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Office of Science and Technology Policy

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Open Recommendations (6 total)

Research Security: Strengthening Interagency Collaboration Could Help Agencies Safeguard Federal Funding from Foreign Threats

GAO-24-106227
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Priority Rec.
As part of OSTP's ongoing efforts to address research security risks, the Director of OSTP, in coordination with federal R&D awarding agencies, should facilitate the sharing of information on identifying foreign ownership, control, or influence. This could occur, for example, in conjunction with OSTP's existing efforts to support the national security strategy or its existing role to enhance the federal research agencies' awareness of research security risks and policies under NSPM-33. (Recommendation 1)
Open
We will update the status of this recommendation as we obtain additional information on its implementation.

Artificial Intelligence: Agencies Have Begun Implementation but Need to Complete Key Requirements

GAO-24-105980
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Priority Rec.
The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy should communicate a list of federal agencies that are required to implement the Regulation of AI Applications memorandum requirements (M-21-06) to inform agencies of their status as implementing agencies with regulatory authorities over AI. (Recommendation 3)
Open
OSTP did not agree with the recommendation in our report. As of July 2024, we have not received any updates on OSTP efforts to address this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken to address this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Critical Minerals: Building on Federal Efforts to Advance Recovery and Substitution Could Help Address Supply Risks

GAO-22-104824
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in collaboration with the members of the Critical Minerals Subcommittee, should update the 2019 critical minerals national strategy as it relates to recovery and substitution. The update should address newly enacted statutory requirements and recent federal efforts and incorporate characteristics of effective national strategies, including (1) goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and performance measures; (2) resources, investments, and risk management; and (3) integration and implementation. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In January 2023, OSTP staff reported that the CMS has conducted a crosswalk of the newly enacted statutory requirements. According to OSTP staff, with the ongoing efforts of the CMS agencies to prepare the many reports required in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other recent legislation that will support and inform CMS activities, OSTP does not support the development of a new strategy at this time. In March 2024, OSTP staff stated that the existing strategy provides a useful framework for the CMS as it helps coordinate critical mineral efforts across the federal government, including efforts to advance recovery and substitution. Our recommendation is for the agencies to collaborate on updates to the parts of the strategy related to recovery and substitution, not develop a new strategy. We continue to believe such updates could help in making resource and policy decisions, prioritizing federal efforts to address cross-cutting challenges, and better ensuring accountability for the strategy's implementation, as discussed in the report. As of March 2024, we are following up on this recommendation and will update it when we receive information.

High-Performance Computing: Advances Made Towards Implementing the National Strategy, but Better Reporting and a More Detailed Plan Are Needed

GAO-21-104500
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Priority Rec.
The Director of OSTP should address each of the desirable characteristics of a national strategy, as practicable, in the implementation roadmap for the 2020 strategic plan or through other means. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
In May 2022, OSTP issued an implementation roadmap for the 2020 strategic plan for high-performance computing, and in June 2024, it issued a progress report on the strategic plan. The roadmap addressed several of the desirable characteristics of a national strategy. For example, it addressed the desirable characteristic of integration and implementation by describing collaboration and coordination across the Federal government on related initiatives and efforts, such as quantum information science, and by assigning specific activities to agencies. However, neither the implementation roadmap nor the progress report addressed other desirable characteristics, such as performance measures. We will continue to monitor OSTP's efforts to fully implement this recommendation.

