Politics
Competing Cyber Rules Hinder Critical Infrastructure Response
Competing federal cybersecurity rules are making it harder for critical infrastructure operators to respond to cyber threats, according to a new GAO report...
Most Improper Medicaid Payments Due To Lack Of Documents, Not Fraud
The total amount of Medicaid fraud is unknown, according to a new Congressional Research Service report. However, the research distinguishes fraud from the...
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...
Election Worker Safety Relies On States as Federal Support Shrinks
Federal law prohibits certain types of intimidation of or interference with election workers, while the current status of some federal executive branch...
Energy Department Faces New Legal Limits On Grid Emergency Power
The Trump administration's use of Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, whose emergency language dates to 1935, to delay power plant retirements has...
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...