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Open Recommendations (117 total)

Nuclear Waste: Changing Conditions May Affect Future Management of Contamination Deposited Abroad During U.S. Cold War Activities

GAO-24-104082
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy, as a part of the agency's ongoing efforts to address the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, should develop and document a strategy for communications on radioactive contamination that is sustained, understandable, and transparent; engages the RMI government; and builds on lessons learned. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Critical Infrastructure Protection: Agencies Need to Enhance Oversight of Ransomware Practices and Assess Federal Support

GAO-24-106221
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should, in coordination with CISA and sector entities, determine the extent to which the energy sector is adopting leading cybersecurity practices that help reduce the sector's risk of ransomware. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Critical Infrastructure Protection: Agencies Need to Enhance Oversight of Ransomware Practices and Assess Federal Support

GAO-24-106221
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should, in coordination with CISA and sector entities, develop and implement routine evaluation procedures that measure the effectiveness of federal support in helping reduce the risk of ransomware to the energy sector. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Software Licenses: Agencies Need to Take Action to Achieve Additional Savings

GAO-24-105717
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the agency consistently tracks software licenses that are currently in use for its widely used licenses by, at a minimum, consistently implementing its procedures for tracking license usage. (Recommendation 3)
Open
The Department of Energy concurred with this recommendation and stated that it plans to address our recommendations by, among other things, pursuing a new proactive strategy where software entitlements are captured in advance during the acquisition process combined with tracking through the deployment lifecycle. The department also states that the inventory of product suites procured will be periodically compared to the Master Device Records gathered by sites to identify variances between the installed software suites and the software entitlements. The department estimates completion by September 30, 2025. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to fully implement this recommendation.

Federal Software Licenses: Agencies Need to Take Action to Achieve Additional Savings

GAO-24-105717
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the agency consistently compares the inventories of software licenses that are currently in use with information on purchased licenses to identify opportunities to reduce costs and better inform investment decision making for its widely used licenses on a regular basis. At a minimum, it should consistently implement its procedures for comparing the inventories of licenses in use to purchase records. (Recommendation 4)
Open
The Department of Energy concurred with this recommendation and stated that it plans to address our recommendations by, among other things, pursuing a new proactive strategy where software entitlements are captured in advance during the acquisition process combined with tracking through the deployment lifecycle. The department also states that the inventory of product suites procured will be periodically compared to the Master Device Records gathered by sites to identify variances between the installed software suites and the software entitlements. The department estimates completion by September 30, 2025. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to fully implement this recommendation.

Artificial Intelligence: Agencies Have Begun Implementation but Need to Complete Key Requirements

GAO-24-105980
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the department updates its AI use case inventory to include all the required information, at minimum, and takes steps to ensure that the data in the inventory aligns with provided instructions. (Recommendation 13)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Low-Dose Radiation: Agency Leadership and Collaboration Are Needed to Set the Direction of Future Research

GAO-24-106317
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the Director of the Office of Science leads a collaborative effort with all other relevant agencies to determine how to respond to the National Academies report, including clarifying roles and responsibilities for a research program on low-dose radiation. (Recommendation 1)
Open
As of February 2024, DOE had no updates on the implementation status of the recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Nuclear Materials: DOE Plans for Savannah River Site's H-Canyon Facility

GAO-24-106494
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the Senior Advisor of EM and the Administrator of NNSA enter into a written agreement for the planned use of H-Canyon to process any future shipments of foreign research reactor fuel not already included in an MOA or written agreement. (Recommendation 2)
Open
DOE agreed with this recommendation. In its November 2023 response letter, DOE stated that EM and NNSA will develop a written agreement describing the collaborative process the two programs will use to plan shipments and receipts of foreign research reactor fuel not already included in an MOA or written agreement. DOE estimated completing this action by December 2024.

Low-Dose Radiation: Agency Leadership and Collaboration Are Needed to Set the Direction of Future Research

GAO-24-106317
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy If in the process of leading a collaborative effort, the Office of Science finds that it should share or hand over leadership to another agency, the Secretary of Energy should ensure that the Director of the Office of Science or other designee work with Congress to determine how best to meet DOE's statutory requirements under the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act. (Recommendation 2)
Open
As of February 2024, DOE had no updates on the implementation status of the recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Nuclear Materials: DOE Plans for Savannah River Site's H-Canyon Facility

GAO-24-106494
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should direct the Senior Advisor of EM to work with the Director of NIST to enter into a written agreement for the planned use of H-Canyon to process any future shipments of domestic research reactor fuel from the NIST Center for Neutron Research program. (Recommendation 3)
Open
DOE agreed with this recommendation. In its November 2023 response letter, DOE stated that EM will work with NIST to develop a written agreement describing the collaborative process that will be used to plan shipments and receipts of domestic research reactor fuel from the NIST Center for Neutron Research program. DOE estimated completing this action by December 2024.
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