What GAO Found Veterans living in rural areas can experience unique challenges in accessing health care. For example, GAO's past work and other research have demonstrated that long distances from health care facilities, limited access to broadband internet, and staffing shortages, among other factors, may affect access to care for this population. GAO has made several recommendations to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help ensure its efforts effectively address the access challenges veterans living in rural areas face. VA agreed with these recommendations and reported steps taken towards implementing them. Office of Rural Health. This office provides funding to support (1) initiatives that expand existing services for veterans living in rural areas, and (2) research on interventions intended to address disparities in health care for this population. In May 2023, GAO found that the office does not communicate its research funding opportunities across VA. GAO also found that the office had not developed performance goals that define the level of performance the office aims to achieve during a particular year. GAO made two recommendations for the office to improve communication of rural health initiatives and develop performance goals. VA concurred and, as of March 2024, has taken steps to implement them, including developing a communication plan and drafting performance goals for its upcoming strategic plan. Rural-focused mental health treatment programs. The Office of Rural Health makes available seed funding to two outpatient intensive mental health programs. These two programs are designed to provide intensive community mental health recovery services to veterans living in rural areas. In February 2023, GAO found the guidelines for selecting its outpatient intensive mental health care programs for seed funding do not consider where veterans with serious mental illness live. GAO recommended that VA update these guidelines to include data on the locations of veterans with serious mental illness. VA concurred with the recommendation. As of April 2024, VA has taken steps to implement it, such as developing a tool to indicate whether there are veterans within the proposed service area that have serious mental illness. Mobile medical units. Mobile medical units are vehicles equipped to deliver primary and specialty care to veterans—in particular, veterans living in rural areas. In its December 2023 report GAO recommended that VA assess the reliability of the data it reports on mobile medical units and include additional information in its reports to Congress about their use. VA concurred with the first recommendation and plans to initiate such a project to ensure the reliability of the data management plan for its mobile medical units by August 2025. VA concurred in principle with the second recommendation. VA reported it plans to work with Congress to understand its reporting needs and update its 2024 report accordingly. Why GAO Did This Study About one-third of the 8.3 million veterans enrolled in Veterans Health Administration services lived in a rural area in fiscal year 2022. Comparatively, about one-fifth of Americans lived in a rural area. VA projects rural veterans will continue to represent a significant proportion of the nation's veterans. According to VA, rural veterans experience worse health outcomes, including cardiovascular and suicide deaths, compared to veterans in urban areas. VA identified veterans living in rural areas as an underserved population in its strategic plan and included a strategic objective to increase health care access for this population. This statement describes GAO's recent work examining rural veterans' access to health care, including recommendations GAO made to VA on (1) the Office of Rural Health's initiatives and research; (2) funding for intensive mental health care services to rural veterans; and (3) mobile medical unit operations and performance. This statement is based on three GAO reports issued between February and December 2023 (GAO-23-105855, GAO-23-105544, and GAO-24-106331). GAO also reviewed documents from VA related to steps the agency has taken to address the eight recommendations GAO made across these reports. VA concurred or concurred in principle with each of the eight recommendations and, as of March 2024, VA has implemented three of them. For more information, contact Alyssa M. Hundrup at (202) 512-7114 or hundrupa@gao.gov.

What GAO Found GAO's 2024 annual report identifies 112 new matters for congressional consideration and recommendations to federal agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. For example: The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency should ensure its working capital fund cash balance is within its operating range, potentially saving its federal customers hundreds of millions of dollars through reduced prices. Congress and the Internal Revenue Service should take action to improve sole proprietor tax compliance, which could increase revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Agencies could save one hundred million dollars or more by using predictive models to make investment decisions on deferred maintenance and repair for federal buildings and structures. Congress could close regulatory gaps and seven federal financial regulators should improve coordination to better manage fragmented efforts to identify and mitigate risks posed by blockchain applications in finance. The Office of Science and Technology Policy should facilitate the sharing of information about identifying foreign ownership of research entities to better manage fragmentation of federal efforts to help safeguard federally funded research from foreign threats. Since 2011, Congress and federal agencies have addressed many of the 2,018 matters and recommendations that GAO identified to reduce costs, increase revenues, and improve agencies' operating effectiveness, although work remains to fully address them. These efforts have resulted in about $667.5 billion in financial benefits, an increase of $71.3 billion from GAO's June 2023 report. To achieve these benefits, as of March 2024, Congress and agencies had fully addressed 1,341 (about 66 percent) of the 2,018 matters and recommendations and partially addressed 139 (about 7 percent). Additionally, legislation was introduced in the 117th or 118th Congress to address 31 (about 41 percent) of the 76 open matters for congressional consideration. However, further steps are needed to fully address the 549 matters and recommendations GAO identified in its 2011 to 2024 annual reports that remain open. GAO estimates that by fully addressing these, tens of billions of additional dollars and improved government services could be achieved. For example, Congress should consider directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to equalize payment rates between settings for evaluation and management office visits and other services that the Secretary deems appropriate, which could save $141 billion over 10 years. Why GAO Did This Study GAO annually reports on federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives—either within departments or government-wide—that have duplicative goals or activities. As part of this work, GAO also identifies additional opportunities for greater efficiency and effectiveness that could result in cost savings or enhanced revenue collection. The May 2024 report, GAO-24-106915, discusses new opportunities to achieve billions of dollars in financial savings and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a wide range of federal programs. It also evaluates the status of previous matters for congressional consideration and recommendations to federal agencies related to the duplication and cost savings body of work. In addition, the May report provides examples of open matters and recommendations where further implementation steps could yield significant financial and other benefits. This statement discusses new topic areas identified in GAO's 2024 annual report; the benefits Congress and executive branch agencies have achieved in addressing many of the matters and recommendations GAO has identified since 2011; and examples of open matters and recommendations that could yield significant financial and other benefits. For more information, contact Jessica Lucas-Judy at (202) 512-6806 or lucasjudyj@gao.gov or Michelle Sager at (202) 512-6806 or sagerm@gao.gov.

