On May 15, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight held a hearing to examine and discuss the findings of the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) 2024 Report on Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap and Duplication and Achieve Financial Benefits. The GAO releases this report each year on federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives that have duplicative goals or activities. GAO evaluates matters previously recommended and suggests new opportunities to find cost savings or enhanced revenue collection. The goal is to identify potential ways the government can be more efficient and effective in an effort to save taxpayer dollars. The Honorable Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, testified on behalf of the GAO before the Senate panel.

In this year’s 146-page report, the GAO identified 112 new matters and recommendations in 42 new topic areas for congressional and agency consideration to address. Among this year’s recommendations are: An initiatives for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency to ensure its working capital fund cash balance is within operating range; a recommendation for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to improve sole proprietor tax compliance; using predictive models to make investment decisions and maintenance on federal buildings; building utilization benchmarks to identify and reduce underutilized office space; and, Department of Defense reducing the risk of overlapping management activities in medical facility management.

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Subcommittee, referred to GAO as a “critical partner” in the subcommittee’s work to save taxpayer dollars and called the annual report a “roadmap for agencies and Congress to make commonsense reforms, increase coordination, improve program outcomes, and exercise fiscal responsibility.”

GAO reports that, as of March of this year, Congress and agencies have fully addressed 1,341 (two thirds) of the 2,018 matters and recommendations GAO identified since 2011. They have also partially addressed another seven percent of the recommendations. Chair Hassan notes actions as a result of these recommendations have resulted in $667 billion in cost savings since 2011, including more than $71 billion in the past year.

To view the full 2024 report, click here.