GAO on CrossGov.com

GAO Report on Tax Filing, IRS Should Enhance Ghost Preparer Identification and Compliance Efforts in a Comprehensive Preparer Strategy

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office looked at the IRS efforts to identify ghost preparers. The GAO found that IRS efforts were fragmented because relevant data was scattered across several databases. The IRS lacked a strategy, goals, or ways to measure the success of its efforts.

Ghost Preparers Impact IRS

Ghost preparers are tax preparers who do not identify themselves on tax returns. These individuals may leave information off to file fraudulent returns, steal refunds, and steal identities. Courts ordered individual ghost preparers to pay millions in restitution. IRS officials believe the total effect of ghost preparers is likely greater because they are difficult to detect. IRS data systems lack connections and have limitations that limit their usefulness. This prevents the IRS from knowing how many ghost preparers it has identified or addressed.

GAO Report on Critical Minerals, BLM Should Ensure Individuals and Businesses Meet Citizenship Requirements for Hardrock Mining Claims

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office examined the Bureau of Land Management’s process for mining claims on federal lands. The GAO found that the BLM rarely collected information to verify if individuals and businesses met citizenship requirements for these claims. This lack of verification meant the BLM generally did not know whether claimants were qualified to extract minerals from federal lands.

Mining Claim Citizenship Issues

The Bureau of Land Management administers mining claims for hardrock minerals on federal lands. U.S. mining laws require mining claimants to be U.S. citizens or business entities incorporated in a U.S. state or territory. Foreign entities cannot hold claims, but their subsidiaries can if incorporated in the U.S. BLM does not collect citizenship information from claimants. The agency does not document whether claimants meet U.S. citizenship requirements. GAO analyzed 15 mining claimants that appeared to be business entities. The analysis found evidence that seven of these claimants were not incorporated in the U.S. BLM lacked the necessary information to verify incorporation status.

GAO Report on Geostationary Weather Satellites, Next Generation Program Challenges Put Vital Observations at Risk

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next generation Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, which was restructured in 2025 to reduce lifecycle costs from $19.6 billion to $13 billion. Despite this reduction, GAO found that NOAA needs to document its new cost estimates and fully incorporate lessons learned from prior programs, including contingency planning to address potential gaps in satellite weather data.

GeoXO Program Restructuring

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) originally planned to launch six satellites for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, expecting a lifecycle cost of $19.6 billion. In August 2025, Commerce directed NOAA to restructure the program to reduce costs. By April 2026, the new plan reduced the number of satellites from six to four and decreased the number of instruments from five to two. This change is expected to lower the total cost to $13 billion. However, if a GeoXO satellite launches in 2032 as planned, there could be a gap in weather data continuity since NOAA only has one operational spare satellite by then, which will end its life in October 2032. This situation raises concerns about the reliability of satellite data.

GAO Report on Nuclear Waste, Addressing Legal and Regulatory Barriers Could Accelerate Cleanup and Reduce Costs

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO found that the Department of Energy oversees nuclear waste cleanup at U.S. sites, which could take until 2100 and cost up to $840 billion. However, inconsistent approaches due to a complex legal and regulatory framework have led to longer cleanup efforts and higher costs. GAO recommends clarifying roles and better decision-making with input from independent experts to potentially address risks decades sooner and avoid billions in additional costs.

State Actions Exceed DOE Authority

Some states have taken actions that exceed their authority to regulate hazardous waste, as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These state actions, which focus on radiological aspects of nuclear waste at Department of Energy cleanup sites, are generally regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. This has led to disagreements between DOE and states over requirements for radioactive waste management, longer cleanup schedules, and higher costs for the federal government. Courts have recognized that DOE’s authority under the Atomic Energy Act preempts certain state actions regarding nuclear waste during cleanup efforts, but statutes and case law are unclear on what types of state actions are appropriate under the law due to mixed waste at DOE sites.

GAO Report on Research Security, NIH Action Needed to Strengthen Foreign Interference Risk Management

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) implementation of federal research security requirements and found that NIH has implemented 14 out of 15 requirements. However, GAO noted that NIH may not identify risks when relevant information is not required to be disclosed or is left out, as it relies heavily on self-reported disclosures from researchers and institutions.

NIH Implements Most Research Security Requirements

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has implemented 14 out of the 15 federal research security requirements that help protect extramural research from foreign interference. These requirements cover areas like disclosing affiliations, preventing talent recruitment by foreign entities, training researchers, and sharing information about collaborations. NIH works with other agencies to implement one remaining requirement related to certification of research security programs. However, NIH relies mainly on self-reported information from researchers and institutions, which can miss risks if not all relevant past affiliations or collaborations are disclosed.

GAO Report on Textile Circular Economy, Policy Options for the US

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO looked at policy options to support a textile circular economy, focusing on how the U.S. can create new jobs and reduce environmental harm by keeping textiles in use longer through reuse, repair, and recycling. The main finding was that current efforts lack funding and infrastructure, prompting consideration of policies such as requiring industry responsibility for waste management, removing sales tax on secondhand apparel, and using tax credits to encourage involvement.

GAO Finds HUD Cut 29 Percent of Its Workforce and Ended 21 Percent of Its Contracts, Then Did Not Answer the Auditors

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO found that the Department of Housing and Urban Development cut its workforce by about 29 percent between December 2024 and December 2025, from about 8,800 employees to about 6,300. The report, GAO-26-108442, was released on October 14, 2026.

HUD also ended 144 of its 675 active contracts in 2025, about 21 percent, worth $367 million. And through most of the audit, the department didn’t answer GAO’s questions. GAO says HUD did not respond to most of its requests for information and didn’t provide documents to back up the initiatives it had announced in public. GAO had to rebuild the picture from federal personnel, contract and grant databases, and from interviews with 20 organizations that deal with HUD.

GAO Finds GPS Modernization Still Behind After DOD Cancels the OCX Ground System and Army Aviation Waits to 2049 for M-Code