What GAO Found From fiscal years 2014 through 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified Congress that it planned to move a total of $1.8 billion within existing DHS appropriations to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) meet its mission. DHS indicated that it would move this funding to ICE from other DHS agencies as well as within ICE, from some programs to others. ICE also received $365 million in supplemental appropriations from fiscal years 2016 through 2023, according to its congressional budget justification submissions. Planned Movement of Funds within ICE and to ICE from Other DHS Components Note: This figure does not include supplemental appropriations. ICE uses several budget models to project its resource needs, but ICE and DHS have not assessed the quality of those models in accordance with their policies. Ensuring DHS and ICE follow their policies for reviewing those models would provide greater assurance of the models' quality. ICE has opportunities to better align its budget execution—how it spends its appropriations—with agency policies. For example, ICE's program offices have not always updated their spend plans—documents that forecast the agency's planned obligations for the fiscal year—as required by ICE policy. Clarifying ICE's policy on updating spend plans and ensuring that ICE program offices follow ICE's policy would improve not only the quality of information available to ICE for budget execution but also consistency with the policy. ICE officials brief congressional staff on ICE's budget execution, but the documents ICE provides at these briefings have not always included complete and current information. For example, the documents did not always reflect the potential need for additional funding even when ICE officials were aware of that need. Providing more timely notice in the briefing documents of the need for additional funding would give Congress more complete information to inform appropriations decisions. Why GAO Did This Study In recent years, ICE has frequently relied on additional funding beyond its annual appropriations to meet its mission of enforcing immigration laws and combatting transnational crime. That funding often totaled hundreds of millions of dollars per year from supplemental appropriations and from funds transferred from other agencies within DHS. The Joint Explanatory Statement for the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, includes a provision for GAO to review ICE's financial management practices. This report examines (1) how much funding beyond its annual appropriations ICE projected it would need to meet its mission, (2) the extent to which ICE's projections of its resource needs are consistent with applicable policies and requirements, and (3) the extent to which ICE's budget execution is consistent with applicable policies and requirements. GAO reviewed ICE and DHS budget documents and data, and interviewed ICE and DHS officials.

