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Border Infrastructure: Actions Needed to Improve Information on Facilities and Capital Planning at Land Border Crossings, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Document: "CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] and GSA [General Services Administration] own, lease, or manage all of the nation's 167 land border crossings. CBP facilitates trade and travel at these crossings and has identified significant capital investment needs at these facilities. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review land border crossing infrastructure. This report examines (1) infrastructure constraints CBP faces and the extent CBP and GSA have information on infrastructure condition, (2) the extent CBP prioritizes capital projects and (3) the extent recent GSA capital projects met cost, schedule, and scope goals and challenges CBP and GSA reported. GAO analyzed land border crossing data and documentation, including CBP and GSA facility assessments, CBP capital investment plans for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, and data for GSA capital infrastructure projects active during those years. GAO also interviewed officials from CBP field offices that oversee all crossings about infrastructure constraints and visited 16 crossings selected based on high traffic volume and border crossings CBP has prioritized for infrastructure improvement."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Drug Control: Certain DOD and DHS Joint Task Forces Should Enhance Their Performance Measures to Better Assess Counterdrug Activities, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Document: "GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review the structure of these task forces and their ability to coordinate and conduct missions effectively. Among other objectives, this report (1) assesses the extent to which the task forces coordinate effectively to minimize duplication, and (2) examines how the task forces measure the effectiveness of their missions and activities. GAO reviewed and assessed documentation on the task forces' missions, coordination efforts, and performance assessments and compared them to best practices from prior work, departmental guidance, and federal internal control standards. GAO also met with task force officials to discuss and observe planning and coordination activities."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Rail Transit: Federal Transit Administration Could Improve Information on Estimating Project Costs
"Rail transit projects are complex, and challenge sponsors to maximize limited resources. To help project sponsors build new or extend existing transit projects, Congress appropriated about $2.65 billion for FTA's [Federal Transit Administration] 2019 Capital Investment Grants program. Congress included a provision in a committee report for GAO to evaluate factors affecting the costs to build transit projects. This report examines: (1) stakeholders' views on factors that affect rail transit project costs, (2) stakeholders' views on approaches sponsors have used to manage costs, and (3) the extent to which FTA's cost estimating information for sponsors aligns with best practices in GAO's Cost Guide. GAO interviewed academic, construction, and other stakeholders identified through a literature search and referrals. GAO conducted case studies of four U.S. rail transit projects that received FTA grants and that were selected to obtain variation in transit mode, location, and other characteristics, and compared their approaches to GAO-identified key project management principles. GAO also interviewed FTA officials and compared FTA's cost estimating information with GAO's best practices."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Federal Vehicle Fleets: Agencies Have Continued to Incorporate Fuel Vehicles into Fleets, but Challenges Remain, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Highlights: "GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review federal agencies' efforts related to these fiscal year 2017 requirements. This report addresses: (1) how agencies reported meeting fleet energy requirements and how agencies efforts changed their fleets and (2) challenges agencies face related to further meeting fleet energy goals. To conduct this review, GAO surveyed 29 federal agencies subject to fleet energy requirements and selected 5 agencies--of a variety of sizes and missions--for case studies. The case studies results are not generalizable to all agencies. GAO also: (1) reported on DOE's [Department of Energy] and GSA's [General Services Administration] data on federal fleets for fiscal years 2008 through 2017, including GSA's acquisition and cost data for fiscal year 2017, the most current data available; (2) reviewed DOE's and EPA's information on agencies' performance related to fiscal year 2017 requirements; and (3) interviewed federal officials. The directives to reduce per-mile greenhouse gas emissions and increase acquisitions of electric vehicles were revoked by an Executive Order issued in May 2018."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Equal Employment Opportunity: DHS Could Better Address Challenges to Ensuring EEO in Its Workforce, Report to the Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "GAO was asked to provide an update on DHS's efforts to identify and address barriers to EEO [Equal Employment Opportunity] in its workforce. This report examines the steps DHS has taken to (1) identify and address barriers to EEO in its workforce, (2) identify and address EEO program deficiencies, (3) address areas of noncompliance in its EEO program identified by EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission], and (4) oversee and support component EEO programs. GAO reviewed DHS's and its components' policies, procedures, practices, and reports for their EEO programs for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, interviewed DHS and its component EEO officials, and assessed DHS employee survey results. GAO also reviewed EEOC's feedback on DHS's and its components' EEO programs, and interviewed EEOC officials."