CBO analyzed the effects on the budget and the economy of eight scenarios that differ from those underlying the agency’s extended baseline—six that vary economic conditions and two that vary budgetary conditions.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on March 25, 2025
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on February 5, 2025
Cost Estimate
May 27, 2025
As reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 12, 2025
FASB
GAO-25-107298
Published: Apr 30, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 30, 2025 .
Federal entities accept credit, debit, and other payment cards for a range of goods and services, including postage stamps and train tickets. Doing so requires them to pay fees to card issuers, networks, and companies that facilitate the transactions. More than 85 federal entities paid about $784 million in payment card fees in FY 2023—about $1 per transaction. Though some found reducing costs challenging, entities...
U.S. Space Command:
Air Force's Reevaluation of Headquarters Location and Status of OperationsGAO-25-107092
Published: May 29, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
In June 2022, we found shortfalls in the Air Force's process for determining where to permanently locate U.S. Space Command headquarters. Our report helped prompt the Air Force to reevaluate it. For the reevaluation, the Air Force reviewed requirements, selection criteria, costs, and senior officials' advice. We also assessed the reevaluation process against 11 selected "Analysis of Alternatives" best practices, which can increase transparency and...
GAO-25-107109
Published: May 29, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
The Department of Energy is responsible for disposing millions of cubic meters of radioactive waste from 15 cleanup sites across the country. Disposal options vary depending on how the waste was generated and the risks it poses. For example, some facilities can accept low-level radioactive waste, but there may be more waste than these facilities can currently handle. And there are no disposal options for...
National Institutes of Health:
Monitoring of External Research Can Be Improved
GAO-25-107362Published: Apr 29, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
The National Institutes of Health funded about $35 billion in external biomedical research in FY 2023 to support its mission of advancing the nation's health. NIH staff oversee such funds by reviewing financial and progress reports from the universities and other institutions that receive grants. But NIH didn't consistently take action when those reports were late. Also, NIH's component institutes and centers don't consistently track...
GAO-25-107342
Published: May 29, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
Many enrollees in Medicare Advantage, Medicare's private plan alternative, need behavioral health care for conditions such as depression and substance abuse. Some organizations require that providers get prior authorization to ensure it meets their criteria for payment. We found 8 of 9 selected organizations required authorization. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' oversight of prior authorization criteria doesn't target behavioral health services in...
Priority Open Recommendations:
Social Security Administration
GAO-25-108005
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
Child Nutrition Programs:
USDA Could Enhance Its Management and Oversight of State Administrative Expense Funds
GAO-25-106977
Published: Apr 29, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
States receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help administer school meals and other child nutrition programs. These funds can pay for staff salaries, trainings, and other expenses of overseeing and supporting participating schools. However, we found some states faced challenges in using these funds. The amount states receive is set by law and doesn't fully account for certain factors that affect...
Apprenticeship:
Earn-And-Learn Opportunities Can Benefit Workers and Employers
GAO-25-107040
Published: Apr 28, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 28, 2025 .
This Q&A examines earn-and-learn opportunities, which can give individuals a mix of work experience and instruction on in-demand skills—while they earn a wage. We found at least 26 federal programs that can help provide these opportunities. For example, the Labor Department and state partners oversee Registered Apprenticeship Programs, which enrolled about 940,000 people in FY 2024. These programs can lead to higher pay, produce little...
Priority Open Recommendations:
Department of Commerce
GAO-25-108059
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 29, 2025 .
GAO-25-108050
Published: May 19, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 27, 2025 .
GAO-25-108045
GAO-25-108060
Published: May 16, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 23, 2025 .
GAO-25-108049
Published: May 15, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
GAO-25-107608
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
Disaster loans from the Small Business Administration can help survivors rebuild and recover from property and home damages. However, survivors sometimes receive assistance from other sources that can exceed their eligible losses, resulting in a duplication of benefits. SBA is required to resolve cases of duplication when it's in the government's best interest to recoup excess funds. When they find duplicative benefits, SBA staff are...
