{ "count": 50, "items": [ { "id": 19239, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109046", "title": "National Crisis and Support Hotlines: Contact Volume Increased and Operations Remained Relatively Consistent in 2025", "summary": "What GAO Found The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential 24/7 support for anyone experiencing mental health distress, suicidal thoughts, or substance use crises. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free, confidential emotional support, resources, and referrals to pregnant and postpartum women experiencing mental health challenges. Both of these hotlines, within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are operated by nonfederal entities—primarily by", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare", "published_at": "2026-08-13T11:27:58.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/19239" }, { "id": 18071, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108681", "title": "Army Depot Maintenance: Information on Workload, Workforce, and Challenges", "summary": "What GAO Found The Anniston and Red River Army Depots, among other things, perform maintenance and repairs on ground vehicles, including vehicles such as tanks, personnel carriers, and self-propelled artillery systems; trucks for hauling fuel and supplies; and light armored vehicles for transporting personnel and cargo. The maintenance and repairs performed at both depots include overhauls, major repairs, repairable parts, and other depot work. The annual total workload at Anniston Army Depot va", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-08-10T12:08:08.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/18071" }, { "id": 17132, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107780", "title": "Federal Student Loans: Education Could Better Coordinate with Servicers When Making Program Changes", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of Education provides student loan servicers with instruction for implementing program changes via formal documents known as change requests. Change requests outline new or modified requirements for servicers and can vary in their complexity. For example, Education could require servicers to carry out tasks ranging from sending straightforward borrower communications to implementing major repayment plan changes. Examples of Tasks Student Loan Servicers Carry Out for", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "children-education", "published_at": "2026-08-06T13:22:58.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/17132" }, { "id": 17133, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108615", "title": "DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived from Contract, Grant, and Lease Terminations", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began posting its estimated savings on a web page known as the Wall of Receipts on February 17, 2025. As of July 7, 2026, the Wall of Receipts reported savings of $110 billion across contracts, grants, and leases, but some savings estimates are incorrect or lack supporting evidence. While DOGE provided some information about estimated savings, several issues limit the transparency and reliability of these reported savings. DOGE was no", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "transparency", "published_at": "2026-08-06T12:22:09.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/17133" }, { "id": 17134, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109121", "title": "Semiconductors: Commerce Needs Plan to Meet CHIPS for America R&D Requirements", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of Commerce has continued to implement the semiconductor facilities and equipment incentives program, and awardees have made progress on milestones. Since July 2025, Commerce has awarded nine new projects, for a total of 49 projects across 24 companies. When setting award amounts, Commerce considered new factors as compared to prior awards, such as whether the company would provide equity in exchange for funding. Commerce also amended existing awards for 14 companie", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "bias-fairness", "published_at": "2026-08-06T11:37:32.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/17134" }, { "id": 17136, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108249", "title": "International Agreements: DOD Has Opportunities to Improve Internal Communication and Oversight", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) uses international agreements and arrangements to achieve political, economic, and military objectives. For example, these could include cooperatively developing and producing a military system with a foreign partner. From fiscal years 2021 through 2025, DOD established 303 acquisition-related international arrangements with an associated dollar value of $64 billion. However, both the number and dollar value of these arrangements declined over this", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "military-security", "published_at": "2026-08-06T11:33:49.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/17136" }, { "id": 17137, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107847", "title": "Wearable Technologies: Potential Benefits and Challenges in Clinical Decision-Making", "summary": "What GAO Found Wearable devices (wearables) with health-related features have the potential to be used in clinical decision-making (see figure). Wearables can be either medical or wellness devices, and their features can be augmented by artificial intelligence (AI). Wearables use sensors to track vital signs and establish patient health baselines; alert users, caregivers, or clinicians of medical events or suggested lifestyle changes; and provide additional assessments of user data that can be s", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare", "published_at": "2026-08-06T11:28:53.