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Establish Risk Management Programs and Address Challenges, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "GAO was asked to review federal agencies' cybersecurity risk management programs. GAO examined (1) the extent to which agencies established key elements of a cybersecurity risk management program; (2) what challenges, if any, agencies identified in developing and implementing cybersecurity risk management programs; and (3) steps OMB [Office of Management and Budget] and DHS have taken to meet their risk management responsibilities and address any challenges agencies face. To do this, GAO reviewed policies and procedures from 23 civilian Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 agencies and compared them to key federal cybersecurity risk management practices, obtained agencies' views on challenges they faced, identified and analyzed actions taken by OMB and DHS to determine whether they address agency challenges, and interviewed responsible agency officials."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Identify and Report System Costs, Report to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives
From the Highlights: "VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] provides health care services to approximately 9 million veterans and their families and relies on its health information system--VistA--to do so. However, the system is more than 30 years old, is costly to maintain, and does not fully support exchanging health data with DOD and private health care providers. Over nearly 2 decades, VA has pursued multiple efforts to modernize the system. In June 2017, the department announced plans to acquire the same system--the Cerner system--that DOD is implementing. VA plans to continue using VistA during the decade-long transition to the Cerner system. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review key aspects of VistA and VA's plans for the new acquisition of the Cerner system. The objectives of the review were to (1) determine the extent to which VA has defined VistA, (2) evaluate VA's annual costs to develop and sustain VistA, and (3) describe the actions VA has taken to transition from VistA to the Cerner system. GAO analyzed documentation that defines aspects of VistA and identifies components to be replaced; evaluated the reliability of cost data, including obligations associated with the development and sustainment of VistA for fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017; and reviewed program documentation related to VA's program, governance, and plans to transition to Cerner."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Water Resources Projects: Army Corps of Engineers Can Further Enhance Acceleration of Feasibility Studies, Report to Congressional Committees
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "Water resources development projects undertaken by the Corps--such as those to reduce the risks from coastal storms--historically have taken years or even decades to complete. To implement these projects, the Corps first conducts a feasibility study, which includes an analysis of the federal interest and the costs, benefits, and environmental impacts of a project; such studies can take several years to complete. WRRDA 2014 [Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014] requires the Corps to, among other things, conduct activities to accelerate the completion of feasibility studies. The act also includes a provision for GAO to assess acceleration reforms. This report examines the extent to which the Corps has (1) addressed the WRRDA 2014 feasibility study acceleration provisions, (2) reviewed the impact of its feasibility study acceleration reforms, and (3) maintained complete milestone data for its studies. GAO reviewed WRRDA 2014 and Corps documents; reviewed 19 feasibility studies subject to the act's acceleration provisions; analyzed data on key milestones; and interviewed Corps officials and stakeholders."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Wireless Internet: FCC Should Assess Making Off-School-Premises Access Eligible for Additional Federal Support, Report to Congressional Committees
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "School-age children without internet access may have difficulty in completing homework. Those without in-home fixed access may go online wirelessly outside the home to do homework. A provision was included in statute for GAO to review wireless internet access for school-age children in lower-income households. This report examines (1) challenges lower-income school-age children who lack in-home fixed internet face in doing homework involving internet access, and (2) selected school district efforts to expand wireless access for students and the federal role in those efforts. GAO analyzed 2017 CPS [Current Population Survey] data; reviewed six local projects that were selected based in part on education industry stakeholders' recommendations, that included a range of geographic locations, and that took steps to address the homework gap; compared FCC [Federal Communications Commission] efforts to federal standards for internal controls and pilot-program design best practices; reviewed FCC and Department of Education documents; and interviewed 17 stakeholders, including school districts."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Depot Maintenance: DOD Should Adopt a Metric That Provides Quality Information on Funded Unfinished Work, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Document: "DOD allows carryover from one fiscal year to the next to ensure the smooth flow of maintenance work performed at depots. DOD has reported that approximately 6 months of carryover is optimal. Excess carryover (i.e., more unfinished work than allowed) may reflect an inefficient use of resources and tie up funds that could be used for other priorities. Congress directed DOD to report on its current DOD carryover metric and consider alternatives. DOD's report discussed three carryover metrics: the current DOD carryover metric, an Office of the Secretary of Defense-proposed carryover metric, and an Army-proposed carryover metric. Congress asked GAO [Government Accountability Office] to review DOD's historical carryover and the metrics presented by DOD."