Department of Commerce

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents based on its examination of applications for compliance with Patent Act statutes and relevant case law. USPTO’s Office of Patent and Quality Assurance (OPQA) performs independent quality reviews of examiner office actions to ensure...

Our objective was to assess National Weather Service (NWS) tornado forecasting and warning performance and identify potential opportunities for enhanced effectiveness. We contracted with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), an independent firm, to perform this evaluation. Our office oversaw the...

Our audit objective was to assess the U.S. Department of Commerce’s management and implementation of the Grants Enterprise Management System (GEMS) project. We found that bureaus have procured multiple systems to manage grants; bureaus did not follow Department information technology investment...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) operates NOAA’s fleet of specialized environmental data-collecting aircraft, including three “hurricane hunter” aircraft: one Gulfstream-IV-SP (G-IV) that is 29 years old and flies high...

Over recent decades, the United States has seen a decline in its leadership in semiconductor chip manufacturing and research. To counter this and strengthen domestic semiconductor production and innovation, Congress passed the CHIPS Act of 2022. The CHIPS Act provides $50 billion to the Department...

We evaluated the U.S. Department of Commerce’s process for addressing findings and recommendations identified in single audit reports related to departmental programs. Our objective was to determine whether the Department’s oversight of its grantees is sufficient to ensure selected findings...

This final report provides the results of our audit of the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture’s (PR DOA’s) use of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act) and Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 funds. Our objective was to determine whether PR DOA’s costs...

For our evaluation of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS's) detection of and response to cyber incidents, our objective was to assess the adequacy of actions taken by BIS when detecting and responding to cyber incidents in accordance with federal and departmental requirements. We found that...

This report highlights our work initiated and completed from October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. During this period, we issued 5 investigative reports and 12 audit and evaluation reports.

Our audit found that loan costs claimed by the RLF operators were not allowable, allocable, and reasonable. Specifically, we found that the four operators awarded 11 of the 19 loans (58 percent), totaling $4,020,050, to ineligible borrowers that did not meet the eligibility criteria in the operators...