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/17137" }, { "id": 17135, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107711", "title": "Carbon Capture Tax Credit: Actions Needed to Improve Federal Administration and Evaluation of Tax Expenditure", "summary": "What GAO Found The Carbon Oxide Sequestration Credit (45Q) is a tax credit provided for certain carbon oxides that are captured at emission sources or directly from the air and either stored underground or used to produce products. The credit has been amended multiple times, including by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which added new credit features. More recently, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act created parity in credit values across uses of captured carbon. As of March 2026, there were", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation,environment", "published_at": "2026-08-06T11:25:05.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/17135" }, { "id": 16712, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108640", "title": "College Athletics: Most Programs Spend More Than They Generate in Revenue", "summary": "What GAO Found Intercollegiate athletics at four-year colleges in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are organized into divisions, subdivisions, and conferences. Division I (DI) colleges compete at the highest level and can offer students full athletics scholarships. Division II (DII) colleges typically offer partial athletics scholarships. In both divisions, expenses for most athletic programs were greater than the revenue they generated, according to GAO’s analysis of NCAA dat", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "children-education", "published_at": "2026-08-05T13:51:01.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/16712" }, { "id": 16340, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108980", "title": "Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Defense", "summary": "What GAO Found In May 2025, GAO identified 79 priority recommendations for the Department of Defense. Since then, the Department has implemented 17 of those recommendations. In June 2026, GAO identified an additional seven priority recommendations and removed the priority designation from 16 recommendations, bringing the total to 53 priority recommendations. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention:  Sustaining U.S. military readiness,  En", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "military-security", "published_at": "2026-08-04T11:32:28.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/16340" }, { "id": 16341, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108427", "title": "FEMA Workforce: Staff Reductions and Lack of Planning May Impact Mission Readiness", "summary": "What GAO Found The increasing number and complexity of disasters demonstrates the need to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) workforce can meet its core mission to help people before, during, and after disasters. In response to 2025 presidential directives, many federal agencies have taken steps to reduce the size of their workforces. In fiscal year 2025, FEMA employed about 25,134 employees, on average. However, over 4,300 employees separated from FEMA in fiscal year 2", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-08-04T11:01:01.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/16341" }, { "id": 15931, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108468", "title": "Law Enforcement: DOJ Should Improve Training and Misconduct Guidelines for Nonfederal Task Force Officers", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of Justice (DOJ) routinely forms task forces to investigate national security issues and criminal activity, including various forms of trafficking, terrorist threats, and violent gang activity. Through these task forces, DOJ law enforcement agencies partner with thousands of nonfederal officers from state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies. Number and Types of Active Department of Justice Task Forces, as of April 2026 All four of the DOJ compon", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation,military-security,finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-08-03T11:01:26.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/15931" }, { "id": 15706, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108084", "title": "Inflation Reduction Act: EPA’s Use and Oversight of $11.5 Billion in Appropriations", "summary": "What GAO Found The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provided about $41.5 billion in supplemental appropriations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for grants and other investments to reduce air pollution and enhance national climate resilience. EPA primarily used the appropriations to create new grant programs and has awarded hundreds of grants. In 2025, EPA terminated grants funded by $30 billion of IRA appropriations and several grant recipients were challenging the termina", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment,finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-31T11:07:05.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/15706" }, { "id": 15705, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108965", "title": "Federal Land and Water Management: Lessons Learned from Implementing Federal-Tribal Shared Decision-Making Agreements", "summary": "What GAO Found Various federal land and water management agencies and Tribes have entered into shared decision-making agreements. Under these agreements, Tribes provide substantive input on federal natural and cultural resource management decisions over many years. The relevant federal agencies are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, the Interior, and their subcomponents. The subcomponents include the U.S. Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Land Mana", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-31T11:00:09.