HHS Has Not Made Additional Progress Toward Compliance With the Geospatial Data Act

Why OIG Did This Audit

• The Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA) mandates that the Inspector General (IG) of a covered agency submit to Congress, not less than once every 2 years, an audit of its covered agency’s collection, production, acquisition, maintenance, distribution, use, and preservation of geospatial data.
• The GDA further requires the audit to review HHS compliance with the (a) standards for geospatial data, (b) covered agency’s responsibilities established in the GDA, and (c) limitation on the use of Federal funds for geospatial data.

What OIG Found

Since 2024, HHS has not made additional progress toward compliance with the GDA. We identified certain covered agency responsibilities that HHS still has not fulfilled.

• HHS has not fulfilled certain covered agency responsibilities established under section 759(a) of the Geospatial Data Act;
• HHS did not maintain a departmentwide inventory of all geospatial data assets; and
• HHS did not properly prepare the annual report because its self-assessment did not include all HHS divisions.

What OIG Recommends

We made 4 recommendations for HHS to improve compliance with the GDA:

• fulfill the remaining seven covered agency responsibilities established in GDA section 759(a);
• ensure that the HHS Office of the Chief Data Officer oversees, coordinates, and facilitates HHS’s implementation of geospatial-related requirements, policies, and activities;
• develop and maintain an inventory of all geospatial data assets in accordance with section 759(b) of the GDA; and
• prepare the required annual reports regarding the achievements of the covered agency in preparing and implementing the strategic plan for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (section 759(a)(1)) and complying with the other requirements in section 759(a).

HHS concurred with all our recommendations.

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