U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has reintroduced the Duplication Scoring Act, a bill aimed at reducing government size by targeting duplicative federal programs and preventing new ones from being created.
“As we fight to rein in current wasteful spending, this reform would better enable Congress to make more fully informed decisions by adding a layer of oversight that will help stop waste in government before it ever happens,” said Sen. Paul.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified more than 1,800 instances of duplicative programs over the past decade. According to its latest report, approximately $600 billion has been saved through recommendations implemented by the GAO. However, these savings represent just over two-thirds of the programs flagged by the agency, indicating that significant taxpayer funds continue to be spent on redundant efforts.
The legislation would require the GAO to review each committee-reported bill or joint resolution for potential duplication or overlap with existing federal initiatives already highlighted in GAO reports. The findings would then be submitted to both the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the relevant congressional committee.
The Duplication Scoring Act was previously introduced in 2023 during the 118th Congress with bipartisan support and was reported favorably out of committee on March 29, 2023.
