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Reports News from the GAO Reports News from the GAO. https://www.gao.gov/rss/reports.xml Sat, 03 Oct 2026 04:35:32 -0400 GAO https://www.gao.gov/themes/custom/gao_uswds/img/gao-logo-rss.gif Reports News from the GAO https://www.gao.gov/rss/reports.xml Feed provided by GAO. Innovation in Action: Getting You Up to Speed on Manufacturing https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-109056 This Scroll-Driven Narrative tells the story of how the federal government is trying to strengthen U.S. manufacturing through Manufacturing USA—a national network of institutes that are partnerships between federal agencies, companies, universities, and others. It is a companion to a series of reports GAO has issued examining the Manufacturing USA program—for example, Advanced Manufacturing: Aligning Strategies and Improving Agency Reviews Could Help Institutes Achieve National Goals, GAO-25-107369. This product highlights key themes and recommendations from GAO’s prior work, such as recommendations to better measure performance across the Manufacturing USA network, as well as agency efforts to implement them. For more information, contact Hilary M. Benedict at benedicth@gao.gov. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:10:19 -0400 /products/gao-27-109056 U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness: Staff Placed on Administrative Leave Have Returned and Await Direction https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108779 What GAO Found The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is an independent establishment in the executive branch that coordinates the federal response to homelessness. It consists of representatives from designated federal agencies (the Council) and a staff that has ranged from 10 to 18 full-time employees over the past decade. USICH’s enabling legislation—the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act—requires it to maintain certain personnel and perform specified duties. These include providing technical assistance to state and local governments through five to 10 regional coordinators employed by the Council, reporting annually to the President and Congress on federal efforts to address homelessness, and developing a national strategic plan to end homelessness. The act also established a termination date for USICH, which Congress has extended several times, most recently to October 1, 2028. The President’s most recent budget proposes to terminate USICH in fiscal year 2027. USICH began making changes to its staffing and operations in early 2025, including in response to Executive Order 14238, Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy. In April 2025, 11 of USICH’s 13 employees were placed on paid administrative leave. In the same month, the General Services Administration terminated USICH’s office lease and recovered its equipment. In November 2025, a federal district court found that USICH’s implementation of the executive order was unlawful. The court noted that the personnel reduction made it impossible for USICH to perform its statutory duties, among other things. The court set aside USICH’s prior actions to implement the order and barred it from doing so in the future. USICH has appealed the decision. Selected Developments Affecting the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), January 2025–September 2026 Eight of 11 USICH employees returned from paid administrative leave in mid-February 2026. The other three left USICH prior to employees’ return to active status. As of May 2026, USICH had 10 full-time employees and a part-time executive director. USICH staff told GAO that, since their return, they had not received direction from the Council or the executive director on homelessness policies or priorities to guide their work or help them perform USICH’s statutory duties and functions. The executive director stated that the Council should provide guidance before USICH drafts a strategic plan or undertakes policy initiatives. Why GAO Did This Study Several federal agencies administer programs to address homelessness, and USICH was created in 1987 to coordinate these efforts and reduce homelessness. In early 2025, the President issued a series of directives to downsize the federal workforce and reorganize federal agencies. Among these, Executive Order 14238, issued in March 2025, directed seven federal entities—including USICH—to eliminate nonstatutory functions and to reduce statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum required by law. GAO was asked to review USICH’s statutory responsibilities and recent changes to its staffing and operations. This report describes (1) USICH’s responsibilities under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and (2) the status of its staffing and operations. GAO reviewed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, relevant executive orders, court documents, and appropriations acts. GAO also reviewed USICH documentation, interviewed USICH’s executive director and staff, and requested information from three Council member agencies. For more information, contact Alicia Puente Cackley at CackleyA@gao.gov. