The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not ensure Puerto Rico effectively implemented the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power Pilot Program following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. The report contains two recommendations on actions the Federal Emergency Management Agency can take to enhance the program’s overall effectiveness.
This DHS Countering Human Trafficking Year in Review reports on select accomplishments and advancements made by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offces and components in the last fiscal year, 1 October 2020 through 30 September 2021. It includes links to additional informative resources that explain DHS’s countertrafficking operations, outreach, and other efforts.
The Secret Service Overtime Pay Extension Act includes a provision for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the extent of progress made by the Secret Service in implementing the panel's recommendations. This report addresses the progress that the Secret Service has made toward implementing the panel's recommendations. For this report, GAO reviewed relevant Secret Service planning and implementation documents, analyzed agency training data from fiscal years 2014 through 2020, and interviewed agency officials.
The U.S. nuclear enterprise comprises two portfolios managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). DOD and NNSA have begun implementing some processes to improve risk management within their respective nuclear portfolios. However, they have not established joint processes to periodically identify, analyze, and respond to risks that affect the joint U.S. nuclear enterprise, and report information about these risks to stakeholders. DOD and NNSA have interdependencies among their nuclear programs, including among the weapon and delivery platform systems of the strategic nuclear triad. These interdependencies may result in additional risks to individual program schedules and costs. Absent a risk management process for the joint enterprise, senior leaders may not be able to effectively manage risks, make informed resource decisions, or accept risks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this national handbook as a resource for local and tribal emergency planning committees (LEPCs and TEPCs) to strengthen community preparedness for accidental chemical releases. It compiles and expands upon existing guidance materials for the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and its amendments under the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018. This resource will be particularly helpful for new members of tribal and local organizations responsible for implementing EPCRA and for communities that may deal with chemical accidents.
This fifth annual report updates key information from the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) January 2021 report by examining the status of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) public-private partnership program agreements, including the purposes for which CBP used the funds and donations from these agreements in 2020 and 2021. GAO collected and analyzed information on any new Reimbursable Services Program (RSP) agreements, Donations Acceptance Program (DAP) agreements, and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for both programs for 2020 and 2021, excluding those analyzed in GAO's January 2021 report. GAO also analyzed data on use of the programs and interviewed CBP officials to identify any significant changes to how the programs are administered.
A novel plan that offers partnership in keeping the United States electric grid stable and reliable could be a win-win for consumers and utility operators. The largest ever simulation of its kind, modeled on the Texas power grid, concluded that consumers stand to save about 15 percent on their annual electric bill by partnering with utilities. In this system, consumers would coordinate with their electric utility operator to dynamically control big energy users, like heat pumps, water heaters and electric vehicle charging stations.
The NAC strives for equitable, coordinated, and outcome-driven solutions for the emergency management field. Through important discussions, the report compiled by this diverse body confronts the critical issues facing the field and represents the NAC’s final consensus on them.
Based on GAO’s preliminary results, in fiscal year 2020, the effectiveness of federal agencies’ implementation of requirements set by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) varied. For example, more agencies reported meeting goals related to capabilities for the detection and prevention of cybersecurity incidents, as well as those related to access management for users. However, inspectors general (IG) identified uneven implementation of cyber security policies and practices.
Virtual currency is increasingly used illicitly to facilitate human and drug trafficking, according to GAO’s review of agency documentation and data and interviews with officials. For example, the number of suspicious activity reports filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that involve virtual currency and drug trafficking increased fivefold (from 252 to almost 1,432) from calendar year 2017 to 2020. However, in a sensitive version of this report, GAO found that data from selected federal agencies on virtual currency use for human and drug trafficking may not be consistently captured.
