Sponsors (5)
The bill increases congressional oversight and public transparency to reduce redundant federal programs and save taxpayer dollars, but it also adds administrative burden, potential delays tied to OMB timing, and a risk that legitimate new initiatives or small pilot programs could be slowed or chilled by duplication reviews.
Congress (committees and CBO) will receive GAO flags about potential duplicate or overlapping programs before enactment, helping lawmakers identify and avoid redundant federal programs during bill consideration.
Taxpayers are likely to save money because early identification of duplication can reduce unnecessary spending and program overlap.
The public and state governments gain greater transparency because GAO findings about potential duplication will be published online for scrutiny during the legislative process.
GAO and CBO will face additional workload and may need more resources to produce these pre-enactment flags and reports, potentially delaying estimates and imposing costs that could fall on taxpayers or require new appropriations.
The duplication-review mechanism could be used to block, slow, or complicate beneficial new initiatives by labeling necessary overlap or coordinated efforts as 'duplicative,' impeding innovation or policy updates.
Smaller agencies and pilot programs may face higher scrutiny or discouragement, making it harder to test targeted or narrowly scoped efforts that resemble existing programs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires GAO to review committee-reported public bills for newly duplicative/overlapping programs, report findings to CBO and the reporting committee, and publish them online.
Official title: To require the Comptroller General of the United States to analyze certain legislation in order to prevent duplication of and overlap with existing Federal programs, offices, and initiatives.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Timothy Burchett · Last progress March 26, 2026
Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review every committee-reported public bill or joint resolution to identify any provision that would create a new program, office, or initiative that duplicates or overlaps with previously identified duplicative or overlapping features. GAO must identify the new feature and related source report, share the information with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the reporting committee, and publish the results online. Allows the CBO Director to include GAO’s findings as a supplement to CBO cost estimates. The new review requirement becomes effective on the earlier of 60 days after OMB next updates a specified website or the start of the next Congress if that start occurs more than one year after enactment.