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Requires the Government Accountability Office to hire an independent external auditor to perform a full assay, inventory, and audit of all U.S. gold reserves within nine months of enactment and then every five years. The audit must verify physical holdings, check security, list encumbrances and all transactions going back 50 years, identify any direct or indirect U.S. interests in gold, and produce a report to Congress, the Treasury Secretary, and the public (with limited redactions for security). Federal agencies must provide GAO and the auditor unredacted records and full facility access; GAO has subpoena authority to obtain documents and access.
Comptroller General shall contract with a qualified, independent, third‑party external auditor to conduct and complete the work described in subsection (a).
Complete, not later than nine months after enactment and every 5 years thereafter, a full assay, inventory, and audit of all U.S. gold reserves at the place or places where such reserves are kept (including "deep storage").
Conduct an analysis of the sufficiency of measures taken to ensure the physical security of the gold reserves.
Provide a full accounting of any and all encumbrances on the gold reserves, including those from leases, swaps, or similar transactions currently in existence or entered into at any time during the past 50 years.
Provide a full accounting of any and all sales, purchases, disbursements, or receipts involving the gold reserves at any time during the past 50 years, including the specific terms and parties involved.
Who is directly affected
Government Accountability Office (GAO): responsible for contracting, overseeing, and producing the audit; will manage an external auditor and ongoing 5-year audit cycle. This adds recurring workload, contracting, and reporting duties to GAO.
Department of the Treasury and custodial agencies (including agencies that hold or track gold): must provide full, timely access to facilities, records, and transaction histories; will need to allocate staff and resources to support physical inventories, information requests, and security accommodations.
Federal facilities that physically store U.S. gold reserves (bullion depositories and related sites): will face physical inspections, assays, and inventory activities and must coordinate security and operations to enable auditing, subject to constrained redaction only for narrowly defined physical-security reasons.
The public, investors, and Congress: will receive a public GAO report increasing transparency about U.S. gold holdings, encumbrances, and historical transactions; this could affect public confidence and market perceptions about reserve management.
Independent auditors/contractors: private audit firms eligible to be retained by GAO will be engaged to perform technically demanding assays and inventories under federal oversight.
Potential effects and risks
Administrative and budgetary burden: GAO will need contracting funds and staff time; Treasury and custodians must support audits. If no dedicated appropriations are provided in the bill text, agencies may need to reallocate existing resources to comply.
Operational disruption and security concerns: on-site assays and inventories at secure bullion depositories require careful coordination to avoid disrupting operations or compromising security; limited redactions are allowed but may lead to negotiation or litigation about what can be withheld.
Legal and disclosure disputes: broad subpoena authority and limited redaction rules may prompt legal pushback from agencies claiming classification, law-enforcement, or other privileges; courts may be asked to resolve disputes over records access.
Transparency benefits: public, congressional, and market confidence may increase through an independent, forensic audit and public reporting on holdings and encumbrances.
Potential international/market sensitivity: publication of detailed holdings or transaction histories could have market or diplomatic sensitivity; the bill constrains redaction only for physical security, not for other sensitivities, which may raise operational or diplomatic concerns.
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced June 6, 2025 by Thomas Massie · Last progress June 6, 2025
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Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