U.S. Manufacturing: Federal Programs Reported Providing Support and Addressing Trends

GAO-17-240
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Priority Rec.
To enhance the ability of the Executive Office of the President to implement the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014 requirements related to reporting on advanced manufacturing, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, working through the National Science and Technology Council and agency leadership, as appropriate, should identify the information they will collect from federal agencies to determine the extent to which the objectives outlined in the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing are being achieved.
Open
In October 2018, the Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing, Committee on Technology of the National Science Technology Council released a Strategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing. This strategy provided some information on progress toward achieving the objectives of the prior National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing; however, it is unclear what information is to be collected from agencies and likewise how progress toward achieving the goals of the current strategy will be measured. In October 2022, the Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing published an updated National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing. While the strategy does establish a clear linkage between the goals, objectives, and recommendations, it does not include specific metrics or information to be collected to measure achievement of such goals. To fully address our recommendation, OSTP should also ensure that the plan identifies specific and measurable information it will collect from agencies to assess progress towards the plan's goals and objectives. Identifying such information will help ensure collection of consistent, comprehensive information with which to measure progress, and will enhance reporting on the progress of advanced manufacturing efforts. As of July 2024, OSTP has not provided an update on its plan.

Advanced Technologies: Strengthened Federal Approach Needed to Help Identify and Mitigate Supply Risks for Critical Raw Materials

GAO-16-699
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Priority Rec.
To enhance the ability of the Executive Office of the President to coordinate federal agencies to carry out the national materials policy outlined in the 1980 Act, and to broaden future applications of the early warning screening methodology, the Subcommittee should take the steps necessary to include potentially critical materials beyond minerals, such as developing a plan or strategy for prioritizing additional materials for which actions are needed to address data limitations.
Open
In September 2017, OSTP provided updated information on its efforts to implement recommendations from GAO-16-699. OSTP stated that "the Subcommittee shares GAO's interest in improving data availability and granularity. However, in some cases, private entities and foreign governments may be unwilling or unable to provide (or even collect) such data. Additionally, the Subcommittee member agencies' financial and personnel resources are limited, and significant additional resources would be required to prioritize and pursue the data for additional materials and critical materials beyond minerals. Without the appropriation of additional resources, the Subcommittee's work on these additional items will be necessarily circumscribed." In its February 2018 report on the updated application of the early warning screening methodology, the Subcommittee stated that it saw the value in analyzing more minerals and non-minerals to help inform policy decisions, but that fulfilling this need will require additional dedicated personnel and financial resources for data collection, analysis, and distribution. In March 2020, OSTP stated that the Subcommittee has explored the possibility of expanding the scope of the early warning screening methodology to include critical materials beyond minerals. According to OSTP, possible expansion candidates include carbon fiber and critical chemicals. OSTP stated that it has initiated a discussion with the Department of Interior (U.S. Geological Survey), who has been leading the methodology development, and the Department of Commerce (Bureau of Economic Analysis) with regard to possible data that would be needed for such an expansion. However, in August 2020, OSTP stated that while the expertise to expand data collection to additional materials of interest exists in the National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the capacity to expand beyond the current portfolio is not available due to budgetary constraints. In May 2021, OSTP stated that the Subcommittee is actively exploring opportunities to broaden its focus beyond the raw material and mineral challenges that have been its focus the past several years. OSTP also stated that federal agencies will work together through the Subcommittee to prioritize activities and to leverage efforts and limited resources. In May 2022, OSTP stated that multiple interagency working groups, including the Subcommittee and the Executive Order 14017 Working Group, continue to address critical materials issues relevant to our recommendation. OSTP provided several examples of interagency activities related to critical minerals data collection and mapping. In March 2024, OSTP provided additional examples of federal efforts to address critical minerals and materials, including a critical materials assessment by the Department of Energy and reviews by the Defense Logistics Agency. OSTP also stated that efforts are underway to designate NMIC as a federal statistical unit, which would provide a strong basis for the USGS to request mandatory response authority for select surveys of industry intended to collect data that are key to evaluating options to strengthen manufacturing supply chains and the circular economy. However, it remains unclear the extent to which the Subcommittee has a plan or strategy for addressing data limitations for non-mineral materials in a coordinated way. We will consider this recommendation implemented when OSTP demonstrates that it has worked with Subcommittee member agencies and other relevant interagency working groups to develop a plan to coordinate federal efforts and resources to address data limitations that hinder assessing other potentially critical materials beyond minerals.
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