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Reports News from the GAO Reports News from the GAO. https://www.gao.gov/rss/reports.xml Mon, 09 Nov 2026 10:36:58 -0500 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. Social Security Administration: Actions Needed to Improve Data Exchanges for Beneficiaries in Foster Care https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108035 What GAO Found For children receiving Social Security benefits (beneficiaries), such as disability benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) typically assigns representative payees (payee) to manage those benefits. When children enter or exit foster care, SSA may need to change the payee. Since 2018, SSA has encouraged states to set up data exchanges to submit monthly data on children in foster care to help SSA identify when these beneficiaries need a new payee. Twenty-five states were submitting data through these exchanges, as of July 2026. However, no new states have begun submitting data since 2024; officials from four of eight selected states not submitting data had minimal awareness of the data exchanges. Yet, SSA has not changed its state outreach efforts, thereby limiting the number of beneficiaries covered under its exchanges (see figure). Number of Social Security Beneficiaries in Foster Care With a Representative Payee and States Submitting Data to SSA’s Foster Care Data Exchanges, Fiscal Year 2025   Note: The District of Columbia is counted as a state. The number of states submitting data is as of July 2026. SSA generates alerts from the data exchanges when a beneficiary enters or exits foster care or changes placement while in foster care. Alerts have helped SSA field office staff identify when to reassess payees. But staff GAO interviewed from four selected field offices reported challenges addressing alerts, such as:  Each alert had limited information, requiring field office staff to conduct additional, time-consuming research.  There is a large volume of alerts to address—over 50,000 in fiscal year 2025—but many of these generally do not require a change in payee. SSA field office staff GAO interviewed had existing practices and ideas for changes SSA could implement to mitigate these challenges. For example, they said that SSA could designate staff to address alerts, include more information in each alert (e.g., payee email addresses), and use artificial intelligence tools to more easily address change of foster care placement alerts that require action. Although field office staff are the end users of the data, SSA has not sought staff input or provided a way for them to share potentially useful practices with each other. Without seeking input, SSA is missing opportunities to improve the efficiency of its processes and ensure beneficiaries in foster care have suitable payees. Why GAO Did This Study In fiscal year 2025, payees managed over $270 million in Social Security benefits for about 44,000 children in foster care. Federal law in 2018 called for SSA to enter into agreements for states to provide it with monthly data on children in foster care. These data help SSA identify suitable payees. GAO was asked to review SSA’s implementation and use of the foster care data exchanges. This report examines (1) selected states’ experiences submitting data and SSA’s efforts to increase state participation and (2) how SSA has used the data exchanges to ensure beneficiaries in foster care have suitable payees. GAO reviewed SSA documents and policies and analyzed SSA alert data from fiscal years 2019 (when the first state began submitting data) through 2025, the most recent available. GAO interviewed officials from 21 states—13 that submitted data and eight that did not—selected for variation in experience, geography, and size. GAO interviewed SSA officials and staff at four selected field offices identified through interviews with state agencies. Information from state and SSA field office interviews are not generalizable but provide insights on challenges and ways to address them. Mon, 09 Nov 2026 07:14:24 -0500 /products/gao-27-108035 F-35 Program: DOD Needs to Strengthen Oversight of Tens of Billions of Dollars in Parts https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108713 What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) continues to face challenges in accounting for F-35 parts, such as engines and tires. The F-35 program includes approximately 26 million F-35 parts, valued at approximately $31 billion and held at over 700 contractor- and government-managed facilities around the world. Although these are DOD-owned parts, DOD does not maintain complete records of the parts. Specifically, GAO found that DOD has not established procedures that ensure its own records will be sufficient to account for and financially report on the parts (see figure). For instance, records of F-35 parts in the F-35 program’s accountable property system of record (APSR) remain unreliable, since they do not reflect real-time changes and are inaccurate and incomplete. Also, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has not fully developed procedures to validate the accuracy of data it enters into the APSR. GAO has an open recommendation addressing this issue (GAO-22-105002). GAO also found that F-35 JPO’s physical inventory procedures did not adequately verify the existence and validate the completeness of F-35 parts. Without accurate data in its APSR and properly executed inventory procedures for F-35 parts, DOD management will not have the information it needs to support warfighter readiness and reliable financial reporting. Further, as of March 2026, F-35 JPO did not know the status of lost F-35 parts valued at over $85 million that GAO reported on in 2023. Also, F-35 JPO has not established procedures for effectively reviewing losses reported at government-managed facilities. Unless it implements procedures for monitoring losses, F-35 JPO will