Government Accountability Office
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A new report finds longer probationary periods and better performance metrics can help address a long-standing complaint about terminating federal employees who are not meeting their job's requirements.
March 09, 2015 -
The second round of open season on HealthCare.gov went a lot better than the first. But problems still lurk behind the scenes of the website, even with the rapid response team the government and the private sector deployed to get the site back on track. Valerie Melvin is director of information management and technology resource issues at the Government Accountability Office. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she outlined seven recommendations to help CMS fix the lingering issues with the system.
March 09, 2015 -
Taking 10 years to settle a whistleblower complaint could get a company in trouble with the Justice Department. But what if it's a Justice Department agency that takes so long? The Justice Department needs to improve how it handles whistleblower retaliation complaints from the FBI. That's according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. David Maurer, director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues at the GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the report.
March 04, 2015 -
The Internal Revenue Service is making technology investments to move away from some programs it says started during the Kennedy Administration. Congress repeatedly slashed and froze its budget over the past five years, so it's important for the IRS to know exactly how much its IT investments will cost. According to the Government Accountability office, that's not exactly the case today. David Powner is director of information technology management issues at the GAO. He shared three recommendations to improve how the IRS tracks its investments with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu on In Depth with Francis Rose.
March 02, 2015 -
The IRS has a problem. It needs to send refund checks to law-abiding taxpayers in a timely fashion, while also looking out for identity thieves. A new report from the Government Accountability Office says one way to do that is to change the formula the agency uses to assess identity theft fraud. Last year, the IRS handed out $6 billion in fraudulent claims. James White, the director of tax issues at GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the report's findings.
February 26, 2015 -
The Office of Personnel Management needs to do more to ensure meaningful distinctions are being made when it comes to performance ratings and awards for members of the Senior Executive Service. That's according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more details from the report.
February 24, 2015 -
What's the difference between an amazing senior executive and a pretty good one? Not much, says the Government Accountability Office after reviewing agencies' pay-for-performance compensation systems.
February 24, 2015 -
Improper payments associated with the military's TRICARE health system added up to about 0.3 percent of DoD's overall costs. Improper payments associated with Medicare were more than 10 percent of overall costs for the Health and Human Services Department. Vijay D'Souza is director of health care issues at the Government Accountability Office. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said TRICARE's low rate of improper payments might be too good to be true.
February 23, 2015 -
The Small Business Administration has a problem with its Historically Underutilized Business Zones designation. According to a new GAO report, SBA has no way to inform businesses when they might no longer qualify as a HUBZone. Or when the zone they operate in might not longer be considered a HUBZone. For more on the report, and what SBA can do to improve, Bill Shear, director of Financial Markets and Community Investment Issues at the GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive.
February 23, 2015 -
The Office of Management and Budget is getting kudos for its initial steps to implement the Federal Information Technology Reform Act (FITARA).
February 16, 2015 -
The 2015 edition of the High Risk List is out from the Government Accountability Office. It includes two new areas, and no areas came off the list this year. Gene Dodaro is Comptroller General of the United States. He introduced the List this week and testified about it to both the House and the Senate. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said he gets one question about the High Risk List more than any other.
February 13, 2015 -
The Veterans Affairs Department has hundreds of land-use agreements worth tens of millions of dollars. It needs help in managing them. A new study by the Government Accountability Office found several agreements were recorded multiple times, and some revenue hadn't even been reported. Steve Lord, the managing director of Forensic Audits and Investigative Service at GAO, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain more about how land-use agreements work and what GAO found.
February 12, 2015 -
The Government Accountability Office added two new issues to its ever-growing list of challenges for agencies. The biennial High Risk List includes six areas that have been problematic for 25 years.
February 12, 2015 -
The Government Accountability Office says federal agencies have made "strong, steady progress" to cut down the potential for waste and fraud over the past two years, but not enough progress to take anything off of GAO's High Risk List. The latest list is 32 items long and has two new additions. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter has the story.
February 11, 2015 -
As it does every two years at the start of a new Congress, the Government Accountability Office will release its "High Risk List" today. The list calls attention to agencies and programs GAO auditors believe are vulnerable to "fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement." Don Kettl, a professor at the University of Maryland's School for Public Policy, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the guide, and what's different from the 2013 version.
February 11, 2015