More often than not, the sequel to a hit doesn’t measure up to the original. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is trying to buck the trend with their 2012 report on duplicative government programs. The 2011 version was a smash, and according to GAO, following the recommendations in both reports would save tens of billions of dollars annually. Sounds like a solid sequel to us.

Last year GAO regaled us with a story of hundreds of ways to reduce duplication and overlap. Examples included the more than 2,000 data centers across 24 agencies (closing 800 would not only reduce energy, personnel, and data set confusion, but yield $500M in savings), more than 80 federal programs dealing with economic development, and parallel functions across military services, duplicating activities and contracting. For budget watchdogs this was a page turner.

We weren’t the only ones impressed. Out of the 81 areas of duplication identified, four were resolved and an additional 60 were partially addressed. And looking at the 176 specific actions GAO recommended, more than half have been partially addressed (99), and another 13 percent (23) fully resolved. Clearly there is more to do, but in a town that grinds to halt at seemingly every turn, this is progress.

The 2012 edition is a strong second effort. GAO identified 51 areas for improvement and cost savings: 32 where they identified duplication, overlap, or fragmentation in programs, and 19 opportunities for federal agencies to cut costs or increase revenue.

For example, GAO highlighted the “ineffective acquisition practices” of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) at the Department of Defense as an area ripe for coordination and consolidation. GAO noted “military service-driven requirements – rather than an effective department-wide strategy – have led to overlap in DOD’s UAS capabilities, resulting in many programs and systems being pursued that have similar flight characteristics and mission requirements.” Basically, various services have been jockeying for position buying duplicative or variant platforms rather than coordinating acquisitions and saving taxpayers billions. In another case, GAO identified fourteen grant and loan programs at three different cabinet agencies as well as three tax expenditures all directed at reducing diesel emissions. In one case, a state agency received $5.4 million from one Department of Transportation (DOT) program to upgrade 37 diesel buses to hybrid diesel, $3.5 million from another DOT program to replace four diesel buses with hybrid diesel electric, and $2.3 million from yet another DOT program to replace four diesel buses with hybrid electric ones. Maybe the $11.2 million was spent appropriately, but the delivery system is clearly inefficient and burdens the states applying for funding.

GAO also identified areas to cut costs and increase revenue, such as delaying acquisition of border surveillance technology by the Department of Homeland Security until they actually know what they need, how they will field it, and the full life cycle cost. Makes sense to us, especially since we have already seen what happens when DHS doesn’t have it figured out: billions wasted on SBInet. On the revenue side, increasing third-party reporting of income, targeting abusive tax avoidance schemes, and improved services for tax payment could go a long way toward reducing the nearly $400 billion gap between taxes owed and taxes paid.

Congress and the administration should take a hard look at these reports, roll up their sleeves, and get to work. These are not really partisan directives about the size and role of government, but ensure that government works more efficiently and effectively. Last month the President proposed granting the executive the authority to make consolidation proposals and send them to Congress for a mandatory up-or-down vote. This approach makes sense and could help make future GAO reports a lot shorter than a 500-page tome.

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TCS Quote of the Week

“Duplication and overlap serve neither the taxpayers nor the intended beneficiaries of the programs in question… At a time when our country has an unsustainable debt of $14 trillion, there simply can be no excuse for such waste, duplication, and inefficiencies.”

– Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in a statement discussing the 2012 GAO report that highlights excessive duplication in the federal government. (Office of Senator Tom Coburn)