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Nuclear Security: The International Atomic Energy Agency Could Improve Priority Setting, Performance Measures, and Funding Stabilization, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "Nuclear terrorism remains a significant threat to the security of the United States and its allies and partners. U.S. efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism include working with IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], an autonomous international agency affiliated with the United Nations. The Department of State coordinates the United States' policy with and financial contributions to IAEA. IAEA's nuclear security program aims to assist countries in enhancing the physical protection, control, and accounting of their nuclear and radiological material and nuclear facilities. GAO was asked to review IAEA's nuclear security program. This report examines (1) the structure and range of nuclear security work that IAEA conducts, (2) how IAEA plans and prioritizes its nuclear security work and measures performance, and (3) the challenges that IAEA's nuclear security program faces. GAO analyzed key IAEA documents and interviewed IAEA officials, U.S. and foreign government officials, and nuclear security experts."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Federal Information Security: Agencies and OMB Need to Strengthen Policies and Practices, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Document: "For 22 years, GAO [Government Accountability Office] has designated information security as a governmentwide high-risk area. FISMA [Federal Information Security Modernization Act
of 2014] requires federal agencies to develop, document, and implement information security programs and have independent evaluations of those programs and practices. It also assigns government-wide responsibilities for information security to OMB [Office of Management and Budget], DHS [Department of Homeland Security], and NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology]. FISMA includes a provision for GAO to periodically report to Congress on agencies' implementation of the act."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Defense Logistics Agency: Small Businesses Participate in Reverse Engineering of Spare Parts, Report to the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate
From the Highlights: "The Department of Defense spends tens of billions of dollars annually to sustain military assets including aircraft, ships, and missiles. In support of this effort, DLA [Defense Logistics Agency] strives to maintain a competitive supplier base through reverse engineering--the process of examining an item, such as a spare part, with the intent of replicating its design. Contractors consider intellectual property, such as their technical data and patented material, essential to their success. DLA also takes steps to safeguard contractors' intellectual property during reverse engineering. The Senate Armed Services Committee report accompanying a bill for the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act included a provision for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to review DLA's reverse engineering efforts, including the protection of small businesses' intellectual property. This report describes (1) DLA's reverse engineering programs and the extent to which small businesses participated in these programs from fiscal years 2015 through 2018; and (2) how DLA safeguards certain intellectual property within its reverse engineering efforts."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Foreign Assistance: Federal Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines Incorporate Most but Not All Leading Practices, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "The Trump Administration requested $28.5 billion in foreign assistance in fiscal year 2019, to be administered by at least 22 federal agencies. Almost 95 percent of this assistance is administered by six agencies--the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Defense (DOD), State (State), Health and Human Services (HHS), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). FATAA [Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016] required the President to set forth guidelines for M&E [monitoring and evaluation] of U.S. foreign assistance. In January 2018, OMB [Office of Management and Budget] issued the required guidelines for federal agencies. FATAA also contained a provision for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to analyze the guidelines established by OMB; and assess the implementation of the guidelines by the agencies. In this report, GAO examined the extent to which (1) OMB's M&E Guidelines incorporate GAO leading practices, and (2) agencies incorporate the OMB Guidelines in their M&E policies and plans. GAO assessed the OMB Guidelines against GAO's 28 leading practices identified in GAO-16- 861R. GAO also assessed the six agencies' foreign assistance M&E policies against the Guidelines and interviewed OMB and relevant agency officials in Washington, DC."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-07
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Defense Business Transformation: Cross-Enterprise Activities of Selected DOD Inspector General Offices
From the Letter: "Within the Department of Defense (DOD) and its components (military departments, combatant commands, defense agencies, and field activities), more than 30 inspector general (IG) offices have been established to provide oversight and assistance through audits, inspections, investigations, and evaluations. There is an inherent risk that large organizations such as DOD may expend funds in programs that are fragmented, overlap with other programs, or are duplicative of other programs, including those programs affecting IG offices established within the department. [...] The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, enacted in August 2018, includes a provision for GAO to review the cross-enterprise activities of IG offices within DOD. The cross-enterprise activities included in the provision were public affairs, human resources (HR), services contracting, other contracting, and any other cross-enterprise activities that GAO deemed appropriate. GAO was to identify opportunities to maximize efficiency and minimize duplication of effort--including through reduction or elimination of duplicative functions--and any matters considered appropriate. The objectives of this audit were to (1) examine selected cross-enterprise activities for selected DOD IG offices and determine whether significant examples of fragmentation, overlap, or duplication exist and (2) determine what opportunities, if any, exist to reduce or better manage any fragmentation, overlap, or duplication associated with the selected cross-enterprise activities of the DOD IG offices we reviewed."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06-28