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/15705" }, { "id": 14990, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108632", "title": "Financial Audit Manual: Volume 3, July 2026", "summary": "The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) maintain the Financial Audit Manual (FAM). For more information, please visit the main FAM page, or contact Dawn B. Simpson at SimpsonDB@gao.gov.", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "transparency", "published_at": "2026-07-30T11:26:02.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14990" }, { "id": 14989, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107610", "title": "Public Health Preparedness: Experts Identified Actions to Improve Surveillance for Emerging Disease Threats", "summary": "What GAO Found Emerging infectious diseases are infections that are new (e.g., COVID-19) or have existed but are reappearing in an area (e.g., measles), according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As the federal lead for public health, HHS partners with thousands of entities at all levels of government to conduct surveillance for emerging infectious diseases; doing so through continuous data collection, analysis, and sharing of health data needed to plan for and respond to su", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "privacy-surveillance,healthcare", "published_at": "2026-07-30T11:08:12.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14989" }, { "id": 14627, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108989", "title": "Priority Open Recommendations: Office of Personnel Management", "summary": "What GAO Found In August 2025, GAO identified 14 priority recommendations for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Since then, OPM has implemented three of those recommendations. In July 2026, GAO removed the priority status from three recommendations, bringing the total to eight. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention: Preventing improper payments, Strengthening IT management, and Managing the federal workforce. Addressing GAO’s recommendati", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-07-29T13:07:14.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14627" }, { "id": 14628, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107745", "title": "Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Needs to Better Use End State Contracts to Achieve Intended Results", "summary": "What GAO Found As of March 31, 2025, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) awarded 57 task orders across nine contracts since implementing the End State Contract Model (ESCM) in fiscal year 2020. The ESCM uses task orders for contractors to achieve a stated outcome, or “end state,” to move sites toward completion, manage cost and schedule performance, and reduce DOE’s environmental liability. About half (29) included defined end states and the remainder were fo", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-29T11:25:40.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14628" }, { "id": 14626, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108082", "title": "Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Is Missing Opportunities to Apply Lessons from Other Countries That Could Reduce Risks and Costs", "summary": "What GAO Found Many countries are undertaking efforts to manage, treat, and dispose of nuclear waste. Several have taken actions that accelerated cleanup, reduced risks, and resulted in cost savings—lessons that could inform the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) efforts. For example: The United Kingdom (UK) saved a total of at least £2 billion (equivalent to $2.6 billion as of March 2026) by implementing a risk-informed approach to managing its nuclear waste. Th", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-29T10:51:26.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14626" }, { "id": 14218, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/e15005", "title": "Professional Standards Update No. 101", "summary": "To alert the audit community to changes in professional standards, we periodically issue Professional Standards Updates (PSU). These updates highlight the effective dates of recently issued standards and guidance related to engagements conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. PSUs contain summary information only, and those affected by a change should refer to the respective standard or guidance for details.", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "transparency", "published_at": "2026-07-28T14:07:57.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14218" }, { "id": 14219, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107790", "title": "Disaster Response: Lessons Learned in Supporting Mothers and Young Children", "summary": "What GAO Found The unique needs of mothers and young children during disasters include appropriate sheltering, feeding and care supplies, medical and mental health support, and other services, according to relevant literature and disaster service providers from selected local, state, and nonprofit organizations. For example, large shelters may not be the best option for families with infants. Mothers also often need diapers, baby food, and infant formula. Service providers from 12 local, state,", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare,children-education", "published_at": "2026-07-28T11:28:13.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/14219" }, { "id": 13865, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108644", "title": "Equal Access to Justice Act: Use at Selected Labor and Employment Agencies", "summary": "What GAO Found The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) was enacted in 1980, in part to address individuals’ and organizations’ ability to challenge or defend themselves against civil or administrative actions involving the federal government. EAJA authorizes the award of legal fees to parties that prevail against the federal government and meet other eligibility criteria, under certain circumstances. Federal agencies reported paying over $116 million for about 15,000 EAJA awards, on average per y", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-07-27T11:16:59.