What GAO Found GAO identified 112 new matters and recommendations in 42 new topic areas for Congress or federal agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. For example: The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency should ensure its working capital fund cash balance is within its operating range, potentially saving its federal customers hundreds of millions of dollars through reduced prices. Congress and the Internal Revenue Service should take action to improve sole proprietor tax compliance, which could increase revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Agencies could save one hundred million dollars or more by using predictive models to make investment decisions on deferred maintenance and repair for federal buildings and structures. Congress should consider taking action that could help the Armed Forces Retirement Home address financial shortfalls to reduce the risk of exhausting the trust fund that supports it and potentially generate revenue of one hundred million dollars or more over 10 years. Federal agencies need building utilization benchmarks to help them identify and reduce underutilized office space, which could save ten million dollars or more over 5 years. The Department of Defense should reduce the risk of overlapping management activities and potentially save ten million dollars or more over 5 years in medical facility management by continuing its efforts to reevaluate its market structure and establishing performance goals. Congress could close regulatory gaps and seven federal financial regulators should improve coordination to better manage fragmented efforts to identify and mitigate risks posed by blockchain applications in finance. The Office of Science and Technology Policy should facilitate the sharing of information about identifying foreign ownership of research entities to better manage fragmentation of federal efforts to help safeguard federally funded research from foreign threats. As of March 2024, Congress and agencies had fully addressed 1,341 (66 percent) of the 2,018 matters and recommendations GAO identified from 2011-2024 and partially addressed 139 (about 7 percent). This has resulted in financial and other benefits, such as improved interagency coordination and reduced mismanagement, fraud, waste, and abuse. As shown in the figure below, these efforts have cumulatively resulted in about $667 billion in financial benefits, an increase of about $71 billion from GAO's last report on this topic. These are rough estimates based on a variety of sources that considered different time periods and used different data sources, assumptions, and methodologies. Total Financial Benefits of $667.5 Billion Identified in GAO's 2011-2024 Duplication and Cost Savings Annual Reports Further steps are needed to fully address the matters and recommendations GAO identified from 2011 to 2024. Of the 549 open matters and recommendations, 162 (about 30 percent) have the potential for financial benefits. Legislation was introduced in the 117th or 118th Congress to address 31 (about 41 percent) of the 76 open matters. As of March 2024, legislation had not been enacted, and those matters remained open. While GAO is no longer tracking 128 matters and recommendations due to changing circumstances, GAO estimates that fully addressing the remaining open matters and recommendations could yield financial benefits of tens of billions of dollars and improved government services, among other benefits. For example: Examples of Open Topic Areas with Potential Financial Benefits Topic area and description (GAO report number linked) Mission Potential financial benefits (Source of estimate) *Medicare Payments by Place of Service: Congress could realize additional financial benefits if it took steps to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to equalize payment rates between settings for evaluation and management office visits and other services that the Secretary deems appropriate. (GAO-16-189) Health $141 billion over 10 years (Congressional Budget Office) COVID Employer Tax Relief: The Internal Revenue Service should document processes used to address certain compliance risks for COVID-19 employer tax credits and implement additional compliance activities to potentially recapture ineligible claims. (GAO-22-104280) General Government Tens of billions of dollars over 2 years (GAO analysis of IRS data) *Public-Safety Broadband Network: Congress should consider reauthorizing FirstNet, including different options for its placement, and ensure key statutory and contract responsibilities are addressed before current authorities sunset in 2027. (GAO-22-104915) Information Technology $15 billion over 15 yearsa (GAO analysis of the FirstNet Contract) Student Loan Income-Driven Repayment Plans : The Department of Education should obtain data to verify income information for borrowers reporting zero income on Income-Driven Repayment applications. (GAO-19-347) Training, Employment, and Education More than $2 billion over 10 years (Congressional Budget Office) *DOE's Treatment of Hanford's Low-Activity Waste : Congress should consider clarifying two issues, including the Department of Energy's (DOE) authority to determine whether portions of Hanford's tank waste, such as the low-activity tank waste, can be managed as a waste type other than high-level radioactive waste and disposed of outside the state of Washington. (GAO-22-104365) Energy Billions of dollars over 11 years (GAO analysis of DOE data) Legend: * = Legislation is likely to be necessary to fully address all matters or recommendations in this topic area. Source: GAO. | GAO-24-106915 aIf FirstNet sunsets, it is unclear what will happen to the remaining $15 billion in scheduled annual payments, which FirstNet currently has authority to collect and reinvest. Note: The potential financial benefits shown in this table represent estimates of amounts GAO or others believe could accrue if steps are taken to implement the actions described. The estimates are dependent on various factors, such as whether action is taken and how it is taken. Realized financial benefits may be less, depending on costs associated with implementing the action, unintended consequences, and the effect of controlling for other factors. The individual estimates in this table should be compared with caution, as they come from a variety of sources, which consider different time periods and use different data sources, assumptions, and methodologies. Why GAO Did This Study GAO annually reports on federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives–either within departments or government-wide–that have duplicative goals or activities. As part of this work, GAO also identifies additional opportunities for greater efficiency and effectiveness that result in cost savings or enhanced revenue collection. This report discusses new opportunities to achieve billions of dollars in financial savings and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a wide range of federal programs. It also evaluates the status of previous matters for congressional consideration and recommendations for federal agencies related to the Duplication and Cost Savings body of work. In addition, this report provides examples of open matters to Congress and recommendations to federal agencies where further implementation steps could yield significant financial and other benefits. Source: GAO. | GAO-24-106915 GAO's Duplication and Cost Savings website provides information on the body of work. For more information, contact Jessica Lucas-Judy at (202) 512-6806 or lucasjudyj@gao.gov or Michelle Sager at (202) 512-6806 or sagerm@gao.gov.