not know the full extent of losses of F-35 parts, and its ability to mitigate losses in the future will be decreased, reducing its ability to detect fraud, waste, or theft. Records of F-35 Parts Are Not Reliable for Asset Accountability or Financial Reporting F-35 JPO has not established a mature, fully functioning property accountability program that would provide its accountable property officers with program-specific procedures and training to help them carry out their responsibilities. This limits the effectiveness of F-35 JPO’s oversight of asset accountability for F-35 parts, which, combined with the issues identified above, will affect warfighter readiness. Also, DOD is taking steps toward including F-35 parts on its financial statements, such as developing procedures to value parts with missing cost information. These procedures and others are under review. Why GAO Did This Study The F-35 aircraft is DOD’s most costly weapon system in history, with overall costs for the F-35 program estimated to be more than $1.9 trillion over its life cycle. However, as GAO and DOD auditors have previously reported, DOD has long-standing and ongoing deficiencies related to the accountability and financial reporting of F-35 parts. Title 31 of the U.S. Code includes a provision in statute for GAO to audit the U.S. government’s consolidated financial statements. This report, developed in connection with fulfilling that mandate, examines the extent to which DOD has (1) established and implemented procedures to account for F-35 parts and (2) made progress in including these parts on its agencywide financial statements. GAO reviewed, among other things, relevant reports, accounting standards, supporting documentation, and DOD policies and procedures. GAO also interviewed DOD officials and conducted site visits. Mon, 09 Nov 2026 07:06:00 -0500 /products/gao-27-108713 Department of Agriculture: Little Transparency on Whether Key Issues Were Analyzed Before Reorganization Decision https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108734 What GAO Found In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a plan to reorganize the department, including relocating thousands of staff positions from the National Capital Region to five hub locations across the country. In the spring of 2026, all eight USDA mission areas and several agencies announced reorganization plans, including relocating certain agency functions. The department’s actions are the subject of federal litigation seeking to stop USDA from implementing its reorganization plan. Five Hub Locations and Other Selected Relocations from the National Capital Region Planned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) USDA’s workforce decreased by 20 percent from December 2024 through March 2026, from about 91,000 employees to about 73,000. Individual USDA agencies decreased from 12 percent (Forest Service) to 41 percent (National Institute of Food and Agriculture). The extent to which USDA conducted and considered analysis before announcing the department’s reorganization is unknown. Several leading practices can help agencies conduct appropriate analyses and make sound decisions when they reorganize and relocate staff, including practices related to planning for agency reforms, conducting economic analysis, assessing management of federal real property assets, and strategic workforce planning. USDA did not respond to our requests for information on the analyses the department conducted to inform its 2025 reorganization plan. Thus, Congress and the public do not have information on the extent to which USDA examined issues such as how the reorganization could impact service delivery, the economic effects of the reorganization, or how to protect taxpayers’ dollars in disposing of property through the reorganization. Why GAO Did This Study USDA plays a critical role supporting U.S. agriculture, overseeing food safety, promoting rural development, and providing food and nutrition benefits. In 2025, USDA began a broad reorganization and relocation effort at the same time as it was taking steps to reduce the size of its workforce, such as offering incentives for employees to voluntarily resign or retire, in response to presidential directives. GAO was asked to review USDA’s reorganization plan and recent workforce decreases. This report discusses (1) USDA’s reorganization plan, (2) recent changes to USDA’s workforce, and (3) leading practices that apply to planning and implementing federal agency reorganizations, including relocations. GAO analyzed laws, reports, and other agency documents related to the reorganization of USDA; analyzed federal workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management to assess changes in USDA’s workforce; and reviewed past GAO reports to identify leading practices for agency reforms and to describe changes following prior agency relocation efforts. GAO previously reported on USDA’s 2019 relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Following these moves, more than half of these agencies’ staff left, affecting workforce experience levels and composition and agency productivity. Two years after these relocations, overall staffing levels and productivity had generally returned to previous levels. For more information, contact Steve Morris at morriss@gao.gov. Mon, 09 Nov 2026 07:59:55 -0500 /products/gao-27-108734 Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s FY 2026 and FY 2025 Schedules of Federal Debt https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108795 What GAO Found GAO found (1) the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Schedules of Federal Debt for fiscal years 2026 and 2025 are fairly presented in all material respects and (2) Fiscal Service maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt as of September 30, 2026. GAO’s tests of selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements related to the Sch

