In May 2026, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released “Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation and Achieve an Additional One Hundred Billion Dollars or More in Future Financial Benefits,” its annual report on federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives that have duplicative goals or activities. The 2026 report identifies 97 new matters for Congress and agencies to consider for improving efficiency and effectiveness and estimates savings between $132 billion and $251 billion if Congress enacts its proposals.

To view the full 100-page report, click here.

The annual report flags potential savings and makes recommendations related to federal government work on similar or different parts of the same goal (fragmentation), agencies and programs that have similar goals or provide similar services (overlap), and areas where work on the same activities or provide the same services (duplication). Since 2011, congressional implementation of its recommendations has directly resulted in more than $774 billion in financial benefits, as well as improved coordination and reducing mismanagement.

Among the new actions GAO proposed are:

• VA and DOD Health Care Sharing Agreements – To better manage fragmented services, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense should evaluate agreements to share health care resources and identify more opportunities to do so. The result? Improved patient access to care and potential savings of tens of millions of dollars annually.
• Nuclear Waste Classification – The Department of Energy should look at opportunities to manage certain waste as non-high-level radioactive waste. Why? It could help accelerate nuclear cleanup efforts, reduce environmental risks, and potentially save tens of billions of dollars.
• Government-Wide Anti-Scam Strategy – The FBI should collaborate with other agencies on a strategy to combat consumer scams, which could be costing victims billions of dollars annually. A unified federal approach could help agencies better detect and prevent fraud and protect consumers.

In addition to the 97 new recommendations, GAO reports 182 of its previous recommendations (since 2011) could be enacted to achieve additional financial benefits.