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GAO-11-318SP March 2011 Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue- Home
- Introduction
- Objectives
- Report at a   Glance
- Potential   Duplication
- Other Cost   Savings
- Scope   & Methodology
- Abbreviations
- Report   Contacts
Summary (HTML)Accessible TextDownloadsFull Report (PDF, 339 pages)FeedbackWe want to hear from you about this new design! Please e-mail us with your feedback on the look and feel of this report.Watchdog Report
Audio interview by GAO staff with Patricia Dalton, Chief Operating Officer, GAO

Transcript
A New Design
This looks different! We would like to know your reaction to our second pilot E-Report! You can obtain a traditional PDF copy of the report from the Downloads section on this page or from on our main site at http://www.gao.gov/. Or you can review here our pilot report with improved navigation, but the same content. Please send us feedback on the navigation and appearance via the feedback box to the right.
What GAO Found
Overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication. In this report we include 81 areas for consideration drawn from GAO's prior and ongoing work. We present 34 areas where agencies, offices, or initiatives have similar or overlapping objectives or provide similar services to the same populations; or where government missions are fragmented across multiple agencies or programs. We also present 47 additional areas�beyond those directly related to duplication, overlap, or fragmentation�describing other opportunities for agencies or Congress to consider taking action that could either reduce the cost of government operations or enhance revenue collections for the Treasury. All of these areas span a range of agencies and government missions: agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services. Collectively, by reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation and addressing these other cost savings opportunities, the federal government could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services�but these actions will require some difficult decisions.

Go to Report at a Glance here or on the left to view an interactive graphic summarizing all 81 areas we include in this report. The areas identified in this report are not intended to represent the full universe of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation within the federal government.
Why GAO Did This Study
This is GAO's first annual report to Congress in response to a new statutory requirement that GAO identify federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives, either within departments or governmentwide, which have duplicative goals or activities. Congress asked GAO to conduct this work and to report annually on our findings. (See Pub. L. No. 111-139, § 21, 124 Stat. 29 (2010), 31 U.S.C. § 712 Note.) This work will inform government policymakers as they address the rapidly building fiscal pressures facing our national government.
Objectives
(1) identify federal programs or functional areas where unnecessary duplication, overlap, or fragmentation exists, the actions needed to address such conditions, and the potential financial and other benefits of doing so

(2) highlight opportunities for additional potential savings or increased revenues.
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