Reports News from the GAO Reports News from the GAO. https://www.gao.gov/rss/reports.xml Mon, 09 Nov 2026 11:28:08 -0500 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. Social Security Administration: Actions Needed to Improve Data Exchanges for Beneficiaries in Foster Care https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108035 What GAO Found For children receiving Social Security benefits (beneficiaries), such as disability benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) typically assigns representative payees (payee) to manage those benefits. When children enter or exit foster care, SSA may need to change the payee. Since 2018, SSA has encouraged states to set up data exchanges to submit monthly data on children in foster care to help SSA identify when these beneficiaries need a new payee. Twenty-five states were submitting data through these exchanges, as of July 2026. However, no new states have begun submitting data since 2024; officials from four of eight selected states not submitting data had minimal awareness of the data exchanges. Yet, SSA has not changed its state outreach efforts, thereby limiting the number of beneficiaries covered under its exchanges (see figure). Number of Social Security Beneficiaries in Foster Care With a Representative Payee and States Submitting Data to SSA’s Foster Care Data Exchanges, Fiscal Year 2025   Note: The District of Columbia is counted as a state. The number of states submitting data is as of July 2026. SSA generates alerts from the data exchanges when a beneficiary enters or exits foster care or changes placement while in foster care. Alerts have helped SSA field office staff identify when to reassess payees. But staff GAO interviewed from four selected field offices reported challenges addressing alerts, such as:  Each alert had limited information, requiring field office staff to conduct additional, time-consuming research.  There is a large volume of alerts to address—over 50,000 in fiscal year 2025—but many of these generally do not require a change in payee. SSA field office staff GAO interviewed had existing practices and ideas for changes SSA could implement to mitigate these challenges. For example, they said that SSA could designate staff to address alerts, include more information in each alert (e.g., payee email addresses), and use artificial intelligence tools to more easily address change of foster care placement alerts that require action. Although field office staff are the end users of the data, SSA has not sought staff input or provided a way for them to share potentially useful practices with each other. Without seeking input, SSA is missing opportunities to improve the efficiency of its processes and ensure beneficiaries in foster care have suitable payees. Why GAO Did This Study In fiscal year 2025, payees managed over $270 million in Social Security benefits for about 44,000 children in foster care. Federal law in 2018 called for SSA to enter into agreements for states to provide it with monthly data on children in foster care. These data help SSA identify suitable payees. GAO was asked to review SSA’s implementation and use of the foster care data exchanges. This report examines (1) selected states’ experiences submitting data and SSA’s efforts to increase state participation and (2) how SSA has used the data exchanges to ensure beneficiaries in foster care have suitable payees. GAO reviewed SSA documents and policies and analyzed SSA alert data from fiscal years 2019 (when the first state began submitting data) through 2025, the most recent available. GAO interviewed officials from 21 states—13 that submitted data and eight that did not—selected for variation in experience, geography, and size. GAO interviewed SSA officials and staff at four selected field offices identified through interviews with state agencies. Information from state and SSA field office interviews are not generalizable but provide insights on challenges and ways to address them. Mon, 09 Nov 2026 07:14:24 -0500 /products/gao-27-108035 F-35 Program: DOD Needs to Strengthen Oversight of Tens of Billions of Dollars in Parts https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108713 What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) continues to face challenges in accounting for F-35 parts, such as engines and tires. The F-35 program includes approximately 26 million F-35 parts, valued at approximately $31 billion and held at over 700 contractor- and government-managed facilities around the world. Although these are DOD-owned parts, DOD does not maintain complete records of the parts. Specifically, GAO found that DOD has not established procedures that ensure its own records will be sufficient to account for and financially report on the parts (see figure). For instance, records of F-35 parts in the F-35 program’s accountable property system of record (APSR) remain unreliable, since they do not reflect real-time changes and are inaccurate and incomplete. Also, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has not fully developed procedures to validate the accuracy of data it enters into the APSR. GAO has an open recommendation addressing this issue (GAO-22-105002). GAO also found that F-35 JPO’s physical inventory procedures did not adequately verify the existence and validate the completeness of F-35 parts. Without accurate data in its APSR and properly executed inventory procedures for F-35 parts, DOD management will not have the information it needs to support warfighter readiness and reliable financial reporting. Further, as of March 2026, F-35 JPO did not know the status of lost F-35 parts valued at over $85 million that GAO reported on in 2023. Also, F-35 JPO has not established procedures for effectively reviewing losses reported at government-managed facilities. Unless it implements procedures for monitoring losses, F-35 JPO will not know the full extent of losses of F-35 parts, and its