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Open Recommendations

International Trade: Agencies Should Improve Oversight of Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreements
GAO-25-106936
Dec 20, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Principal Director of Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy develops and implements written policies and procedures for initiating and renewing RDP Agreements, to include seeking defense industry feedback, and coordinating with the Department of Commerce.
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Principal Director of Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy coordinates with the Secretary of Commerce to develop and implement policies, procedures, and guidance on how to assess and monitor the effects of RDP Agreements, including those already in place with automatic extensions, on U.S. defense technology and the U.S. industrial base.
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Bureau of Industry and Security, in consultation with other appropriate offices within Commerce, updates guidance to address weaknesses in its methodology assessing the potential effects of RDP Agreements on U.S. industry so that it is based on sound economic reasoning and rigorous methodology and leverages the expertise of other appropriate offices within Commerce.
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget should direct the Director of the Made in America Office to develop a written plan or guidance on how it will review RDP Agreements.
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Small Business Research Programs: Agencies Identified Foreign Risks, but Some Due Diligence Programs Lack Clear Procedures
GAO-25-107402
Nov 21, 2024
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should ensure that the SBIR/STTR program office and the Office of National Security develop and document agreed-upon procedures for requesting analytical support and sharing information—including classified information, as applicable—to support due diligence reviews. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Homeland Security The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure that the SBIR/STTR program office, the Office of the Chief Security Officer, and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis develop and document agreed-upon procedures for requesting analytical support and sharing information—including classified information, as applicable—to support due diligence reviews. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should ensure that the SBIR/STTR program office and the Office of Protective Services, Counterintelligence/Counterterrorism Division develop and document agreed-upon procedures for requesting analytical support and sharing information—including classified information, as applicable—to support due diligence reviews. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

COVID-19 Relief: SBA and DOL Should Improve Processes to Identify and Recover Overpayments
GAO-25-106199
Nov 13, 2024
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Small Business Administration The Administrator of SBA should ensure that the Office of Capital Access expands and documents loan review processes for the PPP and COVID-19 EIDL program and how loans are reviewed to identify overpayments. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Small Business Administration The Administrator of SBA should ensure that the Office of Capital Access expands and documents the PPP guarantee purchase process to ensure that—prior to purchase approval—SBA has collected sufficient documentation to verify that lenders complied with program requirements. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Small Business Administration The Administrator of SBA should ensure that the Office of Capital Access expands and documents SBA's overpayment identification and recovery process for the PPP and COVID-19 EIDL program, as well as future programs, to include clear, formalized procedures for tracking all identified overpayments and subsequent recoveries. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Employment and Training Administration reports the total overpayment recovery rate in place of, or along with, the nonwaived overpayment recovery rate for UI programs, particularly pandemic-related UI programs (i.e., PUA, FPUC, PEUC, and MEUC). (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Employment and Training Administration expands its UI program guidance to require that future temporary programs establish state overpayment recovery baselines to support DOL's monitoring of states' progress in recovering identified overpayments. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Small Business Research Programs: Agencies Broadly Solicit Ideas, but Clearer Guidance Could Improve DOD Efforts
GAO-24-107036
Sep 30, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering revises the SBIR/STTR Program Innovation Open Topic Guidance to clarify how the specificity of open and conventional topics should differ. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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