This report was submitted to the Comptroller General in accordance with Section 5 of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Act of 2008. The report summarizes the activities of GAO's Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the 6-month reporting period ending March 31, 2024. During this reporting period, the OIG continued work on two performance audits and closed two recommendations from a prior audit. Further, it issued one report of investigation and one management memo, closed 10 investigations, and processed 44 substantive hotline complaints. The OIG remained active in the GAO and OIG communities by briefing new GAO employees on its audit and investigative missions, briefing GAO teams on the work of the GAO OIG, and participating in Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency committees and working groups. Notably, in November 2023, the Senate passed the GAO Inspector General Parity Act by unanimous consent; the Act is now pending before the House of Representatives. For more information, contact Tonya R. Ford at (202) 512-5748 or oig@gao.gov.

This letter provides GAO's comments on the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants' (IESBA) exposure draft, International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (Including International Independence Standards) (IESSA) and Other Revisions to the Code Relating to Sustainability Assurance and Reporting. GAO promulgates generally accepted government auditing standards, which provide professional standards for auditors of government entities in the United States.

What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) provides the military services flexibility in determining hourly wages for child care workers, setting child care fees, and calculating turnover rates of child care workers. For example, DOD allows the military services to determine pay levels within set ranges, and the military services may raise entry-level pay within these ranges to compete with the local civilian labor market. Similarly, DOD policy provides the military services options to adjust the weekly child care fees that parents pay to be competitive with local labor markets or to charge comparable fees with the civilian child care sector. All four military services calculate child care worker turnover the same way and reported turnover rates ranging from 34 percent to 50 percent in fiscal year 2022. Installation officials reported several challenges that affect the recruitment and retention of child care workers including a lengthy onboarding process. Navy officials said they adjusted the health screening policy to streamline the Navy's process. Other challenges include stressful work environments and limited career progression opportunities. For example, DOD and military service officials identified an increase in children's behavioral issues in recent years that has increased stress among child care workers. To assist with recruitment and retention, DOD and the military services offer several benefits, such as paid annual and sick leave, and recruitment and retention bonuses. Reported DOD Child Care Worker Recruitment and Retention Challenges The military services follow most of the selected recruitment and retention leading practices GAO evaluated. However, the Marine Corps does not follow three, the Air Force does not fully follow two, and the Army and Navy do not follow one. Implementing leading workforce practices is essential for successful recruitment and retention of military services' child care workers. For example, the military services continuously recruit year-round and provide financial incentives to new hires and existing workers, but they have not established metrics to track the effectiveness of their retention initiatives. By developing metrics to track the results of their retention efforts, the military services can identify which are most effective at retaining child care workers. Additionally, the Air Force and Marine Corps do not continually assess their child care program needs. By following these leading workforce practices, the two military services could better prepare for their future child care program staffing needs and help meet the child care needs of service members and their families, thus improving military family readiness. Why GAO Did This Study DOD operates the largest employer-sponsored child care system in the U.S. It has reported that staffing shortfalls have contributed to lengthy child care waitlists in many DOD locations. Senate report 117-130 includes a provision for GAO to review DOD child care shortages. This report examines (1) how DOD and the military services set child care fees and wages and calculate child care worker turnover rates, (2) challenges the military services face to recruit and retain child care workers, and (3) the extent to which the military services follow selected leading workforce practices for recruiting and retaining child care workers. GAO analyzed DOD and military service documents about their child care programs and analyzed selected data. GAO also conducted in-person and virtual site visits to eight installations, chosen for their large waitlists, among other factors. Last, GAO analyzed child care workforce challenges, recruitment and retention processes, and leading workforce practices identified through prior GAO work.

What GAO Found Within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seven of nine U.S. Border Patrol sectors on the southwest border independently operated critical incident teams (CIT) that responded to and investigated critical incidents. CBP defines a critical incident as an incident involving CBP personnel that results in a serious injury, a death, a use of deadly or excessive force, or widespread media attention. The teams also responded to noncritical incidents, such as a vehicle crash with no injuries. From fiscal years 2010 through 2022, CITs responded to an estimated 2,351 incidents (see figure). Estimated Border Patrol Critical Incident Team Responses, Fiscal Years 2010–2022 Before 2022, CBP did not have a unified approach to critical incident response. Border Patrol headquarters did not create the CITs or oversee their operations. In 2022, CBP directed Border Patrol to disband the CITs and assigned critical incident response to CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). Border Patrol sectors disbanded their CITs and continue to respond to noncritical incidents, which they approach inconsistently. Some sectors collect limited information about these incidents, which, according to Border Patrol officials, the agency needs to assess liability for associated property damage. One sector created a specialized team to respond to these incidents, but OPR officials raised concern that its activities may infringe on OPR's critical incident responses. Implementing standardized guidance for noncritical incident response and monitoring adherence to it would help Border Patrol ensure sectors' activities align with their responsibilities for noncritical incidents. While OPR became solely responsible for CBP critical incident response in October 2022, it did not have sufficient resources to carry out these activities. OPR has since increased its capacity to respond to critical incidents by, for example, initiating a hiring surge to nearly double its investigator workforce. OPR has made significant progress implementing investigative standards—which it adopted in 2020—but it could strengthen its efforts regarding investigator independence. OPR has limited guidance or formal training regarding independence. Further, its significant number of new hires, of which more than half are from Border Patrol, present increased risks for impairments to independence to arise. Developing guidance and training to help investigators identify such potential impairments could provide OPR and CBP leadership with further assurance that critical incident investigations are objective and unbiased. Why GAO Did This Study With more than 60,000 employees, CBP is the nation's largest federal law enforcement agency and is responsible for securing U.S. borders while facilitating legitimate travel and trade. When conducting their duties, CBP law enforcement personnel may be involved in critical incidents. For example, in 2023, critical incidents occurred when a vehicle struck and injured Border Patrol agents and when a child died in CBP custody. CBP personnel may also be involved in noncritical incidents. GAO was asked to review CBP's approach in responding to incidents. This report assesses how Border Patrol CITs operated before they were disbanded in 2022, Border Patrol's response to noncritical incidents since that time, and how OPR has developed capacity and implemented investigative standards for critical incident response. GAO analyzed Border Patrol documents on CIT operations from fiscal years 2010 through 2022. GAO interviewed Border Patrol officials from headquarters and the nine southwest border sectors. GAO also analyzed OPR documents and data and interviewed OPR officials. GAO conducted site visits to three southwest border locations.

