To date, we’ve issued 10 comprehensive reports on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, as well as numerous other non-partisan, fact-based reports on pandemic-related topics. We’ve made 350 recommendations—94 of which have been fully implemented—and raised 18 matters for congressional consideration. Download a spreadsheet of recommendations from GAO's COVID-Related Work as of September 30, 2022: Excel Workbook (XLSX, 327KB) or Comma-Separated Values (CSV, 120KB). We will also start reporting annually in 2023.
As the number of deaths and serious illness form the pandemic drop, the need to improve the nation’s preparedness and assistance efforts for future pandemics in certain areas remain important. GAO has made the following recommendations for the CDC to:
Define specific actions and time frames for the agency’s data modernization efforts in its strategic implementation plan.
Work with appropriate stakeholders to develop a plan to enhance surge capacity for laboratory testing.
Collect more complete data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority groups.
In addition, recipient payments that were made in error in large programs like unemployment insurance and small business loans will require more checks and balances. Federal agencies made about $281 billion in payment errors in FY 2021—an increase of $75 billion from the prior fiscal year and about double the amount reported in FY 2017.
To better measure and address payment errors, GAO recommended that the Office of Management and Budget require agencies to certify their submitted data on payments. And for the Small Business Administration’s emergency loan programs to implement GAO’s recommendations to strengthen program integrity and protection against fraud. The nation’s Unemployment Insurance system was officially added to our High Risk List in June of 2022.
All COVID-19 Reports
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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.
The CARES Act of 2020 required GAO to issue regular reports on the impact of COVID-19. We issued a series of bi-monthly and quarterly comprehensive reports, and will also start reporting annually in 2023. You can view each report and its recommendations here:
Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that all the funds from the record $2 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.
View a summary (PDF, 2 pages) of the COVID-19 work we’ve done as of October 2022.
Download a spreadsheet of recommendations from GAO's COVID-Related Work as of September 30, 2022: Excel Workbook (XLSX, 327KB) or Comma-Separated Values (CSV, 120KB).
External Federal Resources Related to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Coronavirus.gov: Public information provided by the U.S. government related to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
