Reports & Testimonies

The Export-Import Bank supports U.S. jobs by providing loans, loan guarantees, and insurance to promote U.S. exports. According to its policy, the Bank generally cannot finance defense goods and services unless they are nonlethal and primarily used for civilian rather than military purposes. The Bank monitors these "dual-use" items to ensure they are used mostly for civilian purposes. We report each year on these dual-use...

The National Nuclear Security Administration must regularly assess the nation's nuclear weapon stockpile— without nuclear explosive testing. However, the data that NNSA uses to model the stockpile's safety and more needs to be updated. To do so, the agency performs plutonium experiments in a facility about 1,000 feet underground. It plans to upgrade infrastructure and build 2 new tools to get more data from these...

The Department of Homeland Security spends billions annually on IT systems, aircraft, and other major acquisitions programs. Since many programs have overlapping needs, DHS established the Joint Requirements Council to help different parts of the agency find common solutions—or "joint capabilities." While the council was designed to make recommendations to DHS leadership, we found that agency leaders haven't regularly engaged with the council—limiting the council's...

Federal Prison Industries, a wholly government-owned corporation employing federal prison inmates, produces products and services that it sells to federal agencies. The Department of Defense was FPI's largest federal customer for fiscal year 2022 and purchased a range of items, including furniture, apparel, and electronics. DOD awarded contracts for about $163 million annually toward FPI products and services from fiscal years 2018-2022. When deciding whether...

A power outage can significantly disrupt an airport's operations. One 2017 outage at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport led to about 1,200 cancelled flights and cost an airline around $50 million. Many of the nation's airports are enhancing their ability to withstand and rapidly recover from power disruptions. They're improving their electrical infrastructure, including installing backup generators or solar panels. Some airports are also considering installing...

The U.S. and its allies face terrorism and other security threats. The U.S. government helps partner nations address such threats through security cooperation programs. One such program requires DOD and the State Department to jointly plan and develop "train and equip" projects—for example, training crisis response teams or providing military trucks for troop transport. But DOD hasn't worked with State to specify how and when...

In FYs 2018-2022, the Department of Defense allocated more than $5 billion to improve partner countries' ability to address threats like terrorism and drug trafficking. These projects provided equipment, training, services, and construction to national security forces. But 75% of the projects' deliverables were delayed, limiting the projects' success. Also, DOD evaluations of projects' effectiveness were not high quality—for instance, evidence and findings weren't clearly...

Lakes and rivers in Alaska often serve as key transportation corridors. Many of these waterways and the lands below them—including their beds, banks, and natural resources—are managed by the federal government. But under federal law, a state owns submerged lands beneath waters that were navigable as of the date of statehood—1959 for Alaska. This Q&A describes the processes for resolving ownership of submerged lands and...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses nuclear reactors. In the coming years, the agency expects an increase in licensing applications for advanced nuclear reactors that may provide benefits like faster and cheaper electricity production. NRC has begun updating its regulations and processes to include these reactors—but has had difficulty hiring and retaining the staff needed to license them. Although NRC has offered recruitment and retention incentives...

The Department of Labor's Job Corps is the nation's largest residential, educational, career and technical training program for low-income youth. Illegal drugs are not allowed at Job Corps' centers, and students must be tested for drug use when they arrive. Students testing positive must receive drug intervention services—to help them understand their substance use and how to abstain from it—and be retested. Students who test...

Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs are DOD's largest source of military officers. As such, ROTC programs can help cultivate diversity in the military. The population of military officers from ROTC programs became more diverse by race, ethnicity, and gender from academic years 2011-2021. For example, the percentage of officers who were White men decreased by 9.4%, while the populations of Blacks or African Americans...

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has a new program offering grants for projects that increase tribal access to broadband internet. Some applicants received full project funding in the first round of funding, while others received "equitable distribution grants"—grants up to $500,000 instead of the amount they requested. But NTIA didn't provide constructive feedback to the equitable distribution grant recipients. Feedback could help them improve...

The Department of Homeland Security spends billions of dollars each year on major purchases like new Coast Guard ships and systems for screening travelers. For these programs to succeed, DHS must manage acquisition risks—potential negative effects on program cost, schedule, or performance. We found that DHS's acquisition risk management guidance generally follows best practices developed by GAO and others, but that there's room for improvement...

The U.S. Postal Service has been on our High Risk List since 2009 due to ongoing financial woes. To help address its financial condition, and improve service, USPS developed a 10-year strategic plan that touches on all parts of its operations. USPS is implementing its ambitious plan through more than 100 ongoing projects. We reviewed USPS implementation policies to see how well they incorporated GAO...

In 2016, Congress directed the Defense Health Agency to run military medical facilities. As part of the multiyear transition of these facilities to DHA oversight, the agency set up 22 offices to manage facilities that it grouped into 36 U.S. "markets" and 2 overseas regions. But staffing the offices has been hard. DHA estimated it needs over 1,400 personnel to do so—which exceeds expected resources...

Many children affected by trauma receive services through more than one system, such as child welfare and health care. Communities need to develop and coordinate programs, policies, and practices to ensure that children receive services that address trauma-related needs and actively avoid re-traumatizing them. To help communities, one initiative lets multiple federal agencies combine their funding to create partnership programs for grant recipients serving children...

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to invest over $30 billion in its major projects to modernize the research and production infrastructure supporting the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. This is our first biennial assessment of NNSA's major projects. As of March 2023, NNSA's major projects collectively exceeded their cost estimates by over $2 billion. They also surpassed their collective schedules by almost 10 years. Cost...

The National Transportation Safety Board investigates and reports on the probable causes of transportation accidents and issues recommendations to improve safety. NTSB reports having about the same number of employees as it had 20 years ago. But the transportation sector has experienced tremendous growth and technological advancement in that time. While NTSB has taken steps to improve its management and operations, it needs to do...

Agencies rely on IT systems to screen job applicants and manage employee data from background checks and other vetting activities. This helps to minimize the risks of having untrustworthy people in sensitive federal positions. In 2015, a cybersecurity incident compromised this data in federal systems. The Department of Defense has since taken over responsibility for most federal personnel vetting and is developing a new IT...

Congress gave almost $40 billion in block grants to help homeowners with, among other things, repairing or rebuilding homes damaged by natural disasters from 2017 to 2019. The Department of Housing and Urban Development administers the grants. But these grants are vulnerable to fraud. For example, some households approved for funds didn't report assistance from FEMA that could impact their award. Also, HUD monitors individual...