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2017 Disaster Relief Oversight: Strategy Needed to Ensure Agencies' Internal Control Plans Provide Sufficient Information
From the Highlights: "Agencies must deliver disaster relief funding expeditiously. However, the risk of improper payments increases when agencies spend billions of dollars quickly. In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the California wildfires created an unprecedented demand for federal disaster response and recovery resources. Congress passed three supplemental appropriations totaling over $120 billion in additional funding in response to these disasters. As part of the appropriations, Congress included an oversight framework that required federal agencies to submit internal control plans for spending these funds by March 31, 2018, in accordance with criteria to be established by OMB [Office of Management and Budget]. This report addresses the extent to which selected federal agencies' internal control plans provided sufficient and timely external communication to Congress and others. To address this objective, GAO selected for review six agencies that together received $115 billion of the approximately $120 billion in supplemental appropriations for activities in response to the 2017 disasters. GAO reviewed these agencies' internal control plans and M-18-14, evaluated the internal control plans against M-18-14 and internal control standards, and interviewed agency officials and OMB staff."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06-28
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Nation's Fiscal Health: Actions Needed to Achieve Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability, a Testimony Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. Senate
From the Highlights: "Congress and the administration face serious economic, security, and social challenges that require difficult policy choices in the near term in setting national priorities and helping promote economic growth. This will influence the level of federal spending and how the government obtains needed resources. At the same time, the federal government is highly leveraged in debt by historical norms. For example, debt held by the public as a share of GDP [gross domestic product] at the end of fiscal year 2018 was 78 percent, compared to an average of 46 percent since 1946. Over the long term, the imbalance between spending and revenue that is built into current law and policy is projected to lead to continued growth of the federal deficit and debt held by the public as a share of GDP."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06-26
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Black Lung Benefits Program: Financing and Oversight Challenges Are Adversely Affecting the Trust Fund, Statement of Cindy Brown Barnes, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Testimony Before the Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, House of Representatives
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Office: "Since 2009, GAO has produced a body of work on the Black Lung Benefits Program. In 2018, for instance, GAO reported that the Trust Fund, which pays benefits to certain coal miners, faced financial challenges due, in part, to the coal tax rate decrease that took effect in 2019 and declining coal production. Trust Fund finances could be further strained by coal mine operator bankruptcies, as they can lead to benefit liabilities being transferred to the Trust Fund. This testimony describes Trust Fund finances through 2050 and provides preliminary observations from ongoing work for this committee regarding the Department of Labor's (DOL) oversight of coal mine operator insurance."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Barnes, Cindy Brown
2019-06-20
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Board Diversity: Strategies to Increase Representation of Women and Minorities, Statement of Chelsa Gurkin, Acting Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Testimony Before the Committee on Financial Services, House of Representatives
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "Corporate boards take actions and make decisions that not only affect the lives of millions of employees and consumers, but also influence the policies and practices of the global marketplace. Many organizations and businesses have recognized the importance of recruiting and retaining women and minorities for key positions to improve performance and better meet the needs of a diverse customer base. Academic researchers and others have highlighted how diversity among board directors increases the range of perspectives for better decision making, among other benefits. Prior GAO reports have found challenges to increasing diversity on boards and underscored the need to identify strategies that can improve or accelerate efforts to boost representation of women and minorities. These include reports examining the diversity of publicly-traded company boards and the boards of federally chartered banks, such as the FHLBanks [Federal Home Loan Banks]. This statement is based on two GAO reports, issued in December 2015 and February 2019, on the representation of women on corporate boards and the representation of women and minorities on the boards of FHLBanks, respectively. Information about the scope and methodologies used can be found in the original reports. This statement focuses on (1) the extent of diversity on such boards (2) factors that hinder diversity on these boards, and (3) strategies to promote board diversity on corporate and FHLBank boards."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Gurkin, Chelsa
