{ "schemaVersion": 1, "sourceConsulted": "2026-10-05", "coverage": "Eight curated topics; one selected action per report; not exhaustive", "noCombinedTotal": true, "records": [ { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-25-107497:recommendation-2", "title": "VA–DOD health care sharing", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/va-dod-health-care-sharing", "selectedAction": "Recommendation 2", "actorType": "agency", "owner": "VA Under Secretary for Health, working with DOD", "source": { "report": "GAO-25-107497", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-25-107497", "published": "2025-06-30", "publiclyReleased": "2025-06-30", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-03" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s March 2026 comment says the interagency working group produced a utilization assessment tool and resource-sharing playbook, and began collecting data. Its first full performance review is planned for the third quarter of fiscal year 2027. These are reported implementation steps, not a completed effectiveness evaluation.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "potential-savings", "estimateAsReported": "Tens of millions annually", "timeHorizon": "Annual; topic-level potential", "estimateAttribution": "GAO 2026 annual report", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "GAO’s 2026 annual report describes topic-level potential savings in the tens of millions of dollars annually, alongside improved access to care. It does not assign that amount solely to Recommendation 2." }, "boundary": "A tool being issued does not prove it is used consistently or that patients receive better care. The report’s 185 agreements are an April 2025 inventory, not a count verified for October 2026. No actual savings figure is asserted here.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Evidence that the departments evaluate agreement performance, apply the process, and use the findings to make changes. A new PDF alone is not the end of the evidence chain.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Compare comparable services before and after a sharing change. Include wait times, travel burden, access, total delivery cost, and the cost of administering the agreement. Keep patient-level information private.", "questions": [ "Which agreements have complete baseline and follow-up measures?", "What decisions changed because of the assessment?", "Did access improve without shifting cost or travel burden onto patients?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-25-107088:recommendation-1", "title": "A government-wide anti-scam strategy", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/government-wide-anti-scam-strategy", "selectedAction": "Recommendation 1", "actorType": "agency", "owner": "FBI Director, coordinating with CFPB, FTC, Treasury and other agencies", "source": { "report": "GAO-25-107088", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-25-107088", "published": "2025-04-08", "publiclyReleased": "2025-04-08", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-06" }, "progressSummary": "In its June 2026 comment, GAO reports the FBI’s participation in a national coordination effort after a March executive order. The FBI said it paused work on this recommendation while responding to that order’s action-plan requirement. GAO continued to call for a comprehensive government-wide strategy addressing scams.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "service-improvement", "estimateAsReported": "Not quantified in annual example", "timeHorizon": "No financial horizon supplied", "estimateAttribution": "GAO 2026 annual report", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "The annual report identifies improved prevention, detection, and coordination. It does not provide a dollar savings forecast for this topic. That absence is an unknown estimate, not zero public value." }, "boundary": "A task force, announcement, or cyber-only plan is not proof that the selected comprehensive strategy has been implemented. Suspicious activity amounts and reported losses are different measures; neither is treated here as money recovered.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "A comprehensive strategy whose scope, responsibilities, resources, data standards, and implementation evidence satisfy GAO’s recommendation. Official GAO closure is separate from an agency’s statement of progress.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Walk a hypothetical report through the public-facing system: where does a person start, who receives it, what happens next, and how are duplicate reports handled? Use invented test details, not real victim information.", "questions": [ "Which scam categories are included—and which are excluded?", "Can agencies explain handoffs and accountability in a single public document?", "Are prevention outcomes measured separately from reports, investigations, and recovered funds?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-26-107439:recommendation-1", "title": "Employment support for older workers", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/older-worker-employment-support", "selectedAction": "Recommendation 1", "actorType": "agency", "owner": "Secretary of Labor / Employment and Training Administration, with Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration", "source": { "report": "GAO-26-107439", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-26-107439", "published": "2026-01-29", "publiclyReleased": "2026-01-29", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-04" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s April 2026 comment says Labor planned to use WorkforceGPS or other capacity-building platforms to help spread promising practices. GAO said it would monitor progress. The source does not report the selected recommendation as implemented.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "service-improvement", "estimateAsReported": "Not quantified in annual example", "timeHorizon": "No financial horizon supplied", "estimateAttribution": "GAO 2026 annual report", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "The 2026 annual report connects this action to better management of fragmented programs and mission delivery. It provides no financial estimate for this example." }, "boundary": "The study includes program-year 2023 data and interviews with 41 older workers at 10 centers in five states. Those interviews are not a representative national survey. Differences between age groups do not establish that a particular program caused the difference.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Evidence of an operating, coordinated information-sharing process that satisfies the recommendation—not just agreement with it or the existence of a website.