new organization of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, it will develop a manifest for missions beyond Artemis IV, including the hardware available for the missions. Additionally, NASA is developing Moon to Mars objectives, which will outline anticipated capability and mission needs. To fully address this recommendation, NASA needs to provide documentation that it established cost and schedule estimates for each future SLS variant and its plan for how possible missions would
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Priority Rec.
To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program planning and affordability, and to decrease the risk of cost and schedule overruns, NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to take the following action: To allow for a continued assessment of progress and affordability, NASA should structure each future increment of SLS capability with a total cost exceeding the $250 million threshold for designation as a major project as a separate development effort within the SLS program. In doing so, NASA should require each increment to complete both the technical and programmatic reviews required of other major development projects, per the agency's acquisition and system engineering policies.
Open

NASA agreed with this recommendation. NASA established an updated baseline commitment of the Orion system for Artemis II to include a docking capability in August2021. As of February 2023, NASA had not established separate cost and schedule baselines foreach additional SLS and ground systems block, though the agency previously stated it plans to. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA needs to provide evidence that it established separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional SLS and ground systems block exceeding the $250 million threshold for designation as a major project

New Markets Tax Credit: Better Controls and Data Are Needed to Ensure Effectiveness

GAO-14-500
James (Jay) R. McTigue, Jr
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of the Treasury
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of the Treasury should issue guidance on how funding or assistance from other government programs can be combined with the NMTC including the extent to which other government funds can be used to leverage the NMTC by being included in the qualified equity investment.
Open – Partially Addressed

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has not issued guidance on how funding or assistance from other government programs can be combined with the NMTC, as GAO recommended in July 2014. However, Treasury has taken steps toward addressing this action. The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), which administers the NMTC program, completed new empirical research assessing the extent to which other government programs are being combined with the NMTC. The findings of this research (issued in August 2017) indicate that some NMTC projects, especially those using other

Data Transparency: Oversight Needed to Address Underreporting and Inconsistencies on Federal Award Website

GAO-14-476
Carol R. Cha
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Office of Management and Budget To improve the completeness and accuracy of data submissions to the USASpending.gov website, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in collaboration with Treasury's Fiscal Service, should clarify guidance on (1) agency responsibilities for reporting awards funded by non-annual appropriations; (2) the applicability of USASpending.gov reporting requirements to non-classified awards associated with intelligence operations; (3) the requirement that award titles describe the award's purpose (consistent with our prior recommendation); and (4) agency maintenance of authoritative records adequate to verify the accuracy of required data reported for use by USASpending.gov.
Open – Partially Addressed

At the time of issuance in June 2014, OMB agreed with this recommendation and began taking steps to address several of the issues discussed in this recommendation that includes working with agencies to identify those required to report under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act). As of March 2022, OMB has not taken additional action to address this recommendation. We continue to believe that OMB needs to clarify its guidance on topics including descriptive award titles and non-classified awards related to intelligence activities. Fully implementing this

401(K) Plans: Improvements Can Be Made to Better Protect Participants in Managed Accounts

GAO-14-310
Charles Jeszeck
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Labor To help sponsors who offer managed account services or who are considering doing so better protect their 401(k) plan participants, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for EBSA to require plan sponsors to request from record keepers more than one managed account provider option, and notify the Department of Labor if record keepers fail to do so.
Open

DOL agreed to consider this recommendation in connection with a regulatory project on standards for brokerage windows in participant-directed individual account plans. However, in Spring 2017, DOL removed this project as an active project on its regulatory agenda. GAO believes requiring plan sponsors to ask for more than one choice of a provider may be an effective method of broadening plan sponsors' choices of managed account providers. In April 2018, DOL reported that it was not able to allocate staff time and resources to this recommendation and does not yet have a specific timeline for any
Department of Labor To help sponsors and participants more effectively assess the performance of managed accounts, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for EBSA to amend participant disclosure regulations to require that sponsors furnish standardized performance and benchmarking information to participants. To accomplish this, EBSA could promulgate regulations that would require sponsors who offer managed account services to provide their participants with standardized performance and benchmarking information on managed accounts. For example, sponsors could periodically furnish each managed account participant with the aggregate performance of participants' managed account portfolios and returns for broad-based securities market indexes and applicable customized benchmarks, based on those benchmarks provided for the plan's designated investment alternatives.
Open

DOL agreed to consider this recommendation in connection with (1) its regulatory project on standards for brokerage windows in participant directed individual account plans and (2) open proposed rulemaking project involving the qualified default investment alternative and participant-level fee disclosure regulations. In Spring 2017, the project on brokerage windows was removed as an active project on DOL's regulatory agenda, and the project on qualified default investment alternatives was moved to the long-term action category. In April 2018, DOL reported that it was not able to allocate staff
Department of Labor To help sponsors and participants more effectively assess the performance of managed accounts, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for EBSA to amend service provider disclosure regulations to require that providers furnish standardized performance and benchmarking information to sponsors. To accomplish this, EBSA could promulgate regulations that would require service providers to disclose to sponsors standardized performance and benchmarking information on managed accounts. For example, providers could, prior to selection and periodically thereafter, as applicable, furnish sponsors with aggregated returns for generalized conservative, moderate, and aggressive portfolios, actual managed account portfolio returns for each of the sponsor's participants, and returns for broad-based securities market indexes and applicable customized benchmarks, based on those benchmarks provided for the plan's designated investment alternatives.
Open

DOL agreed to consider this recommendation in connection with (1) its regulatory project on standards for brokerage windows in participant directed individual account plans and (2) open proposed rulemaking project involving the qualified default investment alternative and participant-level fee disclosure regulations. In Spring 2017, the project on brokerage windows was removed as an active project on DOL's regulatory agenda, and the project on qualified default investment alternatives was moved to the long-term action category of DOL's regulatory agenda. In April 2018, DOL reported that it was
Department of Labor To help sponsors who offer managed account services or who are considering doing so better protect their 401(k) plan participants, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for EBSA to provide guidance to plan sponsors for selecting and overseeing managed account providers that addresses: (1) the importance of considering multiple providers when choosing a managed account provider, (2) factors to consider when offering managed accounts as a Qualified Default Investment Alternative or on an opt-in basis, and (3) approaches for evaluating the services of managed account providers.
Open

DOL agreed to consider this recommendation in connection with a regulatory project on standards for brokerage windows in participant-directed individual account plans. However, in Spring 2017, DOL removed this project as an active project on its regulatory agenda. GAO continues to believe that plan sponsors would benefit from additional guidance for selecting and overseeing managed account providers. In April 2018, DOL reported that it was not able to allocate staff time and resources to this recommendation and does not yet have a specific timeline for any next action. In June 2021, the agency
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