Immigration
Visa Interview Wait Times Surge as State Department Staffing Falls
Nonimmigrant visa interview wait times have risen nearly eightfold since before the pandemic, while State Department staffing shortages have contributed to...
GAO Finds Gaps in $126M U.S. Effort to Stop Gun Trafficking to Mexico
Federal agencies spending roughly $126 million to combat firearms trafficking to Mexico cannot demonstrate whether that money is working, according to a new...
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...
Conditions Attached To Federal Funding Face Constitutional Limits
Congress's broad power to attach conditions to federal funding has real constitutional limits, and a new Congressional Research Service report maps exactly...
Suing the Federal Government: How Courts Shape Policy Mid-Case
Federal courts are able to block or reshape government policy long before a case reaches final judgment when the policy is contested in a civil suit. A new...
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...