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/13865" }, { "id": 13166, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108027", "title": "Bank Regulatory Reviews: Action Needed to Better Identify and Address Unnecessary or Unduly Burdensome Requirements", "summary": "What GAO Found The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA) requires the federal banking agencies to solicit and review public comments on their regulations to identify and eliminate outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations on insured depository institutions, as appropriate. How Federal Banking Agencies Conduct Decennial EGRPRA Reviews Outcomes from the EGRPRA reviews are often difficult to identify, and their connection to subsequent regulatory acti", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation,finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-23T11:42:00.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/13166" }, { "id": 13167, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108053", "title": "Managing Critical Isotopes: DOE Could Better Assess Market Needs and Respond to Risks", "summary": "What GAO Found The Office of Isotope Research and Development and Production (IRP), within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, produced, sold, and distributed 265 isotopes during fiscal years 2020 through 2025. Many of these isotopes are critical to medical diagnosis and treatment, national security, industrial processes and manufacturing, and quantum science. IRP made over 7,700 isotope shipments, most of which were for medical purposes. Department of Energy Isotope Production F", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare,military-security,environment", "published_at": "2026-07-23T11:23:23.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/13167" }, { "id": 13163, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108625", "title": "Army Corps of Engineers: Stakeholders and Corps Views on Legal Protections in Project Partnership Agreements", "summary": "What GAO Found The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers enters into Project Partnership Agreements (PPA) with nonfederal sponsors to execute water resources projects. These PPAs include a clause to “hold and save the Government from damages arising from the project” except those due to the fault or negligence of the U.S. or its contractors. Corps officials said the clause may protect the federal government from legal costs by discouraging litigation—a key advantage. Nonfederal sponsors described disadva", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-23T11:14:05.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/13163" }, { "id": 13164, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107737", "title": "Technology Modernization Fund: Small Savings Achieved So Far, but Substantial Future Savings Expected", "summary": "What GAO Found The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) invests funding in agency projects to, among other things, modernize aging federal information technology (IT) systems. From fiscal years 2018 through 2025, the TMF received over $1 billion in net appropriations, of which the Technology Modernization Board invested about $1.03 billion in 68 unclassified projects (see figure). As of June 2025 (the latest data available at the time of this analysis), 24 TMF projects expected to achieve total s", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-23T11:06:47.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/13164" }, { "id": 13165, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109100", "title": "Combating Fraud: Managing Risks in Federally Funded, State-Administered Programs", "summary": "What GAO Found Twenty programs, supporting a broad range of services from health care to disaster assistance, made up nearly 90 percent of federal obligations among programs administered by state and other government entities with obligations of over $100 million in fiscal year 2025. The 20 programs collectively accounted for $1.1 trillion in total federal obligations that year. Subrecipients, contractors, and others can also be involved in these programs, which can be helpful in delivering bene", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare", "published_at": "2026-07-23T11:00:30.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/13165" }, { "id": 12732, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108483", "title": "Military Health Care: Information on Use of and Access to Toxic Exposure Records", "summary": "What GAO Found The Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER) is a web application that links service members’ and veterans’ military toxic exposures and related information from Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) databases. DOD and VA intend ILER to be a multi-purpose tool to support clinicians in providing diagnoses and treatment decisions, researchers in conducting health surveillance and epidemiological research, and Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA)", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "privacy-surveillance,healthcare,military-security", "published_at": "2026-07-22T11:37:02.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12732" }, { "id": 12731, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108434", "title": "Funding Status: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act", "summary": "What GAO Found The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided budget authorities for transportation, infrastructure, and energy projects. Together, the four agencies selected for this review—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior (Interior), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Department of Transportation (DOT)—obligated a majority of their IIJA or IRA funding. IIJA. Of the approximate", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy,environment,finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-22T11:33:30.