Reports & Testimonies

The State Department's Foreign Service shapes the face of U.S. diplomacy abroad. In 2020, State launched an initiative to transform its Foreign Service promotion process to be more fair, inclusive, and effective. But a 2022 survey found that employees perceived a lack of these values in the process. Selection boards are responsible for recommending employees for promotion. We found a shortage of historically disadvantaged ethnic...

Millions of Americans—many of them children—have a rare disease. But only about 5% of the nearly 10,000 identified rare diseases have Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments. Developing rare disease drugs is challenging. The diseases aren't well understood, and small patient populations can limit clinical trial results. FDA has 18 rare disease programs to address such complexities. FDA is also implementing a new Rare Disease Innovation...

The Coast Guard rotates about 40% of its active-duty service members to new duty stations each year. The rotations are often to remote or expensive areas with a large proportion of vacation rentals. Coast Guard officials told us that service members can face challenges during rotations such as few moving company options and reduced access to specialty health care. However, the Coast Guard doesn't have...

Since 1974, the Shadow Wolves—a highly trained Native American investigations unit—have used traditional and modern methods to combat smuggling from Mexico to the Tohono O'odham Nation reservation in Arizona. They're part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We assessed ICE's progress in addressing our 6 prior recommendations to improve the Shadow Wolves program. ICE fully addressed 1 and made progress on 2 others, but more...

Greenhouse gas emissions from public transportation can contribute to climate change. These can be reduced by transitioning to zero-emission (e.g., electric) buses. Their use is expected to triple by 2030. But frontline transit workers—drivers and mechanics—will need new skills to service and operate electric buses. The Federal Transit Administration has taken several steps to help address workforce needs. For example, the FTA helps transit agencies...

Federal aid to tribal, state, local, and territorial governments—primarily through grants—accounted for approximately 18% of spending in FY 2023. Across the government, managing these grants has presented longstanding challenges. We looked at how 4 other countries reformed their grants management processes to address challenges. For example: The United Kingdom established a central department to support excellence in grantmaking, and to ensure the government-wide workforce has...

Federal courthouse construction projects usually cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The U.S. Courts' Design Guide is intended to help ensure these projects result in functional and cost-effective courthouses. The U.S. Courts didn't fully collaborate with its agency partners—or get input from multiple court officials who use the courthouses—when updating the Design Guide in 2021. We found that changes in the update will increase courthouse...

The Securities and Exchange Commission enforces securities laws that protect investors. The SEC collected $4.1 billion in penalties for securities law violations in FY24. Some of that goes to the Investor Protection Fund, which rewards whistleblowers and supports investor education. We audit and issue opinions annually on SEC and Fund financial statements and on related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are...

GAO's work yielded $67.5 billion in financial benefits for the federal government in FY 2024—a return of $76 for every dollar invested in us. We did it by recommending ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs and more. For example, we: Prompted the Department of Defense to improve its efforts to identify improper payments—i.e., payment errors and fraud—resulting in $4.8 billion in...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's goal is to keep the housing finance system healthy by supervising and regulating Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. The agency spent $407 million in FY 2024 to do its work. We audit and issue opinions annually on the agency's financial statements and on related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are...

We testified about the Coast Guard's operations in the Arctic and the challenges it faces there. The Coast Guard has evaluated evolving risks in the region—including from climate change and increased ship traffic. It has deployed ships to the region to cut response times, among other actions to mitigate risks. But the Coast Guard hasn't been able to meet all its commitments in the region...

Several companies may be selling health insurance in a given market, but, as we previously reported, most people usually enroll with one of a small number of insurers. Known as market concentration, this can result in fewer choices of insurers and higher premiums due to less competition in the market. Market concentration generally increased from 2011 through 2022, with three or fewer insurers holding at...

The U.S. treats, stores, and disposes of different types of hazardous waste in facilities around the country. Many of these facilities are in areas at risk from natural disasters, such as flooding, which may be exacerbated by climate change. These facilities are required to manage various risks. But, planning for the effects of climate change—such as more frequent and intense weather events—can be challenging. For...

The federal government invests more than $100 billion annually in IT. But these investments can be poorly managed—resulting in IT that fails to deliver needed improvements and is often late and over budget. A law aimed at improving IT management requires agencies to review their portfolios of IT projects and high-risk IT investments. Our report shows that agencies haven't completed these reviews. We recommended improving...

In 2021, the Department of Energy created a new office to manage about $27 billion in funding for clean energy projects. This Q&A report summarizes how DOE developed this office and its responsibilities. The office is funding new projects. In terms of office oversight and staffing, DOE is doing some things well, but could do more going forward. For example: DOE has defined some of...

Caribbean countries accounted for 6 of the world's 10 highest murder rates, according to the United Nations. Caribbean law enforcement asked the U.S. to trace 7,399 guns recovered in crimes from 2018 to 2022. About three-fourths came from the U.S. U.S. agencies have a variety of programs to help improve law enforcement, such as the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, a U.S. partnership with 13 countries...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau works to enhance citizens' financial education and ensure that banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat people fairly. The agency spent $923.7 million in FY 2024 to do its work. We audit and issue an opinion annually on CFPB's financial statements and on related internal controls (e.g., processes to reasonably assure that transactions are properly authorized and recorded). In FY...

U.S. farmers face shortages of workers. The H-2A visa program allows these employers to temporarily fill jobs with foreign workers when U.S. workers aren't available. In recent years, the number of approved H-2A jobs and visas has increased by over 50%. Federal agencies are trying to keep up with application processing, but some information must be mailed rather than submitted online—adding time. Further, the Department...

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress appropriated $385 million to Indian Affairs for certain tribal programs. But receiving the funds increased workloads for some programs—further taxing a workforce troubled by vacancies and skills gaps. Indian Affairs used administrative funds from the Act to hire staff to meet increased demands, but it hasn't yet documented how well this worked or how doing this affected other programs...