Sponsors (5)
The bill increases GAO-driven transparency and early detection of duplicative programs—potentially saving taxpayer dollars and improving legislative oversight—at the cost of added administrative burden, possible delays or politicized timing, and the risk of discouraging beneficial initiatives or small-scale pilots.
Congressional committees and the CBO receive GAO flags on potential duplicate or overlapping programs, helping lawmakers identify and avoid redundant federal programs before enactment.
Taxpayers may save money because identified duplication risks can reduce unnecessary spending and program overlap.
The public and state governments gain greater transparency because GAO findings about potential duplication are published online for public scrutiny of proposed bills.
The duplication-review process could be used to block or slow beneficial new initiatives by labeling them as duplicative, hindering program launches or necessary overlap for coordination.
The requirement adds workload to GAO and CBO, which could delay cost estimates, require more resources or funding from Congress, and impose administrative costs on taxpayers.
Tying the amendment's effectiveness to an OMB website update creates unpredictable timing and planning uncertainty for agencies and stakeholders who must comply.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires GAO to flag and publish new programs/offices in reported bills that duplicate previously identified overlaps and notify CBO and reporting committees.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Timothy Burchett · Last progress March 26, 2026
Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to check every public bill or joint resolution reported by any congressional committee for new programs, offices, or initiatives that would duplicate or overlap with features GAO has already identified as duplicative. GAO must identify the new item and where it appears in the measure, cite the prior GAO report that flagged the existing overlap, send that information to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director and the reporting committee, and post it on GAO’s website. Allows the CBO Director to include GAO’s findings as a supplement to CBO cost estimates. The new requirement becomes effective on the earlier of 60 days after OMB next updates a specified public website or the start of a new Congress if that start date is more than one year after enactment.