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Ask a local job center to identify which practices it received, adopted, and assessed. Compare service access and employment outcomes for comparable participants, with accessibility, disability, and local labor-market context included.", "questions": [ "Which practices reached local centers and when?", "Were older workers able to find and use the services?", "What outcome was measured beyond attendance at training sessions?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-26-108018:recommendation-1", "title": "Nuclear waste cleanup decisions", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/nuclear-waste-cleanup", "selectedAction": "Recommendation 1", "actorType": "agency", "owner": "DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management", "source": { "report": "GAO-26-108018", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-26-108018", "published": "2026-03-25", "publiclyReleased": "2026-03-25", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-08" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s August 2026 comment reports DOE’s view that it had implemented the action. GAO said evidence of a systematic evaluation and communication to Congress was still needed. The associated congressional matter about clarifying statutory definitions is a separate decision; this page tracks the agency recommendation.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "potential-savings", "estimateAsReported": "Tens of billions; conditional", "timeHorizon": "No comparable horizon in annual example", "estimateAttribution": "GAO annual report; underlying 2020 DOE scenario", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "The annual report describes potential savings in the tens of billions. The underlying report discusses a 2020 DOE scenario estimating $73–210 billion for an alternative approach to certain Hanford waste. That older scenario is not a measured 2026 result or a forecast reproduced by this desk." }, "boundary": "Classification, treatment, disposal, legal authority, environmental protection, and site-specific technical feasibility must all be addressed. A cost scenario does not establish that an alternative is safe, lawful, available, or fully funded.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "The evaluation and congressional communication GAO identifies as necessary, supported by records showing opportunities and barriers were assessed systematically. An agency’s belief that it complied is not GAO closure.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "For any proposed alternative, compare the same waste scope and endpoint. Include treatment, transport, disposal, monitoring, legal review, schedule risk, and protections for affected communities—not only the cheapest headline scenario.", "questions": [ "Do compared options achieve the same safety and cleanup endpoints?", "Which assumptions explain the cost range?", "What evidence addresses legal authority and community or tribal consultation?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-16-189:congressional-matter", "title": "Medicare payments by place of service", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/medicare-site-neutral-payments", "selectedAction": "Congressional matter", "actorType": "congress", "owner": "Congress; the selected matter would direct the HHS Secretary", "source": { "report": "GAO-16-189", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-189", "published": "2015-12-18", "publiclyReleased": "2015-12-18", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open – Partially Addressed", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-02" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s February 2026 comment describes partial action through the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Act and later CMS rules. It also notes a November 2025 rule concerning drug-administration services. The selected matter remains partially addressed rather than closed.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "potential-savings", "estimateAsReported": "$156.9 billion / 10 years", "timeHorizon": "10 years; annual table does not specify dates", "estimateAttribution": "CBO, as cited by GAO in May 2026", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "GAO’s May 2026 annual table cites a Congressional Budget Office estimate of $156.9 billion over 10 years for this topic. This desk has not reproduced the underlying model; the number is a conditional topic-level estimate, not a remaining cash balance." }, "boundary": "Payment changes already adopted matter to any new baseline. A projected federal savings estimate is not a promise that an individual patient’s bill falls by the same amount. Service mix, hospital obligations, and access effects must be evaluated.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Action that addresses the remaining settings and services identified in the matter, with GAO’s assessment of whether the intent is satisfied. A narrower payment change can be meaningful without closing the entire matter.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Compare the same defined service and patient circumstances across settings. Identify which payment rules already apply, the baseline year, exceptions, transition policy, and effects on access—not just the gross rate difference.", "questions": [ "Which services and departments are included in the proposal?", "Does the estimate incorporate rules already adopted?", "What protections preserve necessary access and account for hospital obligations?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-22-104915:congressional-matter-1", "title": "FirstNet continuity and fee revenue", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/firstnet-continuity", "selectedAction": "Matter for Consideration 1", "actorType": "congress", "owner": "Congress", "source": { "report": "GAO-22-104915", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-22-104915", "published": "2022-02-22", "publiclyReleased": "2022-02-22", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-01" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s January 2026 comment says Congress had not reauthorized FirstNet as of that comment and that GAO would continue monitoring. That dated statement is not an independently verified claim about every legislative development since then.