What GAO Found In response to a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mandate, the Center for Naval Analyses issued studies on civilian and military cyber career paths in October 2021 and April 2022, respectively. The two studies made a total of 31 recommendations. GAO determined that 26 of the 31 recommendations have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented. Implementation Status of Recommendations from Studies on Navy Civilian and Military Service Member Cyber Career Paths as of March 2024 The Navy faces continuing challenges with data as it works to strengthen its cyber workforce. GAO attempted to determine the structure and composition of the Navy's military and civilian workforce but found that the underlying data were unreliable. For example, Navy officials stated that the Navy's civilian cyber workforce data are stored in two different data systems, and the data in both systems differ. This has caused civilian workforce data to show inaccurately high vacancy rates, among other things. Officials said they are in the process of reconciling the data in the systems and addressing accuracy challenges. GAO previously reported in 2019 on similar accuracy issues related to data on Department of Defense (DOD) cyber work roles and position descriptions. GAO recommended that DOD review work roles and position descriptions for accuracy. DOD concurred with this priority recommendation and has taken steps but has not fully implemented it. The Navy also faces challenges with scheduling cyber training. For example, the National Security Agency and outside vendors administer training for many of the cyber work roles, but accessing this training is dependent on class availability via these external sources, according to Navy documentation and interviews with officials. As a result, the Navy cannot ensure that sailors' training can be scheduled in an appropriate sequential order and without gaps. Navy officials cite this as a primary challenge. In response, U.S. Cyber Command officials stated they are working with the military services to move responsibility for administration of certain cyber training to the services. The Navy's framework for implementing cyber workforce initiatives includes participating in DOD-wide planning activities, implementing efforts identified in the Navy's cyber strategy, and establishing policy and a governance body. DOD and the Department of the Navy established cyber strategies that outline initiatives intended to improve cyber workforce management. The DOD Cyber Workforce Strategy 2023-2027 and its accompanying implementation plan establish a unified, department-wide direction for managing the cyber workforce. The Department of the Navy issued its own cyber strategy in November 2023, which includes a workforce line of effort aligning with the DOD strategy and plan. Why GAO Did This Study State actors and affiliated hacker groups continue to increase their attacks against U.S. targets. It is vital that DOD's cyber workforce respond to such threats and defeat them. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2020 required the Navy to study civilian and military cyber career paths. In response, studies were completed in October 2021 and April 2022. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2023 required the Navy to report on the extent to which it had implemented study recommendations. It also includes a provision for GAO to assess the extent to which the Navy has implemented the recommendations. GAO's report examines the extent to which the Navy has (1) implemented the recommendations in Navy-sponsored studies, (2) addressed continuing data and training challenges in strengthening its cyber workforce, and (3) established a framework for implementing cyber workforce initiatives and (3) established a framework for implementing cyber workforce initiatives. GAO reviewed Navy reports, interviewed officials, and reviewed relevant documentation such as personnel data, DOD cyber workforce policies and strategies, and a recent Navy instruction.

