How Airline Mergers and Competition Impact Passengers?

How Airline Mergers and Competition Impact Passengers?

The last several decades have marked a turbulent, transformative time for commercial airlines--with mergers, failed mergers, and even airlines like Spirit going…

Air Service to Small Communities Continues to Face Challenges

How GAO is Fighting Fraud and Reducing Improper Payments in Government Spending

The federal government loses hundreds of billions of dollars to fraud each year and millions more to payment errors—also known as improper payments. GAO helps f…

What a Recent Rule Change Means for Corporate Transparency

Drug cartels and other illegal enterprises often use shell companies to hide their dealings and launder money. To combat this activity, many countries have requ…

GAO Has Found New Ways to Save the Federal Government Billions of Dollars

Over the years, GAO’s work has helped save taxpayers billions of dollars by reducing duplication, overlap and fragmentation in programs. Each year, we issue a r…

Preventing Fraud in Medicare

Medicare is the biggest spending area for the U.S. government and the largest federal health program. Due to the sheer size of Medicare, there are risks of frau…

Gene L. Dodaro, the 8th Comptroller General of the United States and Head of GAO

For nearly two decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office was led by Gene L. Dodaro, an auditor who came up-through the ranks of the agency and was swor…

GAO Stands Out in its Ability to Answer the Tough Questions. Here’s How We Do it.

Before Congress makes tough policy decisions, it often comes to GAO for information. This episode looks at some of the toughest questions Congress has asked GAO…

Water Recycling Program Could Help Drought-Stricken Communities

In some parts of the United States, growing populations and prolonged droughts are straining water supplies. Large-scale water recycling could offer these commu…

USPS’s Financial Condition Struggles Under an Unsustainable Business Model

The U.S. Postal Service is a quintessentially American institution. But during the last 20 years or so, USPS has struggled financially with rising costs and dec…

FDA's Efforts to Recall Faulty Medical Devices Limited by Insufficient Staffing

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for overseeing the safety of medical devices sold in the U.S. and issuing recalls when they're found to be…

What are DOD's Unfunded Priorities?

The U.S.'s defense budget makes up about half of all federal discretionary spending. But even so, there are billions of dollars in "unfunded priorities" that co…

GAO Is Nonpartisan. Here’s How We Do It

On this special episode of the podcast, we sit down with GAO's Chief Quality Officer Tim Bowling to discuss how GAO protects our fact-based, nonpartisan reputat…

How GAO Serves Congress

On this special episode of the podcast, we sit down with GAO’s Managing Director of Congressional Relations Nikki Clowers to discuss how GAO serves Congress.…

IRS’s Efforts to Improve Customer Service and the Taxpayer Experience

The IRS has a long-standing goal of improving its taxpayer services and experiences. But many Americans still struggle to connect with the IRS or report having …

SBA Disaster Loans—Limiting Duplication of Assistance

After a natural disaster, the Small Business Administration helps homeowners and businesses recover by providing loans. While this funding is important, it is n…

To Fight Fraud, Inspectors General Need Help Identifying Companies’ Ownership

Fraud in federal programs is a significant and persistent problem. Some fraud is perpetrated by private companies that obscure their ownership information when …

As Scams Become More Costly and Sophisticated, What is Needed to Protect Consumers?

Increasingly, Americans are falling victim to more frequent and sophisticated scams. Technology is helping to fuel this increase. And it’s costing Americans a l…

Hurricane Hunters from NOAA and the Air Force Face the Growing Storm

On this special episode of the Watchdog Report, we'll listen in on a conversation between GAO Director Cardell Johnson and his team, who worked on a new report …

Federal Efforts to Combat Criminals' Illicit Financial Activities

Criminal organizations and terrorist groups use money laundering to carry out their crimes, including human and drug trafficking. Federal agencies work together…

As Debt Limit Deadline Looms, What is Needed to Avoid A Default and Its Potential Widespread Consequences?

To prevent the federal government from defaulting on its debt when it neared the debt limit in 2023, Congress voted to suspend the debt ceiling through this com…

Hundreds of Hazardous Waste Facilities May Face Risks from Climate Change

There are more than a thousand facilities across the U.S. that treat, store, or dispose of various types of hazardous waste. Some of these facilities are locate…

Federal Efforts to Recover Overpayments of COVID-19 Relief

Early in the pandemic, the federal government prioritized swiftly distributing checks to businesses and workers to help meet the urgent needs they face because …