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Open Recommendations

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: Actions Needed to Safeguard Inspector General Independence and Evaluate Capital Investment Outcomes
GAO-25-107104
Nov 21, 2024
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Other The WMATA Board Chair should work with the Board members to develop formal procedures for the removal of an IG that include a Board vote and advance notification of Congress, for example by providing Congress with the Board's rationale for removing the IG 30 days in advance. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Other The WMATA Board Chair should work with the Board members to establish a policy providing that the IG may communicate directly with Congress about findings and recommendations from the OIG's work, at the IG's discretion. This would include communication with committees, subcommittees, members, and staff. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The General Manager of WMATA should adopt leading practices for the Capital Investment Performance Outcome Measurement Program. This includes (1) preparing and implementing an evaluation plan that clearly articulates an assessment methodology and data gathering strategy for all components of the program, (2) identifying criteria and standards to inform decisions about scalability, and (3) preparing and implementing a data analysis plan to track program progress and facilitate evaluation of final results of the program. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Discretionary Transportation Grants: DOT Should Fully Document Key Selection Decisions for Its Rural Program
GAO-24-106882
Aug 12, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Transportation The Secretary of Transportation should ensure Rural program officials fully document the rationale behind key decisions related to advancing and selecting applications for award. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOT did not concur with GAO's recommendation to fully document the rationale for key decisions related to advancing and selecting applications for award. DOT stated, as part of its review of the draft report, that it believes its documentation of key decisions is full and complete in accordance with its own guidelines. However, GAO continues to believe that DOT should implement this recommendation for the reasons outlined in the report, including improved transparency and integrity of its selection process. GAO will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Drones: Actions Needed to Better Support Remote Identification in the National Airspace
GAO-24-106158
Jun 06, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should develop resources to help tribal, state, and local law enforcement use Remote ID. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should develop a plan and timeline for deploying FAA's interface in collaboration with DHS and DOJ. (Recommendation 2)
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 develop a plan and timeline for deploying its Remote ID app in collaboration with FAA and DOJ. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should identify a path forward for how to provide real-time, networked data about the location and status of drones. This could include identifying and assessing short-term and long-term options and clarifying roles and responsibilities. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Maritime Commission: Improved Use of Data on Shippers' Complaints Could Enhance Oversight
GAO-24-106368
Apr 23, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Maritime Commission The Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission should develop an outreach plan for communicating information about FMC's various complaint processes to shippers. Such a plan should align with leading practices for effective outreach. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In its written response to this report, FMC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. FMC acknowledged the importance of outreach and described initiatives it had undertaken, which we summarized in our report. However, we found that FMC did not have a documented plan for these efforts that defined its outreach goals, analyzed any gaps in knowledge among its stakeholder groups, or determined appropriate messages to address those gaps. In addition, in 2022 FMC issued its own study which reported that shippers were generally unfamiliar with FMC's complaint mechanisms and had difficulty discerning the differences between the mechanisms. Our report confirmed these findings. Developing an outreach plan could help FMC refine its outreach efforts to determine which industry events are best suited to reach target audiences and establish relevant goals or performance measures to assess whether messages are reaching the intended audience, among other things. As such, we stand by our recommendation and believe that FMC should implement it. We will monitor and report on FMC's actions to address this recommendation.
Federal Maritime Commission The Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission should review the CADRS complaint form to ensure it is collecting specific information on shippers' challenges. (Recommendation 2)
Open
In its written response to this report, FMC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. As noted in our report, FMC has not updated the CADRS form since 2019, prior to the enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, which codified CADRS in statute and directed FMC to appoint additional staff to assist with investigations. Given that FMC noted in its comments that it is receiving more complaints than in years past, we believe that collecting more specific information on the form is even more important to effectively monitor and respond to concerns in the maritime industry. We will monitor and report on FMC's actions to address this recommendation.
Federal Maritime Commission The Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission should update the procedures for FMC's CADRS and BEIC offices to ensure they include all actions staff can take in response to shippers' concerns, such as analyzing complaint data, and establish requirements for future reviews and updates. (Recommendation 3)
Open
In its written response to our report, FMC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. In our report, we found that FMC's procedures for the CADRS and BEIC offices did not reflect the full range of actions that staff can take to manage and use data from CADRS cases. By updating its procedures to include all actions staff can take in response to shippers' concerns, including handling potential violations of the Shipping Act, FMC will have greater assurance that its staff are consistently following its procedures. Establishing requirements for future updates to these procedures could also improve FMC's ability to monitor and respond to shippers' challenges in the future. Therefore, we believe that FMC should implement our recommendation and we will monitor FMC's efforts to do so.
Federal Maritime Commission The Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission should develop a strategy to guide FMC's efforts to modernize how it collects and manages data such that FMC can better monitor shippers' challenges and trends in the maritime shipping industry. (Recommendation 4)
Open
In its written response to our report, FMC neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation. FMC's written response stated that it is taking action to modernize its data processes using its information technology modernization plan. However, FMC did not provide us with this plan, nor did officials mention such a plan in our interviews. As a result, we cannot verify that the plan encompasses planned updates to the CADRS or BEIC data. We also cannot verify that the plan includes key information identified in leading practices-such as goals and intended outcomes, planned actions and investments, and plans to measure effectiveness. As we note in our report, having such information can help FMC ensure that it implements its modernization efforts efficiently and effectively and help guide future decisions related to how FMC collects and manages data. In its comments, FMC also stated that its new Chief Information Officer (CIO) will help the agency take more significant strides toward its information technology modernization goals. We look forward to working with the new CIO to implement this recommendation and will monitor FMC's efforts to do so.
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