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Category Archives: Budget and Spending
How GAO’s Recommendations Can Help the New Congress and President
What are some of the most important changes the federal government should make? Today’s WatchBlog looks at GAO’s priority recommendations for agencies—actions that warrant attention, could save large amounts of money, help Congress make decisions on major issues, and substantially … Continue reading
USAspending.gov Contains a Treasure Trove of Information, But How Reliable Is It?
August 14 is the deadline for agencies, including those that led the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to certify their spending data made available on USAspending.gov. Federal agencies are required to report spending information under the DATA Act, and … Continue reading
Posted in About GAO, Budget and Spending
Tagged DATA Act, federal management, financial audits, financial data, FMA, Paula Rascona, USASpending.gov
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The DATA Act: Checking in on Spending Transparency
Federal agencies spend over $4 trillion a year. But how that money is spent isn’t always easy to track. That’s one reason why Congress passed the DATA Act—requiring agencies not only to publicly report spending data on USAspending.gov, but also … Continue reading
Posted in Auditing and Financial Management, Budget and Spending, Government Operations
Tagged Budget data, Data elements, Data integrity, data quality, Defense procurement, Federal funding accountability, Federal procurement, federal spending, Federal spending transparency, Financial accountability, Financial Management and Assurance, FMA, Medicare spending, Michelle Sager, Office of Management and Budget, Paula Rascona, SI, strategic issues
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Finding Common Ground on Flood Insurance Reform
As we enter the peak of hurricane season, many homeowners have wisely chosen to protect their properties by purchasing flood insurance. However, the nation’s taxpayers remain largely unprotected as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is poised to continue to … Continue reading
Posted in Budget and Spending, Financial Markets and Institutions, High Risk List, Housing
Tagged Alicia Puente Cackley, Congress, financial solvency, flood, flood insurance, flood risk, flooding, FMCI, full-risk premiums, insurance, insurance premiums, means-based subsidies, National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP, property owners, Treasury Department
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Federal Government Contracting for Fiscal Year 2018 (infographic)
With tax season over, now is a good time to look at how the government uses your tax dollars. About 40% of the government’s discretionary spending goes to contracts for goods and services covering everything from health care to hand … Continue reading
Posted in Budget and Spending, Government Operations, Homeland Security, Infographic, National Defense, Science and Technology
Tagged Bill Woods, budget, CNSA, competitive bids, contracting, defense spending, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, DOD, federal spending, government contracting, high risk list, NASA, small business
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GAO’s Guide to Saving the Government Billions of Dollars: Reducing Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication in Federal Programs
Today we released our 9th annual report on fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in the federal government, adding 98 new actions that Congress or federal agencies can take to improve government programs. For example: The Department of Energy could avoid spending … Continue reading
Posted in Budget and Spending, Duplication and Cost Savings, Government Operations, Podcast
Tagged Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, cost savings, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, duplication, fragmentation, Jessica Lucas-Judy, overlap, quantum computing, SI, synthetic biology
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The Nation’s Fiscal Health: A Warning about the Government’s Finances
Without a change in law or policy, the gap between the amount of money the federal government collects and the amount it spends will continue to grow, likely reaching $1 trillion in the next few years. We issued our third … Continue reading
Posted in Budget and Spending, Fiscal Outlook and The Debt, Podcast, Video
Tagged Dawn Simpson, debt-to-GDP ratio, federal debt, financial reports, fiscal condition, fiscal health, fiscal outlook, GDP, interest, long-term debt, Medicaid, medicare, national debt, Robert Dacey, SI, simulation, Susan Irving
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Did You Know the Government Gets Audited, Too?
Tax season has many people diligently filing their returns to avoid being audited. While the federal government is not a tax-paying entity, it actually undergoes an audit of its financial statements every year. How do we know? Because we perform … Continue reading
Posted in Auditing and Financial Management, Budget and Spending, Video
Tagged annual audit, consolidated financial statements, Dawn Simpson, Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, financial audits, financial reports, fiscal outlook, FMA, improper payments, information security, loans receivable, Office of Management and Budget
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The Nation’s Precarious Fiscal Future
The United States faces a highly challenging fiscal future. Absent change in policy, the federal fiscal path is unsustainable—debt is growing faster than the economy (GDP). This springs from the continuing gap between the amount of money the federal government … Continue reading
Posted in Budget and Spending, Fiscal Outlook and The Debt, Graphic, Podcast, Video
Tagged Dawn Simpson, federal debt, federal spending, fiscal future, fiscal health, FMA, GDP, Robert Dacey, SI, simulation, Susan Irving
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Saving Dollar Bills: Reducing Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication in Federal Programs
We released our latest report today on fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in the federal government. Since 2011, we’ve been reporting on ways the government can be more efficient and save taxpayers’ money by looking for programs that work on the … Continue reading