U.S. Government Accountability Office

The Navy's Attack Submarines Have Costly Maintenance Challenges The Navy's attack submarine fleet provide the United States with an unparalleled advantage to gather intelligence undetected and attack enemy targets. But during the last decade, the Navy has lost thousands of days of submarine use to costly maintenance delays. We learn more from GAO's Diana Maurer.

Fast Facts The U.S. Navy's attack submarines gather intelligence undetected and attack enemy targets. 10 years of maintenance delays for these submarines have resulted in over 15,000 lost operational days and an estimated $3.4 billion in costs. Additional delays are on the rise as submarines wait to be decommissioned—taken out of service—because shipyards don't have the capacity to start that process.

Fast Facts The Department of Defense uses equipment—like satellites—to protect the U.S. from foreign adversaries both at home and abroad. This equipment provides DOD with data, like an enemy's location, via coordinates. DOD also relies on companies in the commercial space sector to provide data about activities on Earth and in space. We found that some officials are missing opportunities to use this data due to licensing costs, perceived use restrictions, and concerns over long-term data access.

Description The Navy's attack submarine fleet provide the United States with an unparalleled advantage to gather intelligence undetected and attack enemy targets. But during the last decade, the Navy has lost thousands of days of submarine use to costly maintenance delays. We learn more from GAO's Diana Maurer. Date: Aug 27, 2026 Runtime: 00:10:25 Privacy Statement This player is provided by Google/YouTube, which may set a persistent cookie on your computer or device upon its use.

Fast Facts Teacher support to address individual students' reading and math deficits or learning disabilities can improve academic outcomes. We visited Department of Defense schools in districts that serve about 60% of DOD school students with identified learning disabilities. Staff at all the schools we visited said teachers needed opportunities to give input on training to help them develop this support for their students. But DOD didn't ask for their input.

Fast Facts The Department of Energy relies on contractors to clean up nuclear-related contamination. Contractors oversee their own performance in part by using contractor assurance systems. These systems can often provide evidence that can assure contractors and DOE that work is being performed safely, securely, and in compliance with all requirements. DOE has taken steps to evaluate the effectiveness of these systems.

Skip to Highlights Highlights Hair By Allure, LLC d/b/a Allure Rejuvenation Center (ARC), a small business of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range established under request for proposals (RFP) No. 36S79725R0002, issued by the Department of Veterans of Affairs (VA) for orthotic goods and supplies. The protester contends that the agency improperly excluded its proposal from the competitive range. We deny the protest.

Skip to Highlights Highlights After the Department of Defense (DOD) obligated funds to develop the Homeland Defense Radar – Hawaii (HDR-H) program, it began moving excess radar components to a facility for modification in support of Homeland Defense Radar – Guam (HDR G) development. We conclude that DOD acted within its legitimate range of discretion when it obligated amounts designated for HDR-H in fiscal years 2018‍–‍2022.

Fast Facts GAO has identified IT modernization as a management challenge. In 2021, GAO paid $1 million to develop a 5-year IT modernization plan with a projected cost for initiatives of about $29 million. Less than 18 months later, GAO decided to evolve to an ongoing modernization strategy. This decision was undocumented, so current leaders were unaware of the rationale for the change. GAO did not track the cost of the initiatives in a manner that allowed for easy reporting of the total expenditure.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans saving for retirement with a 401(k) or similar account, you assume (and hope) your financial and personal information are safe. But did you know that retirement plan service providers may share or sell your personal information or use it to market other financial products and services? Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our new report on why retirement plans share data and what’s being done to protect your personal information.