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:23:27 -0400 /products/gao-27-108779 Tobacco Products: FDA Should Monitor Timeliness of Application Reviews https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108195 What GAO Found In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its authority to oversee all tobacco products, including millions of e-cigarettes that were already on the market. In response, it received a surge of applications from manufacturers in 2020 for products seeking authorization to remain on the market legally. Specifically, it received over 25 million applications in 2020 and 2021, compared to just over 1 thousand applications in 2018 and 2019. This led to a backlog of applications. While FDA has since reviewed most of the applications submitted during this period, almost 132 thousand remained without a completed review as of December 31, 2025. (See figure.) Figure: FDA Tobacco Product Application Reviews, Calendar Year (CY) 2018-2025 From CY2018 to CY2025, FDA took an average of 507 days to complete its review of tobacco product applications. FDA has goals for each phase of the review process, ranging from 7 to 180 days. For the screening phase, FDA did not meet its goals, although it has made progress toward them. FDA also has goals for the last phase of review, when it must review an application’s scientific information. However, FDA’s data system was not designed to track steps in this part of the review process. Thus, it does not collect the data necessary to monitor whether it is meeting these goals. According to practices identified in prior GAO work, collecting performance information and using it to monitor performance are needed to assess if programs and activities are achieving intended goals. Meeting these goals will help FDA ensure a more predictably timed application process, and more completed reviews will help clarify which products are legally marketed, thus allowing FDA to take action against unauthorized products. FDA has taken steps to improve review timeliness. For example, since the surge of applications, it issued multiple guidance documents for manufacturers to improve application quality, as it found that poor quality applications slowed the review process. In September 2025, the agency also created a pilot program aimed at streamlining the review process for nicotine pouches and plans to apply lessons learned from that pilot to other product types. However, the changes are too recent to know whether they will increase the timeliness of reviews. Why GAO Did This Study FDA has regulated certain tobacco products, such as cigarettes, since 2009. A surge of new product applications soon after led to an application backlog and significant delays, as GAO reported in 2013. FDA took steps to address these challenges and implemented performance measures for review timeliness. However, the 2016 expansion of FDA’s authority to oversee all tobacco products once again raised questions about timeliness. GAO was asked to provide an update on FDA’s efforts to review applications and provide timely responses. This report examines (1) the status of FDA’s reviews of tobacco product applications submitted 2018 through 2025, (2) the extent to which it met its timeliness goals for reviewing these applications, and (3) the steps FDA took to improve the timeliness of these reviews, among other topics. GAO analyzed FDA tobacco product application data for submissions FDA received in 2018 through 2025, reviewed agency documents, and interviewed FDA officials and tobacco representatives. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:23:55 -0400 /products/gao-26-108195 Flood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108012 What GAO Found Most U.S. property owners are unprotected from flood risk. As of April 2026, 86 percent of high-risk properties did not have National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage. The number of NFIP policies declined from 5.5 million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2026. Growth in the private market offset this decline, and private policies accounted for 14 percent of all policies in 2025. Federal law requires property owners with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance if their property is in a special flood hazard area (SFHA) designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This mandatory purchase requirement is the primary reason consumers purchase flood insurance: an estimated 43 percent of properties in SFHAs had flood insurance, compared with 2 percent outside those areas. However, the requirement does not effectively ensure coverage for many at-risk properties. In particular, the FEMA maps used to determine the requirement do not capture all flood risks, especially heavy rainfall. GAO’s analysis of First Street data indicates that about 13 million high-risk properties are outside FEMA SFHAs. The Mandatory Purchase Requirement Does Not Reach Most At-Risk Properties Consumer misperceptions also can discourage flood insurance purchase. Consumers may underestimate their flood risk, overestimate the amount of federal disaster assistance after a flood, or believe that homeowners insurance covers flood damage when most policies specifically exclude it. GAO identified four actions that could help increase NFIP and private flood insurance coverage. Each would require statutory authority from Congress. Incorporating all sources of flood risk into purchase requirement determinations could help ensure that more at-risk properties have coverage. Making property-level flood risk information publicly available could increase awareness of flood risk. Requiring lenders to provide flood insurance quotes for federally backed mortgages could better signal the need for coverage. Increasing NFIP coverage limits could allow property owners to obtain coverage better aligned with potential flood losses. GAO previously recommended that any affordability assistance be means-based and reflected in the federal budget and that barriers to private flood insurance be removed. These actions could help ensure that more property owners are protected from flood risk. Why GAO Did This Study Flooding is the most common, costly, and destructive natural disaster in the United States, and its frequency and severity have increased in recent years. Flood insurance helps protect property owners from financial losses and supports recovery after floods. This report examines (1) the extent to which consumers purchase flood insurance, (2) the effectiveness of the mandatory purchase requirement, (3) factors affecting consumers’ decisions to purchase flood insurance, and (4) potential actions to increase consumer purchase of flood insurance. GAO analyzed 2008–2026 FEMA data on NFIP policies, 2018–2025 National Association of Insurance Commissioners data on private flood insurance policies, and property-level flood risk data from First Street—a risk modeling company. GAO also reviewed relevant report