2019-06-20
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Post-9/11 GI Bill: Veterans Affected by School Closures, Statement of Melissa Emrey-Arras, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "The Post-9/11 GI Bill is VA's [Department of Veterans Affairs] largest educational program. It provides payments for eligible veterans to cover tuition and fees, housing and other costs while they pursue a higher education. However, for some veterans this pursuit is interrupted when the school they attend unexpectedly closes. This testimony addresses (1) the distribution of Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee payments among schools, (2) outcomes of students at schools that receive the most Post-9/11 GI Bill payments, and (3) how school closures can affect student veterans."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Emrey-Arras, Melissa
2019-06-19
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Emergency Management: FEMA Has Made Progress, but Challenges and Future Risks Highlight Imperative for Further Improvements, Statement of Chris Currie, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, Testimony Before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives
From the Document: "This statement discusses, among other things, FEMA's progress and challenges related to disaster resilience, response, recovery, and workforce management. This statement is based on GAO reports issued from March 2011 through May 2019, and also includes preliminary observations from ongoing GAO [Government Accountability Office] reviews of FEMA operations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Currie, Chris
2019-06-12
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Sexual Harassment in STEM Research: Preliminary Observations on Policies for University Grantees and Information Sharing Among Selected Agencies, Statement of John Neumann, Managing Director, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, Testimony Before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives
From the Document: "This testimony is based on ongoing GAO [Government Accountability Office] work and provides preliminary observations on selected agencies: (1) availability of staff and budget to address sexual harassment complaints at universities they fund for STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] research; (2) efforts to establish and communicate policies and procedures for university grantees on preventing sexual harassment; and (3) steps taken to promote information sharing and collaboration among agencies to prevent sexual harassment at universities they fund for STEM research."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Neumann, John
2019-06-12
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Consumer Privacy: Changes to Legal Framework Needed to Address Gaps, Statement of Alicia Puente Cackley, Director Financial Markets and Community Investment, Testimony Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "Information resellers--companies that collect and resell information on individuals--have dramatically increased the collection and sharing of personal data in recent years, raising privacy concerns. Increasing use of social media, mobile applications, and other technologies have intensified these concerns. This statement is primarily based on findings from GAO's 2013 report on information resellers (GAO-13-663). [...] GAO discusses (1) existing federal laws related to the privacy of consumer information held by information resellers and (2) any gaps in this legal framework. For the prior work, GAO analyzed relevant laws, regulations, and enforcement actions and interviewed representatives of federal agencies, trade associations, consumer and privacy groups, and resellers."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Puente Cackley, Alicia
2019-06-11
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Federal Protective Service's Organizational Placement: Considerations for Transition to the DHS Management Directorate, Statement of Lori Rectanus Director, Physical Infrastructure, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management and Accountability, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "FPS [Federal Protective Service] conducts physical security and law enforcement activities for about 9,000 federal facilities and the millions of employees or visitors who work in or visit these facilities. Legislation enacted in November 2018 required DHS to determine the appropriate placement for FPS. The legislation also gave the Secretary of DHS authority to move FPS within DHS. In May 2019, DHS announced its decision to place FPS within the DHS Management Directorate as a direct report to the Under Secretary for Management. GAO has reported that FPS faces persistent challenges in meeting its mission to protect facilities, and, as of 2019, physical security continues to be part of GAO's federal real property management high-risk area. For example, FPS has not yet fully implemented its guard management system. Thus, FPS is unable to obtain information to assess its guards' capability to address physical security risks across its portfolio. This statement describes considerations for FPS's placement in DHS's Management Directorate based upon five key organizational placement criteria GAO identified, as well as steps to transition FPS based upon GAO's prior work on organizational change."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Rectanus, Lori
2019-06-11
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Aviation Security: TSA Has Policies That Prohibit Unlawful Profiling but Should Improve Its Oversight of Behavior Detection Activities, Statement of William Russell, Acting Director, Homeland Security and Justice, Testimony Before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives
