Oversight
EHR modernization needs better cyber and privacy collaboration, GAO says
The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization office needs to improve its interagency coordination to address potential privacy and security vulnerabilities in the new system, according to the watchdog.
USDA is using AI — but doesn’t have required controls to manage risks, watchdog finds
The Agriculture inspector general noted the agency has prioritized making use of the technology over setting up controls.
Agencies doled out $186B in improper payments last year, GAO says
That fiscal year 2025 improper payment number is up by $24 billion from the previous fiscal year, even as the Trump administration says that it’s tamping down on fraud.
IRS lacks transparent plans to leverage tech in the face of staffing cuts, GAO and employees say
Agency leaders are “shoving AI at us,” one IRS employee said, despite the fact that “they don’t have the right tools for us yet.”
Sessions introduces bill to set up a new Treasury fraud watchdog
The proposal from the co-chair of the House DOGE Caucus comes after President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 agency inspectors general last year.
Single-member surveillance watchdog backs 702 powers, raising independence questions
A staff report from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board praises the value of Section 702 of FISA, though all but one of the board’s members were removed last year.
Inspector general group to be led by former Trump administration adviser
A government oversight organization said that the selection of Cheryl Mason, who is the inspector general for the Veterans Affairs Department, shows the White House is “putting more of a thumb on the scale” of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Washington promises UFO disclosure. History suggests otherwise.
Disclosure may not reveal alien visitors, but it will reveal something equally important: how science, measurement and skepticism slowly turn mystery into understanding.
VA takes initial steps to create a centralized database of veteran research info, official says
The department has created an internal working group to look at “developing a singular database where we can capture veteran enrollment data in real time,” according to Liza Catucci, VA’s acting director of health systems research.
FBI gathered intelligence on reporters, religious orgs using ‘assessment’ authority, watchdog report says
The bureau also undercounts analysts’ non-compliance with assessment policies because it relies on self-reporting and infrequent audits, the sensitive GAO review adds.
As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ experts worry it does more harm than good
“It’s dismaying,” one longtime anti-fraud expert told Nextgov/FCW of how the administration is using fraud as rationale but firing the watchdogs that are tasked with finding it.
National Weather Service’s AI translation project lacks long-term plan, watchdog says
A new report from the Government Accountability Office warned that the weather agency “has not developed a long-term plan for the AI translation project because of current uncertainty on how the project will fit into broader NWS efforts.”
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VA watchdog lists EHR modernization as a major management challenge
VA’s Office of Inspector General said “there remain 32 OIG recommendations that are not fully implemented” as the department moves to resume deployments of its new EHR system in April.
Agriculture’s failure to force SNAP card upgrades is causing $555M in lost benefits, watchdog says
The Trump administration’s imperative to combat fraud has largely focused on recipients scamming the system, rather than becoming victims of fraudsters themselves.
VHA lacks ‘formal mechanism’ for mitigating clinical AI chatbot risks, watchdog says
VA’s OIG said it is concerned “about VHA’s ability to promote and safeguard patient safety without a standardized process for managing AI-related risks.”
VA readies to restart EHR deployments in 2026, despite lingering lawmaker unease
VA and Oracle Health say the modernization project’s operational pause has allowed them to enhance the new software’s usability and effectiveness.
SSA phone wait times longer than publicly reported metrics, per OIG report
The agency’s “average speed of answer” metric masks longer call wait times, according to data in a recent OIG report.
Hegseth broke rules, DODIG concludes, even though he said Yemen strike details were ‘safe to declassify’
Inspector general’s Signalgate report arrives two months after SecDef alleged the office had been “weaponized.”
House Science Dems call for investigation into NASA Goddard cuts
The administration’s ongoing push to close labs and facilities at the Goddard Space Flight Center “risks permanently degrading Goddard’s scientific and technical capabilities with these moves,” Democratic members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee wrote.
Trump administration resumes funding for inspectors general hub after previously blocking it
OMB’s move to restore CIGIE funding until Jan. 30 comes as the president has already fired or replaced more than 20 agency inspectors general.
