Government Operations
Federal Drought Policy Fragmented Across Agencies
The federal government generally defers to state primacy in surface and groundwater allocation, so states and local entities typically lead drought...
VA Harassment Reports Top 31K
More than 31,000 reported incidents of harassment-related behaviors involving veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers occurred...
VA Fertility Care Gaps Leave Some Veterans Unaware of Benefits
Around 30,000 veterans had an infertility diagnosis in fiscal year 2025, yet some interested veterans may be unaware of the fertility care available to them...
Child Labor Violations Rising, but Enforcement is Lacking
Child labor violations and the number of children affected by those violations have been on the rise since fiscal year 2015, according to a new federal...
Federal Agencies Lack Data to Track Small Business Research Awards
Federal agencies issued $4.4 billion in small-business research awards in fiscal 2024, but incomplete data leave them unable to fully assess whether those...
Federal Agencies Lag on Networked Device Cybersecurity Requirements
Only seven of the 22 civilian Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Act agencies reviewed had fully addressed all three of the Office of Management and Budget's...
Coast Guard Faces Gaps in Marine Firefighting Preparedness
Gaps in coordination, training, information sharing, and legal authority remain in the U.S. Coast Guard's marine firefighting efforts, according to a recent...
Justice Department Changes Create Uncertainty in Drug Enforcement
A new Justice Department memorandum and other developments have left the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)...
FEMA Approves Disaster Aid for Disabled Applicants at Lower Rate
People with disabilities are being approved for federal disaster assistance at a lower rate than survivors without disabilities, according to a new audit of...
Gaps in Agency Responses Leave DOGE Data Safety Unverified
Congress and the public cannot be assured that sensitive government data was properly protected when Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) teams...
National Intelligence Office Behind on Implementing Recommendations
More than four in 10 recommendations the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has directed at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence...
Hidden Owners, Hidden Fraud: Federal Awards Lack Ownership Rules
Hundreds of billions of dollars in federal awards are vulnerable to fraud schemes that exploit the near-total absence of beneficial ownership disclosure...
State Department Lacks Data On Decision Process For USAID Programs
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) terminated approximately 6,780 of 7,510 foreign assistance awards between January 2025 and March 2026,...
How Army Force Structure Gets Built
Army unit numbers and types reflect personnel ceilings and funding choices more than direct congressional design, according to a new Congressional Research...
Lawmakers Weigh Disaster Tech Amid Federal Weather Research Cuts
As the Trump administration seeks cuts to federal weather research and changes to disaster response, lawmakers are examining whether artificial...
Federal Watchdog Finds Gaps in DEA, FDA Drug Scheduling Procedures
A recent Government Accountability Office report found that the DEA lacks policies identifying roles, responsibilities, and procedures for scheduling, and...
Maternal Mortality Reviews Drive Medicaid, Health Equity Changes
State maternal mortality review committees are driving policy changes aimed at preventing pregnancy-related deaths, including expanded postpartum Medicaid...
FEMA Faces $2B Backlog as Disaster Resilience Program Restarts
Hundreds of communities are waiting on more than $2 billion in disaster-resilience funding that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has yet to...