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "revenue-continuity", "estimateAsReported": "$15 billion / 15 years", "timeHorizon": "15 years of remaining scheduled payments", "estimateAttribution": "GAO analysis of FirstNet contract, cited May 2026", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "GAO’s 2026 annual report cites $15 billion over 15 years from its analysis of the FirstNet contract. Its footnote says the fate of remaining scheduled payments is unclear if FirstNet sunsets in 2027. This is a fee-revenue and authority issue—not an interchangeable spending-cut estimate." }, "boundary": "The record does not say the network currently lacks service or that $15 billion has been recovered. Original 25-year contract amounts and remaining 15-year scheduled payments describe different periods and must not be added.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Legislative action resolving the matter’s relevant authorities and responsibilities, followed by GAO’s assessment. Track enactment and operational responsibilities separately from introduced bills or public endorsements.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Map each responsibility to an entity and legal authority before and after the proposed change. Include continuity, spectrum, contract duties, fees, reinvestment rules, and the voice of public-safety users.", "questions": [ "Which authority covers each responsibility after the sunset date?", "Who can collect and reinvest the scheduled payments?", "How are first responders’ operational needs protected during any transition?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-15-16:congressional-matter", "title": "Large IRA balances and tax expenditures", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/large-ira-tax-expenditures", "selectedAction": "Congressional matter", "actorType": "congress", "owner": "Congress", "source": { "report": "GAO-15-16", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-16", "published": "2014-10-20", "publiclyReleased": "2014-11-19", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open – Partially Addressed", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-02" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s February 2026 comment recognizes partial action from the 2019 SECURE Act’s limits on certain inherited-account deferrals. It says limits on owner accumulation had not been enacted as of that comment. Separate IRS recommendations in the original report have been implemented; they are not the selected congressional matter.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "tax-expenditure", "estimateAsReported": "$10 billion or more", "timeHorizon": "Unspecified in annual example", "estimateAttribution": "JCT and Treasury, as cited by GAO in May 2026", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "The annual report cites potential financial benefits of $10 billion or more, sourced to the Joint Committee on Taxation and Treasury. The table does not specify a time horizon. This desk will not convert it into an annual rate or compare it as if its period matched other estimates." }, "boundary": "Different legislative designs have different distributional effects, effective dates, behavioral responses, and revenue baselines. A prior proposal is not current law. This record is not personal tax, retirement, or investment advice.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Congressional action that satisfies the matter’s intent, assessed by GAO. An inherited-account change can count as partial action without resolving the separate accumulation issue.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Compare defined legislative options using the same budget window. Ask who is affected, how existing balances are treated, what valuations are required, and how administrative costs and behavior change the estimate.", "questions": [ "Which exact proposal generated the cited estimate?", "What budget window and behavioral assumptions were used?", "How do the proposal’s distributional effects compare with its stated purpose?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" }, { "schemaVersion": 1, "deskKey": "GAO-19-347:recommendation-1", "title": "Student-loan income verification", "page": "https://america.co/oversight/student-loan-income-verification", "selectedAction": "Recommendation 1", "actorType": "agency", "owner": "Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer", "source": { "report": "GAO-19-347", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-347", "published": "2019-06-25", "publiclyReleased": "2019-07-25", "consulted": "2026-10-05", "statusInConsultedSource": "Open – Partially Addressed", "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2025-12" }, "progressSummary": "GAO’s December 2025 comment describes IRS data exchange following the 2019 FUTURE Act, with borrower consent. It also describes a plan for September 2026. That planned date has passed, but the source consulted does not report verified completion; a calendar date alone establishes neither compliance nor misconduct.", "annualContext": { "report": "GAO-26-108505", "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505", "published": "2026-05-12", "benefitType": "historical-policy-estimate", "estimateAsReported": "More than $2 billion / 10 years", "timeHorizon": "Historical 2020–2029 estimate", "estimateAttribution": "CBO estimate associated with FUTURE Act, cited by GAO", "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action", "basis": "The annual report cites more than $2 billion over 10 years from CBO. The underlying GAO comment associates the historical estimate with the FUTURE Act and 2020–2029. It must not be treated as an entirely new, unrealized savings pool for the next ten years." }, "boundary": "A zero-income report or a discrepancy is not proof of fraud. Borrower circumstances, consent, due process, errors, and correction routes matter. This page does not determine current repayment-plan eligibility; rules and litigation may change independently of this recommendation.", "evidenceToCloseSummary": "Evidence that Education uses data to verify self-certified zero-income information, satisfying GAO’s selected recommendation. A data-sharing agreement and a completed verification process are different milestones.", "proposedEvaluation": { "notOfficialProcedure": true, "test": "Assess verification accuracy and protections together. Include false positives, correction time, borrower notice, data minimization, consent or other lawful authority, and effects on people with genuinely zero income.", "questions": [ "What evidence confirms implementation after the planned September 2026 date?", "How are discrepancies checked and corrected before adverse action?", "Which portion of the historical estimate has already occurred, if any?" ] }, "cashAvailable": false, "actualSavingsAsserted": false, "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report", "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed" } ] }