What GAO Found GAO found that more women enroll in college than men, but more men participate in varsity college athletics. The overall athletic participation rate for women was 14 percentage points lower than their enrollment rate in academic year 2021–2022. At about two-thirds of colleges (63 percent), the rate of women's athletic participation was at least 10 percentage-points lower than their enrollment rate. Further, 40 percent of colleges not only had a large difference between women's athletic participation and enrollment rates, but also offered the same number or fewer varsity sports for women in academic year 2021–2022 compared to 2009–2010. Women Participated in Varsity College Athletics at a Lower Rate Compared to Their Enrollment Rate, Academic Year 2021–2022 Note: For purposes of collecting athletics data, the Department of Education instructs colleges to report transgender participants consistent with their gender identity. GAO found that Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) oversees compliance with Title IX athletics requirements primarily by investigating complaints and it conducts few proactive activities. Specifically: OCR uses Education athletics data on scholarships and participation to help select colleges for the small number of athletics reviews it initiates, but does not use the data to inform other oversight activities. Analyzing data regularly and expanding its use of data could help OCR do more proactive oversight. After obtaining formal agreements from colleges to address potential Title IX compliance issues, OCR did not always communicate with colleges and respond to their monitoring reports in a timely way. In some cases GAO reviewed, OCR took more than a year to review and approve a college's plans to address potential compliance issues. In 10 of 26 cases GAO reviewed, OCR did not communicate with the college for a year or more. In five other cases, there was no communication for 5 or more years. Such delays can prevent colleges from addressing compliance concerns. Establishing agency timeliness goals for monitoring activities could help OCR respond to colleges in a more timely way and help ensure that colleges promptly address potential compliance issues. OCR does not require staff to record due dates for responding to colleges they monitor, and staff do not always enter this information in OCR's management system. This limits OCR's ability to track its responses and ensure that colleges address potential compliance issues in a timely way. Why GAO Did This Study Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance, including college athletics programs. OCR is responsible for enforcing Title IX by investigating complaints, negotiating agreements with colleges to address concerns, and monitoring agreements. GAO was asked to review opportunities for women college athletes. This report examines (1) college athletic opportunities for women and (2) the extent to which Education oversees compliance with Title IX college athletics requirements. GAO analyzed the most recent available Education data reported by colleges for academic year 2021–2022 and analyzed OCR case management data for academic years 2008–2009 through 2021–2022, the most recent data available. GAO reviewed documentation for a nongeneralizable sample of 26 of 79 publicly available OCR athletics cases, selected to include a variety of athletics issues. GAO also interviewed Education officials and college athletic stakeholder groups, and reviewed federal laws and regulations.

What GAO Found Federal statistical products often contain gaps in data for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). For example, of the 52 statistical products reported to GAO by the National Agricultural Statistical Service, only one—the Census of Agriculture—includes the territories. Of the 21 products reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, none include American Samoa or CNMI, while Puerto Rico was included in the most—four. GAO also found that even when territories are included in federal statistical products, there may be disparities in the timeliness and in the measurement of quality of territorial data relative to the rest of the U.S. Several factors contribute to the data gaps. The figure below illustrates one such factor—namely that statistical products based on sampling of smaller jurisdictions have to sample much higher proportions of the population to achieve the same level of precision as sampling of larger populations. Jurisdictions with Smaller Populations Need Relatively Larger Samples for the Same Margin of Error Factors related to agencies' authorizing statutes, the cost of data collection, and territorial geography also contribute to data gaps. GAO also found that agencies generally have not conducted research on the costs, benefits, or feasibility of actions to increase the scope of federal statistical products to include the territories. GAO found that territories have taken steps to mitigate federal data gaps. For example, officials from both American Samoa and USVI described local efforts to collect data equivalent to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, respectively. Officials from CNMI and Guam described efforts to update their address lists, while officials from Puerto Rico described local efforts to improve how their Gross Domestic Product is calculated. Statistical efforts are part of activities the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs funds through a technical assistance program for the territories. This program allocated a total of over $60 million from fiscal years 2019 through 2023. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for coordinating the federal statistical system to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. OMB budget documentation notes that as part of that role, the Office of the Chief Statistician identifies priorities for improving statistical programs and methodologies. However, there is not a coordinated, government-wide approach for agencies to use in deciding whether to collect data and report statistics from territories in federal statistical products. For example, OMB has not developed guidance or directives that explicitly address data collection in the territories. Developing a coordinated, governmentwide approach for federal statistical agencies to use in examining and addressing territorial data gaps would improve the transparency of statistical decisions. Improved data collection for the territories could also better inform decision makers about how to allocate resources to the territories and how to evaluate the effectiveness of those investments. Why GAO Did This Study The U.S. government needs evidence, including statistics, to guide decision making, evaluate the effectiveness of programs, and determine where best to target resources; it is also expected to ensure the quality of the data used for these purposes. As GAO has previously reported, the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to face a range of economic challenges, including declining populations in all territories. GAO was asked to report on gaps in data for the territories, the impact of such gaps, and any administrative or legislative actions that can be taken to address them. This report examines the extent and causes of gaps in data for territories in publicly available federal statistical products, implications for federal funding to the territories resulting from data gaps, and examples of costs and benefits of addressing the data gaps. To better understand data gaps and related issues, GAO collected lists of statistical products from the principal federal statistical agencies, analyzed authorizing statutes of those agencies, and interviewed territorial and federal statistical officials—including from the Office of the Chief Statistician of the United States—among other methodologies.

