This Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee will consider drastic funding reductions as part of its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) Legislative Branch Appropriations bill—including a 50% cut to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). This proposal would severely weaken one of the most effective oversight tools at Congress’s disposal. As the nonpartisan “congressional watchdog,” GAO helps lawmakers identify waste, fraud, and inefficiencies across the federal government. Gutting its budget would undercut Congress’s own ability to hold agencies accountable and deliver savings for taxpayers.
Background on GAO
GAO is an independent and non-partisan agency serving as Congress’s watchdog. Since 1921, it has provided information and recommendations to Congress and executive agencies. GAO's crucial role in reducing unnecessary government spending while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs has saved billions of dollars for taxpayers.
Table 1 below shows GAO’s enacted budgets since 2019 and its request for FY 2026.
Table 1. GAO's Budget Since FY 2019 (in Millions) | ||
| Fiscal Year | Amount Requested | Appropriations Received |
| 2019 | $614 | $590 |
| 2020 | $647 | $630 |
| 2021 | $706 | $661 |
| 2022 | $744 | $719 |
| 2023 | $810 | $790 |
| 2024 | $859 | $812 |
| 2025 | $916 | $812 |
| 2026 | $933* | |
GAO has requested $933.9 million for FY 2026 to meet congressional demand for high-impact audits, oversight, and evaluations. However, the House Appropriations bill proposes just $415.4 million—nearly half of what GAO received in FY 2025. Such a cut would drastically reduce GAO’s ability to provide Congress with timely recommendations to safeguard taxpayer dollars, reduce waste, and strengthen oversight across vital areas like national security, science and technology, cybersecurity, and health care.
GAO Delivers Big Returns—Cutting It Could Cost Billions
Slashing GAO’s budget would be a costly mistake. In 2024 alone, the agency identified $67.5 billion in savings or recommendations for more efficient practices. That is about $76 in taxpayer benefits for every dollar spent. Some of the most significant savings include:
- Medicaid: GAO found that states were using outdated or inflated data to estimate costs for Medicaid demonstration projects, which are supposed to be budget-neutral. GAO recommended that HHS require states to use more accurate and recent cost data. In response, HHS updated its policy in 2022, and GAO later estimated that the change saved $13.4 billion.
- Department of Energy (DoE): After years of cost overruns and technical issues at a $12 billion nuclear waste pretreatment facility in Washington State, GAO recommended halting construction. The DoE paused the project in 2012 and confirmed in 2024 that it would remain on standby until at least 2029. That decision is expected to save $6 billion while alternative treatment options are evaluated.
- Department of Defense: GAO found in 2013 that DOD’s estimates of improper payments were incomplete and statistically invalid. In response to GAO’s recommendations, DOD implemented a new system to track transactions and flag potential improper payments before they go out the door. By FY 2024, the system had helped prevent $4.8 billion in improper payments.
- Missile Defense: GAO reported in 2022 that both the Missile Defense Agency and the Space Development Agency planned to develop overlapping satellite systems to track hypersonic missile threats. GAO recommended clarifying roles to avoid duplication. Following a new memorandum of understanding between the agencies, the Missile Defense Agency dropped its satellite plans—avoiding more than $3.8 billion in future costs.
- Small Business Administration: GAO warned in 2020 that limited fraud safeguards in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) left taxpayer dollars at risk. GAO recommended stronger controls, which SBA later adopted for both PPP and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program. As a result, enhanced oversight helped SBA reject $2.1 billion in ineligible or potentially fraudulent grant applications.
As of March 2025, Congress and agencies had fully addressed 1,460 (71%) of the 2,049 matters and recommendations GAO identified from 2011 to 2025 and partially addressed 130 (about 6%). This has resulted in about $725 billion in taxpayer savings.
Fighting Waste Through Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication Reviews
Much of GAO’s ongoing work focuses on reducing fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in federal programs—three persistent sources of government inefficiency. Fragmentation occurs when multiple agencies address the same broad area of national need. Overlap involves programs with similar goals or beneficiaries. Duplication arises when two or more agencies perform the same activities or provide the same services.
By identifying these inefficiencies and offering practical recommendations, GAO provides Congress with a roadmap to improve performance and cut wasteful spending.
GAO’s 15th annual report on fragmentation, overlap, and duplication highlights 589 outstanding matters since 2011 for congressional and executive action. According to GAO, implementing the remaining recommendations could save over $100 billion and improve government operations, including:
- The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and 24 federal agencies should carefully review projects to avoid spending money on duplicate IT investments, an action that could lead to one hundred million dollars or more in cost savings.
- The Space Development Agency should fully demonstrate its space-based laser communications technology in each development phase to potentially save hundreds of millions of dollars over 10 years.
- The Department of Defense should improve its fraud risk management by using data analytics. This could potentially save one hundred million dollars or more.
The report also highlights 25 new areas of concern. Among them:
Modular Weapon Systems: The Air Force, Army, and Navy should better coordinate modular open systems approaches across weapon portfolios. Improved coordination could result in savings of hundreds of millions of dollars.
U.S. Courthouse Construction: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts should improve collaboration on design standards for courthouse construction. Reassessing recent changes could help avoid tens of millions of dollars in additional costs.
By following through on these recommendations, Congress and federal agencies have the opportunity to eliminate wasteful spending and redirect resources toward more effective government services.
Conclusion
At a time of rising deficits and record-high national debt, Congress should be looking for ways to rein in federal overspending and not dismantle the very agency that helps identify waste and inefficiency. The Government Accountability Office is one of the few institutions in Washington that consistently delivers a strong return for taxpayers.
If lawmakers are concerned about the cost of funding GAO, they should turn to the agency’s own backlog of recommendations. Implementing GAO’s open proposals through legislation would not only mandate better performance across federal agencies, it could yield billions in savings.
Cutting GAO’s budget would be a short-sighted move that weakens oversight, reduces accountability, and leaves taxpayers holding the bag. Congress should reject this proposal and preserve the watchdog that protects the public purse.