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12731" }, { "id": 12730, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108606", "title": "Cybersecurity Regulations: Multiple Sectors Are Subject to Potentially Duplicative Reporting Requirements", "summary": "What GAO Found GAO identified 117 cybersecurity regulations established by 37 federal agencies for private entities, spanning nine critical infrastructure sectors. Most of those regulations either contain the same kind of reporting requirement applicable to a sector or the same reporting requirement as at least one other regulation, which may lead to duplication. Specifically, 80 of the 117 regulations (about 70 percent) had at least 125 total reporting requirements (see figure), with some regul", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation", "published_at": "2026-07-22T11:27:47.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12730" }, { "id": 12728, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108655", "title": "Firearms Education: ATF Should Use Performance Metrics and Information to Evaluate and Manage Outreach Campaign", "summary": "What GAO Found Since 2000, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have managed and launched the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy campaign across various cities in the U.S. The campaign is intended to educate the public about the legal consequences of “straw purchases”—when someone who is prohibited from buying a firearm has someone else (a “straw buyer”) make the purchase for them. The campaign also educates federal firearms li", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "children-education", "published_at": "2026-07-22T11:18:41.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12728" }, { "id": 12729, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108687", "title": "Critical Minerals: Reducing U.S. Import Reliance with Substitution and Recycling Technologies", "summary": "What GAO Found Technologies like batteries and semiconductors are essential to the U.S. economy but rely on imports of lithium, gallium, and other critical minerals. GAO found that substitution and recycling technologies could help reduce U.S. reliance on these imports. But progress is likely to take many years in some cases. Potential for technologies to reduce critical mineral import reliance For batteries, substitution and recycling technologies offer near-term potential. For example, using l", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-07-22T11:10:08.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12729" }, { "id": 12397, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108115", "title": "Tax Regulations: Opportunities Exist to Improve Economic Analysis and Taxpayer Engagement", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed 236 tax regulations and finalized 231 regulations between January 21, 2017, and March 31, 2026. These regulations included those that implemented provisions of the sweeping tax law changes of 2017, 2022, and 2025. IRS rulemaking procedures generally provided the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed tax regulations. GAO found that Treasury and IRS could improve the usefulness of regulatory e", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation", "published_at": "2026-07-21T11:43:40.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12397" }, { "id": 12398, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108506", "title": "National Transportation Safety Board: Use of Competitive and Noncompetitive Contract Awards to Acquire Products and Services", "summary": "What GAO Found The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates and determines the probable cause of transportation accidents in the United States, among other responsibilities, thus playing a vital role in advancing transportation safety. To support its mission, NTSB procures a variety of products (e.g., laboratory equipment) and services (e.g., services to develop and maintain systems and applications used to investigate accidents). NTSB is generally required to promote full and op", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-21T11:33:20.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12398" }, { "id": 12399, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109130", "title": "Federal Programs: Assessing and Improving Effectiveness", "summary": "GAO’s work regularly finds that federal programs are unable to assess their performance to determine if they are solving the problem they were created to fix. By defining goals and collecting and using relevant data, agencies could make informed decisions to improve their programs’ results. The Big Picture Each year, the federal government spends trillions of dollars on programs that Americans depend on, such as health care, public safety, and disaster support. Our recent reports have found that", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare", "published_at": "2026-07-21T11:21:39.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12399" }, { "id": 12037, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108916", "title": "GAOverview: Recent Federal Workforce Changes at OPM", "summary": "Why This Matters The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the federal government's central agency for human resources and workforce management. Since December 2024, in alignment with presidential directives on the closure of certain offices and the reduction of the size of the federal workforce, OPM has undergone significant workforce and organizational structure changes. These actions have reduced institutional knowledge and operational capacity at the agency. OPM’s Headcount Decreased by 35", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "safety-alignment,jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-07-20T11:22:29.