Why This Matters This GAOverview is part of a series aimed at helping officials better prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse. Wasteful spending reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of a wide range of federal programs and operations. Many examples of waste have been identified that relate to government purchases, but waste can also occur throughout other government operations. Waste can cost the federal government billions of taxpayer dollars due to mismanagement of assets, not following policies and statutes, or inadequate oversight procedures. Understanding potential causes of waste can help federal officials better identify and combat waste within their programs and operations. What Is Waste? Waste occurs when individuals or organizations expend government resources carelessly, extravagantly, or without adequate purpose. Waste involves incurring unnecessary costs due to inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls. It can result in substantial losses to the federal government, as well as diverting the availability of funds for other purposes. Waste is sometimes discussed alongside fraud and abuse, all of which are significant issues for the federal government. Fraud involves obtaining something of value through willful misrepresentation as determined through the judicial or other adjudicative system. In contrast, waste and abuse do not necessarily involve violations of law. However, the discovery of waste during program audits, for instance, could indicate noncompliance with regulations or the potential for fraud. What Are Some Potential Causes of Waste? Programs may be vulnerable to waste due to mismanagement of assets. Inventory system shortcomings can result in problems with tracking the purchase and use of goods and services, making it difficult to control costs and leading to waste. Poor or nonexistent tracking hinders an agency’s ability to know what it has already purchased. For example, an agency unnecessarily spent more than $35 million on software fines and unused licenses over several years due to lack of insight into its prior purchases of licenses and how often they were used. Personnel may engage in wasteful practices by not following policies and statutes. Senior officials could disregard policies and statutes as they apply to hiring. This can result in the hiring of ineligible employees. We identified instances where senior officials bypassed competitive hiring processes by appointing individuals, including a relative, to federal positions without proper regard for their qualifications. For example, an agency made salary payments to ineligible employees totaling nearly $440,000 before the employees were removed. These funds were wasteful because the hiring laws put in place to safeguard taxpayer dollars were not followed. These funds were wasteful because the hiring laws put in place to safeguard taxpayer dollars were not followed. Program officials do not always establish adequate oversight procedures. Without establishing clear program goals, along with performance measures to ensure goals are being met, management increases chances of wasted resources. Lack of monitoring and oversight procedures, or failure to conduct quality control, could lead to inadequate planning and execution that can decrease a program’s ability to minimize waste. For example, one Inspector General identified up to $11.5 million in waste and associated safety hazards resulting from a lack of oversight to ensure that safety contract requirements for buildings were followed. What Could Help Better Prevent Waste? Improve asset management capabilities. Developing control activities over software purchases can improve asset management and reduce wasteful spending. For instance, agencies that implement software asset management tools can better ensure that they are accurately tracking software inventory to identify duplicative or obsolete software. They can also better ensure that the agency reduces the risk of procuring software in a costly and ineffective manner by minimizing licensing penalties and overspending. One agency has reported financial benefits of nearly $2.4 billion through the identification of unrecorded assets after improved operations and business processes. The figure shows how waste may occur and possible corrective actions. Ensure that officials know and adhere to policies and statutes. Ensuring that agency officials know and follow established rules can help prevent waste. For example, an agency’s officials did not ensure that they clearly understood and adhered to federal hiring regulations and avoided prohibited personnel practices. Management should lead by an example that reflects the integrity and ethical values expected throughout the entity. Develop adequate oversight procedures. Internal control is a dynamic process that should be adapted continually to the risks and changes an entity faces. Developing strong oversight procedures of program activities, such as ensuring requirements are met, can help program managers establish realistic goals and take corrective action, when necessary, to minimize waste. In addition, management should periodically review policies and procedures related to control activities for continued relevance and effectiveness in achieving objectives. For more information, contact Seto Bagdoyan at (202) 512-6722 or bagdoyans@gao.gov.