ability to mitigate losses in the future will be decreased, reducing its ability to detect fraud, waste, or theft. Records of F-35 Parts Are Not Reliable for Asset Accountability or Financial Reporting F-35 JPO has not established a mature, fully functioning property accountability program that would provide its accountable property officers with program-specific procedures and training to help them carry out their responsibilities. This limits the effectiveness of F-35 JPO’s oversight of asset accountability for F-35 parts, which, combined with the issues identified above, will affect warfighter readiness. Also, DOD is taking steps toward including F-35 parts on its financial statements, such as developing procedures to value parts with missing cost information. These procedures and others are under review. Why GAO Did This Study The F-35 aircraft is DOD’s most costly weapon system in history, with overall costs for the F-35 program estimated to be more than $1.9 trillion over its life cycle. However, as GAO and DOD auditors have previously reported, DOD has long-standing and ongoing deficiencies related to the accountability and financial reporting of F-35 parts. Title 31 of the U.S. Code includes a provision in statute for GAO to audit the U.S. government’s consolidated financial statements. This report, developed in connection with fulfilling that mandate, examines the extent to which DOD has (1) established and implemented procedures to account for F-35 parts and (2) made progress in including these parts on its agencywide financial statements. GAO reviewed, among other things, relevant reports, accounting standards, supporting documentation, and DOD policies and procedures. GAO also interviewed DOD officials and conducted site visits. Mon, 09 Nov 2026 07:06:00 -0500 /products/gao-27-108713 Department of Agriculture: Little Transparency on Whether Key Issues Were Analyzed Before Reorganization Decision https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108734 What GAO Found In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a plan to reorganize the department, including relocating thousands of staff positions from the National Capital Region to five hub locations across the country. In the spring of 2026, all eight USDA mission areas and several agencies announced reorganization plans, including relocating certain agency functions. The department’s actions are the subject of federal litigation seeking to stop USDA from implementing its reorganization plan. Five Hub Locations and Other Selected Relocations from the National Capital Region Planned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) USDA’s workforce decreased by 20 percent from December 2024 through March 2026, from about 91,000 employees to about 73,000. Individual USDA agencies decreased from 12 percent (Forest Service) to 41 percent (National Institute of Food and Agriculture). The extent to which USDA conducted and considered analysis before announcing the department’s reorganization is unknown. Several leading practices can help agencies conduct appropriate analyses and make sound decisions when they reorganize and relocate staff, including practices related to planning for agency reforms, conducting economic analysis, assessing management of federal real property assets, and strategic workforce planning. USDA did not respond to our requests for information on the analyses the department conducted to inform its 2025 reorganization plan. Thus, Congress and the public do not have information on the extent to which USDA examined issues such as how the reorganization could impact service delivery, the economic effects of the reorganization, or how to protect taxpayers’ dollars in disposing of property through the reorganization. Why GAO Did This Study USDA plays a critical role supporting U.S. agriculture, overseeing food safety, promoting rural development, and providing food and nutrition benefits. In 2025, USDA began a broad reorganization and relocation effort at the same time as it was taking steps to reduce the size of its workforce, such as offering incentives for employees to voluntarily resign or retire, in response to presidential directives. GAO was asked to review USDA’s reorganization plan and recent workforce decreases. This report discusses (1) USDA’s reorganization plan, (2) recent changes to USDA’s workforce, and (3) leading practices that apply to planning and implementing federal agency reorganizations, including relocations. GAO analyzed laws, reports, and other agency documents related to the reorganization of USDA; analyzed federal workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management to assess changes in USDA’s workforce; and reviewed past GAO reports to identify leading practices for agency reforms and to describe changes following prior agency relocation efforts. GAO previously reported on USDA’s 2019 relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Following these moves, more than half of these agencies’ staff left, affecting workforce experience levels and composition and agency productivity. Two years after these relocations, overall staffing levels and productivity had generally returned to previous levels. For more information, contact Steve Morris at morriss@gao.gov. Mon, 09 Nov 2026 07:59:55 -0500 /products/gao-27-108734 Financial Audit: Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s FY 2026 and FY 2025 Schedules of Federal Debt https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-27-108795 What GAO Found GAO found (1) the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Schedules of Federal Debt for fiscal years 2026 and 2025 are fairly presented in all material respects and (2) Fiscal Service maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt as of September 30, 2026. GAO’s tests of selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements related to the Sch

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