Government Accountability Office (GAO) Archives

The FEMA building on Jan. 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

DHS data-migration guidance falls short as modernization project nears

As FEMA and ICE gear up for a financial management systems overhaul, a GAO report says lagging best practices increase the risk for errors, delays and hindered…

4 days ago By Lindsey Wilkinson

Advocates gather in Washington, D.C., to call out tax prep companies like Intuit TurboTax and H&R Block for blocking simplified filing and to support IRS exploration of alternative free tax filing on April 17, 2023. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Economic Security Project)

Senators seek GAO probe of IRS’s Free File program

The Trump administration has touted the tax agency’s oft-criticized Free File partnership with tax companies after it eliminated Direct File following heavy industry lobbying.

4 days ago By Matt Bracken

Construction work continues at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 30, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Financial regulatory agencies have fallen behind on joint data standards

A new GAO report offers guidance to regulators that could lead to governmentwide data standards after the agencies missed a deadline required by the Financial Data Transparency…

May 15, 2026 By Matt Bracken

GAO, Government Accountability Office — The entrance to the Government Accountability Office building on H Street NW in Washington, D.C. (Joe Warminsky / Scoop News Group)

GAO IDs up to $251 billion in cost savings across agencies

The congressional watchdog’s annual report on overlapping federal programs finds at least $132 billion in financial benefits to the government.

May 12, 2026 By Matt Bracken

GAO’s Sarah Harvey on accountable AI in government

Sarah Harvey | Director, Science & Technology Assessment | GAO

May 12, 2026 By Scoop News Group

People walk past the headquarters of the Small Business Administration in the Southwest Federal Center area on March 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

SBA behind the eightball on AI use case reporting, GAO finds

The agency posted its 2025 inventory two months after the deadline. It was the first time the SBA ever released a public listing of its AI usage,…

May 6, 2026 By Matt Bracken

Jeneen Iwugo, right, acting director of CMS’s Center for Program Integrity, and Sarah Harvey, left, director of the GAO’s Science & Technology Assessment division, participate in a panel discussion at a UiPath Public Sector event in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 2026. (Scoop News Group photo)

With AI assist, CMS has ‘longer leash’ to fight fraud now, official says

The acting director of CMS’s Center for Program Integrity said the agency has shifted away from what was previously a “very conservative” approach in pursuing fraud.

May 5, 2026 By Matt Bracken

The government’s AI efficiency numbers look good. That should worry you.

Current AI training across agencies is not sufficient and would benefit from more “original intelligence.”

May 4, 2026 By Jonathan Aberman

An exterior of one of two Department of Treasury Bureau of Fiscal Services on Feb. 12, 2025 in Parkersburg, W.Va. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

DOGE duo ducked security rules during Treasury stint, GAO finds

The congressional watchdog laid some blame for DOGE’s shoddy data practices on Treasury for not implementing cyber controls on payment systems.

Apr 29, 2026 By Matt Bracken

The Government Accountability Office in D.C. (Tajha Chappellet-Lanier)

Agencies fall short on documenting AI acquisition best practices, GAO says

A new report from the congressional watchdog found that agencies are not “systematically collecting lessons learned from AI acquisitions.”

Apr 13, 2026 By Matt Bracken