Page 1 GAO-25-108404 Energy CIO Recommendations
May 29, 2025
Ms. Dawn Zimmer
Acting Chief Information Officer
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
Chief Information Officer Open Recommendations: Department of Energy
Dear Ms. Zimmer:
I am writing to you with respect to your role as the Acting Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the
Department of Energy (Energy). As an independent, non-partisan agency that works for
Congress, GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities
and help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government. Our
work includes investigating matters related to the use of public funds, evaluating programs and
activities of the U.S. Government at the request of congressional committees and
subcommittees or on the initiative of the Comptroller General, and as required by public laws or
committee reports. Our duties include reporting our findings and recommending ways to
increase economy and efficiency in government spending. The purpose of this letter is to
provide an overview of the open, publicly available GAO recommendations to Energy that call
for the attention of the CIO.
We identified recommendations that relate to the CIO’s roles and responsibilities in effectively
managing IT. They include strategic planning, investment management, and information
security. We have previously reported on the significance of the CIO’s role in improving the
government’s performance in IT and related information management functions.
1
Your attention
to these recommendations will help ensure the secure and effective use of IT at the department.
Currently, Energy has nine open recommendations that call for the attention of the CIO. Each of
these recommendations relates to a GAO High-Risk area: (1) Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the
Nation and (2) Improving IT Acquisitions and Management.
2
In addition, GAO has designated
two of the nine as priority recommendations.
3
Fully implementing these open recommendations
1
See for example, GAO, Federal Chief Information Officers: Critical Actions Needed to Address Shortcomings and
Challenges in Implementing Responsibilities, GAO-18-93 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 2, 2018).
2
GAO, High-Risk Series: Heightened Attention Could Save Billions More and Improve Government Efficiency and
Effectiveness, GAO-25-107743 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 25, 2025).
3
Priority recommendations are those that GAO believes warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or
agencies. They are highlighted because, upon implementation, they may significantly improve government
operations, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making
progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. Since 2015 GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to
highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.