GAO-25-108286
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
GAO-25-108046
Published: May 15, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
GAO-25-108187
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
Guam is home to more than 170,000 Americans and several military installations. Protecting this U.S. territory from missile attack is a Department of Defense priority. As of March 2025, the defense system in Guam included six missile launchers and one radar. DOD is planning to deploy additional systems. But it has yet to determine how many personnel are needed to operate the systems, when those...
GAO-25-107458
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
Federal discretionary transportation grants help build our nation's infrastructure. The Department of Transportation combined some processes for 3 such grants into the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program. DOT announced $5.6 billion in grant awards for the FY 2023-2024 funding round. We found applicants generally liked the combined processes. But DOT didn't fully document its criteria or rationale for selecting certain projects. We have found this...
GAO-25-108167
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
In this Q&A, we report on our recommendations to Congress—our "matters for congressional consideration" to save money and improve federal programs. Since 2000, Congress has acted on 573 matters, making improvements in energy, health, and income security. As of March 2025, 272 matters remained open, but recently proposed legislation would partially or fully address about one-third of those. Thirty-one open matters have estimated financial benefits...
GAO-25-107509
Published: May 22, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 22, 2025 .
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is responsible for managing federal use of the radio-frequency spectrum. The radio-frequency spectrum is a scarce resource used to support commercial and government activities such as wireless internet and air traffic control. NTIA is working to modernize its spectrum management IT systems but hasn't fully followed leading practices for doing so. For example, it hasn't completed an organization-wide risk...
GAO-25-108010
Published: May 14, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 21, 2025 .
Human Organ-On-A-Chip:
Technologies Offer Benefits Over Animal Testing but Challenges Limit Wider Adoption
GAO-25-107335Published: May 21, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 21, 2025 .We examined "human organ-on-a-chip" technologies—laboratory tools that use human cells to mimic organs, model diseases, and more. This new technology can complement conventional lab methods, such as animal testing, which can be inefficient at predicting human responses to drugs and other therapies. While promising, this emerging technology faces challenges such as: Difficulty getting enough high-quality human cells Lack of benchmarks and validation studies Little data...
GAO-25-107580
Published: May 21, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 21, 2025 .
The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement use various inspection programs to help ensure that detention facilities for noncitizens are safe, secure, and humane. We reviewed four of these programs and found issues in how they are evaluated. For example, clear performance goals and measures haven't been set. Without these, it's hard to assess how effective these inspection programs are at...
GAO-25-108406
Published: May 20, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 20, 2025 .
Congress approved $2.1 billion for the construction of 15 federal courthouse projects during FYs 2016-2024. Federal agencies and other stakeholders use the U.S. Courts' Design Guide to build these courthouses. In 2021, the U.S. Courts made changes to this guide, citing, among other things, the need to provide greater security for court personnel. We testified that these changes will significantly increase the size and cost...
Artificial Intelligence:
Use and Oversight in Financial ServicesGAO-25-107197Published: May 19, 2025 .
Publicly Released: May 19, 2025 .Businesses that provide financial services—such as banks and credit unions—are using AI for various purposes, including improving customer service. Financial regulators are increasingly using AI for tasks like identifying risks to financial institutions and detecting insider trading or other illegal activity. But AI technologies present both benefits and risks for businesses and consumers. For example, AI can improve customer service but could also lead to...
GAO-25-107704
Published: May 19, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 19, 2025 .
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included 21 energy tax expenditures that support reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other goals. The expenditures cover subjects like clean-energy vehicles and energy efficient buildings. According to estimates, they could result in at least $200 billion less in revenue collected. We have previously recommended better oversight of tax expenditures to make sure they are achieving their goals and to...
GAO-25-107558
Published: May 19, 2025 . Publicly Released: May 19, 2025 .