Reports News from the GAO Reports News from the GAO. https://www.gao.gov/rss/reports.xml Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:50:29 -0400 GAO https://www.gao.gov/themes/custom/gao_uswds/img/gao-logo-rss.gif Reports News from the GAO https://www.gao.gov/rss/reports.xml Feed provided by GAO. Concrete Masonry Promotion Program: Commerce Could Enhance Its Oversight Controls https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108692 What GAO Found The Concrete Masonry Checkoff (CMC) program is a federally authorized, industry-funded program that supports research, education, and promotion projects intended to strengthen the concrete masonry industry and expand markets for its products. The term checkoff refers to the way similar programs are funded—that is, through assessments. The CMC Board administers the program, which is funded through mandatory assessments on specified concrete masonry units sold. From 2023 through 2025, the board collected over $27 million in assessments and spent nearly $15 million of the funds, primarily on 17 national projects and 69 regional projects. CMC Program Assessments and Projects, 2023–2025   2023 2024 2025 Total Assessments collected $5.4 million $11.3 million $10.5 million $27.2 million Expenses $1.1 million $3.5 million $10.4 million $15.0 million National projects approved 0 8 9 17 Regional projects approved 0 27 42 69 Source: Concrete Masonry Checkoff (CMC) Board information. | GAO-27-108692 The CMC Board uses key performance indicators to track progress toward the program’s objectives. Projects fall within six focus areas, including marketing, research, and education. For each area, the board established output-oriented indicators and corresponding 5-year goals. For example, one research indicator is the number of new engineering courses focused on concrete masonry and has a 5-year goal of 50 courses. As of year-end 2025, the board reported meeting or exceeding five of its 27 goals and achieving at least 20 percent of the target for 10 additional goals in its first year. The board plans to issue its required independent evaluation of the program’s effectiveness in the first quarter of 2027. The U.S. Department of Commerce is statutorily required to oversee the CMC Board’s compliance with applicable law and the accompanying order primarily through reviews, approvals, and monitoring. To set up its oversight structure, Commerce consulted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because of its experience overseeing agricultural checkoff programs. Commerce reviews and approves the CMC Board’s projects, contracts, annual budgets, objectives, and performance metrics. It also monitors program and contract execution, reviews projects and marketing materials for prohibited activities (e.g., false or misleading advertising), and may investigate violations and assess civil penalties. However, Commerce has not developed written procedures for approving the CMC Board’s annual program objectives and performance metrics. Commerce could do so using its current resources and thereby take advantage of a relatively low-effort opportunity to enhance its existing oversight controls. For example, such procedures could reduce the risk of inconsistent approvals and preserve organizational knowledge. Why GAO Did This Study The Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2018 (the Act) directed Commerce to create the CMC program. After industry members approved the referendum to establish the program, Commerce put into effect a final order in 2021. The concrete masonry industry consists largely of small producers, and the checkoff program allows them to pool assessments for industry-wide research, education, and promotion. In 2023, the CMC Board estimated that about 260 concrete masonry producers operated in the United States. The Act includes a provision for GAO to review the CMC program. This report addresses (1) assessments the CMC Board collected and spent from 2023 through 2025, (2) the extent to which the board has evaluated the program’s effectiveness, and (3) how Commerce has overseen the board’s compliance with the Act and accompanying order. GAO reviewed CMC Board documents, including audited financial statements, policies and procedures, the strategic plan, and annual reports, including the results reported for key performance indicators. GAO compared Commerce’s oversight procedures and related documents against the Act, accompanying order, and federal internal control standards. GAO also interviewed Commerce, USDA, and CMC Board officials. Mon, 05 Oct 2026 07:20:59 -0400 /products/gao-27-108692 Medicare Part D: Payments and Contracts Between Pharmacies and Plan Sponsors That Are Vertically Integrated https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107393 What GAO Found The insurance plan sponsors that provide Medicare Part D drug coverage have increasingly become vertically integrated—that is, under common ownership—with pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies. GAO found that, for four large Part D plan sponsors, the pharmacies they owned accounted for about 24 percent of the Part D drugs they provided to their enrollees (drug utilization) and about 28 percent of the total payments to pharmacies in 2023 (see figure). Payments included both reimbursement from plan sponsors and cost sharing paid by or on behalf of beneficiaries. When these vertically integrated plan sponsors’ own pharmacies provided drugs to their enrollees, they primarily did so through mail-order pharmacies. In contrast, other (non-owned) pharmacies primarily provided drugs through retail pharmacies. Percentage of Drug Utilization and Payments at Owned and Non-Owned Pharmacies for Four Selected Medicare Part D Plan Sponsors, 2023 When these plan sponsors paid pharmacies for a 30-day supply of the 100 most commonly used prescription drugs, payments and cost sharing for at least 94 percent of these drugs were lower for owned pharmacies than for non-owned pharmacies. These 100 drugs with the highest total utilization in 2023 were primarily generic drugs, and