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12037" }, { "id": 11060, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109116", "title": "Science & Tech Spotlight: AI for Medical Notes and Coding", "summary": "Why This Matters U.S. clinicians average a 57-hour workweek, including 7 hours of administrative work. Time spent on tasks like drafting patient visit notes or reviewing billing paperwork may contribute to clinician burnout. New AI tools could increase efficiency and reduce administrative burdens during and after patient visits. Key Takeaways Some health care providers are adopting AI tools to assist with note taking and medical coding, which may save time and reduce burnout. The accuracy of the", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare", "published_at": "2026-07-16T11:18:13.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/11060" }, { "id": 11059, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108520", "title": "Department of Energy: Efforts to Streamline Project Management at National Laboratories and Nuclear Sites", "summary": "What GAO Found A Secretary of Energy memorandum directed revisions to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) construction order (known as 413.3B) to (1) allow increased delegation of approval authority for projects estimated to cost up to $300 million; and (2) limit independent reviews for projects estimated to cost between $300 million and $1 billion. As of January 2026, DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) were managing 80 capital asset projects at laboratories and sites where", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-16T11:17:33.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/11059" }, { "id": 11058, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108736", "title": "Cyber Workforce: Agencies Did Not Widely Adopt Rotational Program", "summary": "What GAO Found A resilient and skilled cybersecurity workforce is essential to protecting federal information technology (IT) systems and enabling the government’s day-to-day functions. The Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce program, managed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), provides opportunities for members of the federal cyber workforce to gain experience in IT, cybersecurity, and other cyber-related positions. Agencies can participate in the program by either advertising a positio", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy,military-security", "published_at": "2026-07-16T11:16:16.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/11058" }, { "id": 10680, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108110", "title": "Immigration Courts: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Use of Remote Hearings", "summary": "What GAO Found The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) conducts immigration court proceedings both in-person and using remote technology, such as WebEx—an internet-based video teleconferencing platform, or telephone. Per EOIR policy, immigration judges may use discretion to decide which, if any, remote medium is used by participants in a hearing. EOIR collects data on the medium used for each hearing, which reflects the location of only the judge and respondent", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation", "published_at": "2026-07-15T11:28:26.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/10680" }, { "id": 10678, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107904", "title": "National Nuclear Security Administration: Additional Actions Needed to Plan for Science, Technology, and Engineering Facilities and Workforce Investments", "summary": "What GAO Found In July 2024, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released an internal Integrated Science, Technology, and Engineering (ST&E) Plan documenting investments needed for ST&E capabilities over the next 20 years. NNSA’s plan identified and prioritized 46 ST&E facility investments across the nuclear security enterprise that support stewardship of the nuclear weapons stockpile and other NNSA missions. The investments were prioritized by mission importance and mission need", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy,military-security,finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-15T11:24:50.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/10678" }, { "id": 10677, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109098", "title": "Science & Tech Spotlight: Microplastics in the Body and Environment", "summary": "Why This matters Across the globe, over 24 million tons of plastic (as much weight as 12 million cars) enter the environment each year. Larger plastics gradually break down into smaller microplastics, which can move into the organs, blood, and cells of humans and other animals. Key Takeaways Major sources of microplastics include vehicle tires, synthetic fabrics, plastic bottles, and paint. Exposure to microplastics is associated with health problems in humans and other organisms, but scientists", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare,environment", "published_at": "2026-07-15T11:18:12.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/10677" }, { "id": 10681, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109131", "title": "Science & Tech Spotlight: Geographic Origin of Food and Other Imports", "summary": "Why This Matters Bad actors may falsify the geographic origin of products to illicitly sell goods or substitute premium products with cheaper products, which can threaten our economy and consumer safety. In 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimated that U.S. commercial fishing may have lost nearly $61 million in operating income due to illegal, unreported, and unregulated seafood imports. Technologies that verify the origin of imported food and agricultural products, like seafood o", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy", "published_at": "2026-07-15T11:16:04.