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Federal

GORAC Act

Source: Congress.gov  ·  2,817 words in original text
What This Bill Does
This bill requires hiring an outside auditor to review federal agencies and programs from the past 20 years and recommend which ones should be combined, eliminated, or reorganized. The auditor will look for programs that waste money, do duplicate work, or no longer serve a purpose. Congress must then vote on legislation to implement these recommendations.
Who It Affects
Federal agencies and their employees. Congress. Federal programs that provide services or benefits to the public.
Key Provisions
- A non-federal auditor hired by the Comptroller General (an official who oversees federal spending) must evaluate all federal programs from the past 20 years and recommend which agencies or programs should be merged together, eliminated, or reorganized (Sec. 2(a)). - The auditor should recommend combining two or more agencies if they do the same job and can work as one streamlined agency (Sec. 2(b)(1)). - The auditor should recommend eliminating or reorganizing any agency that wasted federal money through careless spending, poor management of resources and staff, or using money for personal benefit or special interest groups (Sec. 2(b)(2)). - The auditor should recommend eliminating any agency that finished its original job, became outdated, or failed to meet its goals during the 20-year period (Sec. 2(b)(3)). - The Comptroller General must propose new legislation within 2 years to carry out the auditor's recommendations, and any money saved must go toward domestic programs or paying down the national debt (Sec. 2(c) and 2(d)). - If federal employees lose their jobs because of these changes, their agency must make reasonable efforts to find them another job within the same agency or another federal agency (Sec. 2(c)(3)). - The auditor can request that witnesses testify and that agencies turn over documents, records, and other materials needed for the evaluation (Sec. 2(e)). - The implementation bill (the legislation to carry out the recommendations) cannot be changed by Congress and must be voted on within strict time limits: 15 calendar days for committee review, 10 hours of debate total, and a final vote immediately after debate ends (Sec. 3(a), 3(b)).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, an outside auditor will examine every federal agency and program created or operating in the past 20 years. Based on that audit, Congress will receive proposed legislation to consolidate, eliminate, or reorganize federal agencies and programs. Congress must vote on this proposed legislation under special rules that limit debate and prevent changes to the proposal. Any savings from eliminating or reorganizing agencies must be used for domestic programs or to reduce national debt. Federal employees whose positions are eliminated must be offered other federal jobs if available.
Important Definitions
**Entitlement program**: Any program that automatically makes payments (including loans and grants) to people or governments who meet the requirements set by law, without Congress having to approve the money in advance each year. **Federal agency**: An executive agency under federal law, but does not include military installations or agencies that only manage entitlement programs. **Federal program**: Any activity or function of an agency, but does not include entitlement programs. **Non-federal auditor**: The outside auditor hired by the Comptroller General to do the evaluation.
Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.