From the Statement of William Russell: "My testimony today discusses (1) how TSA trains screeners who engage in behavior detection on policies and procedures that prohibit unlawful profiling; (2) TSA's oversight of behavior detection activities; (3) the number of complaints TSA received alleging violations of civil rights and civil liberties related to passenger screening from October 2015 through February 2018, and actions taken by TSA to address them; and (4) how TSA used complaint data to inform screener training."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Russell, William
2019-06-04
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Face Recognition Technology: DOJ and FBI Have Taken Some Actions in Response to GAO Recommendations to Ensure Privacy and Accuracy, But Additional Work Remains, Statement of Gretta L. Goodwin, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, Testimony Before the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives
From the GAO (Government Accountability Office) Highlights: "Technology advancements have increased the overall accuracy of automated face recognition over the past few decades. This technology has helped law enforcement agencies identify criminals in their investigations. However, there are questions about the accuracy of the technology and the protection of privacy and civil liberties when face recognition technologies are used to identify people for investigations. This statement describes the extent to which the FBI (1) ensures adherence to laws and policies related to privacy regarding its use of face recognition technology, and (2) ensures its face recognition capabilities are sufficiently accurate. This statement is based on GAO's May 2016 report regarding the FBI's use of face recognition technology (GAO-16-267) and includes agency updates to GAO's recommendations. To conduct its prior work, GAO reviewed federal privacy laws, and DOJ [Department of Justice] and FBI policies and operating manuals. GAO interviewed officials from the FBI and the departments of Defense and State, which coordinate with the FBI on face recognition. GAO also interviewed two state agencies that partner with the FBI to use multiple face recognition capabilities. For updates, GAO reviewed FBI data, as well as materials provided by DOJ and the FBI on the status of GAO's recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Goodwin, Gretta L.
2019-06-04
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State and USAID: Status of GAO Recommendations Made in 2017
From the Document: "Senate Report 115-282 accompanying the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2019, includes a provision for us to report on the status of all recommendations made to the U.S. Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in GAO [Government Accountability Office] reports issued during calendar year 2017. This report provides the total number of recommendations we made to State and to USAID in 2017, how many of those recommendations remain open for each agency, and which ones we consider priority recommendations. Priority recommendations are those that GAO believes warrant priority attention from heads of key departments and agencies."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06-04
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U.S. Territories: Public Debt Outlook - 2019 Update, Report to Congressional Committees
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "The five U.S. territories--Puerto Rico, USVI [United States Virgin Islands], American Samoa, CNMI [Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands], and Guam--borrow through financial markets. Puerto Rico, in particular, has amassed large amounts of debt, and began to default on debt payments in 2015. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused widespread damage and destruction in Puerto Rico and USVI, placing additional financial pressures on their already strained economies. In June 2016, Congress passed and the President signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). It contains a provision for GAO to review the public debt of each of the five territories every two years. [...] In this report, for each U.S. territory, GAO updates (1) trends in public debt, its composition, and drivers; (2) trends in revenue and its composition, and overall financial condition; and (3) what is known about the ability to repay public debt."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06
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Missile Defense: Delivery Delays Provide Opportunity for Increased Testing to Better Understand Capability, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Document: "For over half a century, the Department of Defense (DOD) has funded efforts to defend the United States from ballistic missile attacks. [...] The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, as amended, included a provision that GAO [Government Accountability Office] annually assess and report on MDA's [Missile Defense Agency] progress. Among other objectives, this report addresses for fiscal year 2018 (1) the progress MDA made in achieving delivery and testing goals and (2) the extent to which MDA made progress in developing and delivering integrated regional BMDS [Ballistic Missile Defense System] capabilities."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06
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Information Technology: Agencies Need to Develop Modernization Plans for Critical Legacy Systems, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the GAO [Government Accountability Office] Highlights: "The federal government plans to spend over $90 billion in fiscal year 2019 on IT [information technology]. About 80 percent of this amount is used to operate and maintain existing IT investments, including aging (also called legacy) systems. As they age, legacy systems can be more costly to maintain, more exposed to cybersecurity risks, and less effective in meeting their intended purpose. GAO was asked to review federal agencies' legacy systems. This report (1) identifies the most critical federal legacy systems in need of modernization and evaluates agency plans for modernizing them, and (2) identifies examples of legacy system modernization initiatives that agencies considered successful."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2019-06
