Priority Open Recommendations: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Fast Facts
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help improve the federal government. We alert department heads to the recommendations where they can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve government operations.
This report outlines our 6 priority open recommendations for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as of April 2021.
For example, we recommended that NRC take additional actions to improve the security of radioactive material.
Since our previous letter in April 2020, NRC has implemented 1 of our priority recommendations.
Highlights
What GAO Found
In April 2020, GAO identified seven priority recommendations for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Since then, NRC implemented one of these recommendations by issuing a risk management strategy that addresses key elements foundational to effectively managing cybersecurity risks. The remaining six priority recommendations involve the following areas:
- addressing the security of radiological sources.
- improving the reliability of cost estimates.
- improving strategic human capital management.
NRC's continued attention to these issues could lead to significant improvements in government operations.
Why GAO Did This Study
Priority open recommendations are the GAO recommendations that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could save large amounts of money; improve congressional and/or executive branch decision-making on major issues; eliminate mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or ensure that programs comply with laws and funds are legally spent, among other benefits. Since 2015, GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.
For more information, contact Mark Gaffigan at (202) 512-3841 or gaffiganm@gao.gov.