On July 11, 2023, we issued a report on our key findings and recommendations with an eye toward helping federal agencies be better prepared for future emergencies. GAO has regularly reported on the accountability and effectiveness of the federal government’s $4.7 trillion pandemic response since 2020.
This report includes several key data updates and five enclosures that summarize and highlight standalone reports issued from April 2022 through April 2023 on the following topics:
public health preparedness
improper payments and fraud
vulnerable populations
distribution of federal COVID-19 funding
COVID-19 and the economy
Examples of recommendations not yet implemented but vital to preparing for the nation’s next emergency include:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should continue progress toward establishing the public health situational awareness and biosurveillance network, which federal law over 16 years ago required HHS to establish. Such a network could be used to provide vital information to manage a timely response in a future emergency.
The Department of Labor should develop and implement an antifraud strategy for Unemployment Insurance programs that is consistent with leading practices from GAO’s Fraud Risk Framework. GAO has previously reported evidence of widespread fraud in the unemployment insurance program.
CARES Act Oversight Reports
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 included a provision for GAO to report regularly on the effects of the pandemic and the federal response. In this body of work, GAO has issued 10 comprehensive reports and over 200 standalone reports, made 386 recommendations to 26 federal agencies and raised 19 matters for congressional consideration. As of April 30, 2023, Congress and the agencies have fully or partially addressed 45 percent of these recommendations. You can view the recommendations from this body of work here:
Our published reports and congressional testimonies that are relevant to the Coronavirus pandemic are available below. The list will be updated with new reports as they are published.
Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that all the funds from the record $4+ trillion stimulus package end up where they’re supposed to. GAO has been tasked with tracking that money. If you suspect waste, fraud, or abuse of stimulus funds, you can help us out by using FraudNet to report your concerns. Read April 10, 2020 press release.
FraudNet is a GAO program for the public, government workers, and contractors to report allegations of improper activities in the federal government—including fraud, waste, or abuse of funds provided under the CARES Act.