What GAO Found In October 2020, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) within the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a new grants management system, known as the Justice Grants System (JustGrants), to modernize grants management for all of DOJ's grantmaking components: OJP, the Office on Violence Against Women, and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. JustGrants launched with features needed to support basic functionality, though many features did not perform as expected. For example, some grant recipients could not submit financial or programmatic reports, which are used to report expenditures and grant progress. OJP's help desk, which provides technical and other support to JustGrants users, received about 56,000 inquiries from external users in fiscal year 2021. This included nearly 10,000 inquiries in the first 4 weeks after JustGrants launched. Tribal grantees and applicants reported proportionally about the same number of issues as other users in most categories. These issues included navigation challenges, technical glitches, and funding delays. Since October 2020, OJP has worked to develop technical features and fixes to increase the functionality of the system and reduce issues. OJP officials stated that they have continued to educate external users to improve their ability to use JustGrants. Inquiries to the help desk decreased by 48 percent from fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and continued at a similar level in fiscal year 2023 (see figure). External Users' Inquiries to the JustGrants Help Desk by Week, October 2020 through September 2023 Prior to implementing JustGrants, OJP adopted an organizational change management approach to facilitate users' transition to JustGrants and shared systems. GAO found that OJP's engagement with external users fully aligned with five of the seven leading practices. GAO also found that OJP's activities partially aligned with two of the seven leading practices. For example, although OJP collected performance data on the transition to JustGrants, it did not establish quantifiable and intermediate performance goals. Tracking the transition to JustGrants using such performance goals would have allowed OJP to make necessary adjustments during the change management process. Why GAO Did This Study DOJ's transition to JustGrants delayed some of the department's approximately $4.3 billion in grants and cooperative agreements in fiscal year 2021, according to the DOJ Office of the Inspector General. GAO was asked to examine users' challenges with the transition to JustGrants. This report (1) describes the challenges of external users, including tribal grantees, and the steps DOJ took to address them; and (2) assesses the extent to which DOJ's engagement with external users aligned with leading practices of organizational change management. GAO analyzed data on user inquiries to the JustGrants help desk in fiscal years 2021 through 2023 and reviewed documents related to tribal consultations. GAO interviewed (1) DOJ officials, (2) officials from a nongeneralizable selection of four Tribes and one tribal organization, and (3) two training and technical assistance providers. GAO also assessed DOJ's alignment with leading practices for organizational change management by reviewing DOJ documents.

What GAO Found During its audits of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) fiscal year 2023 consolidated financial statements, GAO identified several deficiencies in FHFA’s internal controls. Although these control deficiencies did not negatively affect GAO’s overall audit opinion on FHFA’s consolidated financial statements or internal controls over financial reporting, they nonetheless warrant the attention of FHFA management. Of the control deficiencies it identified, GAO considered one—which was related to FHFA not performing effective reviews of the draft consolidated financial statements—to be a significant deficiency when combined with a related FHFA Office of Inspector General control deficiency. Other deficiencies GAO identified were important but less critical. For example, FHFA did not properly remove systems access for separated employees in accordance with established procedures. By addressing these deficiencies, FHFA can make it more likely that agency management and employees will prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements in financial reporting. Why GAO Did This Study In November 2023, GAO reported on the results of its audits of FHFA’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2023 and 2022. Although GAO found that FHFA had maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2023, GAO did identify some deficiencies in FHFA’s internal controls. The purpose of this report is to present (1) the internal control deficiencies GAO identified during its fiscal year 2023 audit and (2) the status of FHFA’s corrective actions to address open recommendations related to internal control deficiencies. To evaluate FHFA’s internal control over financial reporting, GAO reviewed FHFA policies and procedures; interviewed FHFA management and staff; observed controls in operation; and conducted tests of controls to determine whether controls were designed, implemented, and operating effectively. GAO also determined the status of FHFA’s efforts to address recommendations related to internal control deficiencies that GAO identified in its prior report, and that remained open as of September 30, 2023.

What GAO Found During its audits of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) fiscal year 2023 consolidated financial statements, GAO identified deficiencies in the FHFA Office of Inspector General's (OIG) internal controls. Although these control deficiencies did not negatively affect GAO's overall audit opinion on FHFA's consolidated financial statements or internal controls over financial reporting, they nonetheless warrant the attention of FHFA OIG management. Of the control deficiencies it identified, GAO considered one—which was related to the accuracy of FHFA OIG's payroll accruals—to be a significant deficiency when combined with a related FHFA control deficiency. GAO identified another less-critical deficiency related to FHFA OIG's not properly identifying unexplained variances above its $1.5 million threshold for quarterly reconciliations. By addressing these deficiencies, FHFA OIG can make it more likely that agency management and employees will prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements in financial reporting. Why GAO Did This Study In November 2023, GAO reported on the results of its audits of FHFA's consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2023 and 2022. Although GAO found that FHFA had maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2023, GAO did identify some deficiencies in FHFA OIG's internal controls. The purpose of this report is to present the internal control deficiencies GAO identified during its fiscal year 2023 audit. To evaluate FHFA OIG's internal control over financial reporting, GAO reviewed FHFA OIG's policies and procedures; interviewed FHFA OIG management and staff; observed controls in operation; and conducted tests of controls to determine whether controls were designed, implemented, and operating effectively.