The GORAC Act of 2025 would require a formal, long-range review of federal agencies and programs to identify duplicative, wasteful, or outdated functions. The Comptroller General (GAO) must appoint a non-Federal auditor to conduct the evaluation of the preceding decade, with the first review due within one year of enactment and every ten years thereafter. The non-Federal auditor would issue recommendations to realign or eliminate agencies or programs, especially where two or more entities perform the same function or where misuse of funds or irrelevance has occurred. The resulting report would propose legislation to implement these changes, and any savings from implementing the proposals would be used to pay down the national debt. If positions are eliminated, agency heads must try to relocate employees within the agency or to other Federal agencies. In addition, the bill provides the non-Federal auditor with subpoena and information-gathering authority (subject to GAO standards) to help carry out the evaluation. The process for turning the recommendations into law is tightly structured: an implementation bill reflecting the report must be introduced in both chambers, referred to appropriate committees, and, once introduced, is designed to move with limited floor maneuvering and debate. The bill also defines key terms and sets out how the coordination between the Senate and House should work if both chambers pursue implementing legislation.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory, periodic evaluation: The Comptroller General must evaluate federal programs for duplicative, wasteful, or outdated functions within one year of enactment and every ten years thereafter, using a non-Federal auditor.
- 2Realignment or elimination criteria: The non-Federal auditor may recommend consolidating two or more agencies/programs with the same core function, eliminating agencies/programs with egregious waste or mismanagement, or eliminating those that have completed their purpose, become irrelevant, or failed to meet objectives.
- 3Use of savings and employee relocation: Any funds saved from implementing the recommendations would be used to pay down the national debt; if positions are eliminated, agency heads must try to relocate affected employees within the agency or to a different federal agency.
- 4Strong oversight and information access: The non-Federal auditor can issue subpoenas, obtain records, and request information from federal agencies, with enforcement and access rights established to carry out the evaluation.
- 5Congressional implementation path: After the report, a single implementation bill must be introduced in both the Senate and the House; the bill cannot be amended and is subject to expedited, tightly controlled floor procedures with limited debate.