average payments to owned and non-owned pharmacies for a 30-day supply of most were $10 or less. Lower cost sharing at plan sponsors’ own (primarily mail-order) pharmacies gives beneficiaries a financial incentive to use these pharmacies instead of non-owned (primarily retail) pharmacies, though beneficiaries may consider other factors when choosing a pharmacy to fill a prescription. Payments to pharmacies and cost sharing were also generally lower at owned pharmacies for the 100 drugs with the highest total payments in 2023, which were primarily brand-name drugs. For some of these drugs, however, payments or cost sharing were higher at owned pharmacies. For example, cost sharing across the four selected plan sponsors was up to about $340 higher at owned pharmacies for about half of the 20 drugs with the highest payments per 30-day supply. Why GAO Did This Study Medicare Part D spent $150 billion on prescription drug coverage for 54 million beneficiaries in 2025. Vertically integrated plan sponsors may encourage beneficiaries to fill prescriptions at—or utilize—their own pharmacies, a practice known as steering. GAO was asked to review vertical integration among Part D plan sponsors, pharmacy benefit managers, and pharmacies. This report describes drug utilization at and payments to selected vertically integrated Part D plan sponsors’ own pharmacies compared to non-owned pharmacies, among other issues. GAO selected four vertically integrated Part D plan sponsors from among the 15 plan sponsors with the largest Part D enrollment in 2023. These four large, vertically integrated plan sponsors accounted for over 40 percent of total Part D enrollment in 2023. GAO analyzed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Part D utilization and payments data for 2023 (the data most recently available at the time of GAO’s analysis). Our results for the four selected plan sponsors for 2023 are not generalizable to other plan sponsors or years. For example, Part D benefit changes since 2023 could have affected plan sponsors’ Part D drug utilization and payments at owned and non-owned pharmacies. For more information, contact John Dicken at dickenj@gao.gov. Mon, 05 Oct 2026 07:26:32 -0400 /products/gao-26-107393 Innovation in Action: Getting You Up to Speed on Manufacturing https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-109056 This Scroll-Driven Narrative tells the story of how the federal government is trying to strengthen U.S. manufacturing through Manufacturing USA—a national network of institutes that are partnerships between federal agencies, companies, universities, and others. It is a companion to a series of reports GAO has issued examining the Manufacturing USA program—for example, Advanced Manufacturing: Aligning Strategies and Improving Agency Reviews Could Help Institutes Achieve National Goals, GAO-25-107369. This product highlights key themes and recommendations from GAO’s prior work, such as recommendations to better measure performance across the Manufacturing USA network, as well as agency efforts to implement them. For more information, contact Hilary M. Benedict at benedicth@gao.gov. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:10:19 -0400 /products/gao-27-109056 U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness: Staff Placed on Administrative Leave Have Returned and Await Direction https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108779 What GAO Found The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is an independent establishment in the executive branch that coordinates the federal response to homelessness. It consists of representatives from designated federal agencies (the Council) and a staff that has ranged from 10 to 18 full-time employees over the past decade. USICH’s enabling legislation—the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act—requires it to maintain certain personnel and perform specified duties. These include providing technical assistance to state and local governments through five to 10 regional coordinators employed by the Council, reporting annually to the President and Congress on federal efforts to address homelessness, and developing a national strategic plan to end homelessness. The act also established a termination date for USICH, which Congress has extended several times, most recently to October 1, 2028. The President’s most recent budget proposes to terminate USICH in fiscal year 2027. USICH began making changes to its staffing and operations in early 2025, including in response to Executive Order 14238, Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy. In April 2025, 11 of USICH’s 13 employees were placed on paid administrative leave. In the same month, the General Services Administration terminated USICH’s office lease and recovered its equipment. In November 2025, a federal district court found that USICH’s implementation of the executive order was unlawful. The court noted that the personnel reduction made it impossible for USICH to perform its statutory duties, among other things. The court set aside USICH’s prior actions to implement the order and barred it from doing so in the future. USICH has appealed the decision. Selected Developments Affecting the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), January 2025–September 2026 Eight of 11 USICH employees returned from paid administrative leave in mid-February 2026. The other three left USICH prior to employees’ return to active status. As of May 2026, USICH had 10 full-time employees and a part-time executive director. USICH staff told GAO that, since their return, they had not received direction from the Council or the executive director on homelessness policies or priorities to guide their work or help them perform USICH’s statutory duties and functions. The executive director stated that the Council should provide guidance before USICH drafts a strategic plan or undertakes policy initiatives. Why GAO Did This Study Several federal agencies administer programs to address homelessness, an

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