GAO offers COVID-19 response recommendations

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations regarding the federal COVID-19 response via the CARES Act, focusing on critical gaps and plans to address the gaps.

The GAO indicated the agency’s recommendation concerning the importance of clear and comprehensive vaccine distribution and communication plans remains a work in progress.

Thirteen new GAO recommendations include improving the nation’s response to and preparedness for pandemics by establishing a process for regularly engaging with Congress and nonfederal stakeholders; as a means of improving the federal government’s response to COVID-19 and preparedness for future pandemics, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should establish an expert committee or use an existing one to systematically review and inform the alignment of ongoing data collection and reporting standards for key health indicators; the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health should determine what additional data may be needed from employers or other sources to better target the agency’s COVID-19 enforcement efforts; and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration should develop and implement portfolio-level data analytics across Economic Injury Disaster Loan program loans and advances made in response to COVID-19 as a means to detect potentially ineligible and fraudulent applications.

GAO reviewed data, documents, and guidance from federal agencies about activities and interviewed federal and state officials and stakeholders, completing its audit work last month.