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/10681" }, { "id": 10679, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108654", "title": "Nuclear Waste: DOE’s Plans to Complete Cleanup and Transfer of Moab Mill Site", "summary": "What GAO Found Through the Moab Cleanup Project, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has removed over 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings and other materials at the Moab Mill Site in Utah, as of 2026. Tailings are leftover waste after uranium has been removed from rock. EM has sent the tailings and contaminated material to a nearby disposal site. EM is also working to remediate contaminated groundwater, which threatens the nearby Colorado River. Moab Mil", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-15T11:12:08.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/10679" }, { "id": 1949, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107868", "title": "Space Force: Additional Actions Needed to Address Workforce Challenges", "summary": "What GAO Found The Space Force is the smallest military service, with about 15,400 total personnel in fiscal year 2025. The Space Force largely inherited its workforce from other services and has completed some assessments as it seeks to right-size its force to meet growing missions. However, it determines personnel requirements based on a mix of analyses that are not consistent across Space Force units. Further, some units operate under personnel requirements that are outdated and do not reflec", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "jobs-economy,military-security", "published_at": "2026-07-14T11:27:27.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/1949" }, { "id": 1950, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108175", "title": "Biotechnology: Applications, Challenges, and Policy Options for Engineered Microbes for Waste Cleanup", "summary": "What GAO Found Certain types of waste are particularly pervasive or difficult to clean up with existing technologies. Microbes (e.g., bacteria, fungi) can be engineered to break down pollutants more effectively. For example, researchers have inserted genes into bacteria that allow the bacteria to break down contaminants, such as phenol or hydrocarbons, in water and soil. At present, there are no examples of commercially available engineered microbes for waste cleanup. Example areas where enginee", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "regulation,environment,biotech", "published_at": "2026-07-14T11:08:42.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/1950" }, { "id": 1948, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108173", "title": "Environmental Liabilities: Coast Guard Should Give Congress More Information on Millions of Dollars in Potential Costs", "summary": "What GAO Found As of September 2025, the Coast Guard reported about $448 million in environmental liabilities related to its shore infrastructure. This includes about $228 million for structures, like housing, presumed to be contaminated with asbestos-containing material or lead-based paint based on their age. It also includes about $220 million in cleanup projects at sites with a known or suspected release of contaminants. Several factors create uncertainty that could potentially lead to hundre", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "environment", "published_at": "2026-07-14T10:47:22.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/1948" }, { "id": 10084, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-109000", "title": "Priority Open Recommendations: U.S. Department of Agriculture", "summary": "What GAO Found In May 2025, GAO identified 5 priority recommendations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since then, USDA has implemented two of those recommendations. In June 2026, GAO identified an additional 3 priority recommendations, bringing the total to 6. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention: Improving IT modernization, Deterring SNAP retailer fraud, and Improving data sharing on foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land. ", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-13T11:37:23.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/10084" }, { "id": 1952, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107979", "title": "Military Health Care: Clinical Quality Management in Operational Settings Like Field Hospitals", "summary": "What GAO Found In 2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) directed the military departments—Army, Navy, and Air Force—to update their policies on clinical quality management to align with Defense Health Agency (DHA) procedures to ensure high-quality care in operational settings. In December 2024, GAO reported that the military departments had not yet issued policies, specifically on provider credentialing and privileging, and recommended that they do so. As of March 2026, GAO found that Army and A", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "healthcare,military-security", "published_at": "2026-07-13T11:28:32.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/1952" }, { "id": 1954, "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108218", "title": "Human Capital: A Guide for Developing and Assessing Strategic Training and Development Efforts in the Federal Government", "summary": "What GAO Found Training and development programs help federal agencies achieve their mission and goals by improving individual and, ultimately, organizational performance. This report is a guide that federal agencies can use to ensure their training and development investments are targeted strategically. In recent years, training and development have shifted from primarily classroom-based instruction to more integrated, blended learning approaches that reflect changes in the workplace and advanc", "authors": null, "category": "policy", "topics": "children-education,finance-investment", "published_at": "2026-07-13T11:16:24.000Z", "source": "US GAO Reports", "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/1954" } ], "attribution": "via ethics.ai" }