Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Homeland Security
Fast Facts
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations.
This letter to the Department of Homeland Security outlines 37 open recommendations that it should prioritize. The recommendations relate to emergency preparedness, border security, countering violent extremism and domestic terrorism, domestic intelligence and information sharing, cybersecurity and IT, and more.
DHS implemented 16 recommendations we identified as a priority last year.
We regularly update priority recommendations here.
Highlights
What GAO Found
In June 2023, GAO identified 42 priority recommendations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS has implemented 16 of those recommendations leading to improvements in the National Flood Insurance Program, disaster response and recovery, noncitizen processing at the southwest border, CBP protection of U.S. trade revenue, the strategy to counter violent extremism, TSA's assessment of pipeline risks, and cybersecurity and IT management, among other areas.
In August 2024, GAO identified 11 additional priority recommendations for DHS, bringing the total number to 37. One recommendation is related to training special agents of the U.S. Secret Service. The remaining 36 recommendations fall into the following seven areas:
- Emergency preparedness and response,
- Border security,
- Countering violent extremism and domestic terrorism,
- Domestic intelligence and information sharing,
- Information technology and cybersecurity,
- Chemical security, and
- Infrastructure, acquisition, and management.
DHS'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 Jason L. Bair at (202) 512-6881 or bairj@gao.gov.