# GORAC Act of 2025 - Plain Language Summary

## What This Bill Does

The Government Office Realignment And Closure Act (GORAC Act) requires a comprehensive review of all federal agencies and programs to identify waste, duplication, and outdated functions. Starting within one year of passage and then every 10 years after, an independent auditor hired by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) would evaluate federal programs from the previous decade and recommend which agencies or programs should be consolidated, realigned, or eliminated. The auditor would look for agencies that overlap in function, have wasted money through poor management or misuse of funds, or have completed their original purpose and are no longer needed.

## Who Is Affected

**Federal employees** would be most directly impacted, as the bill could lead to job eliminations if agencies are shut down or consolidated. However, the bill requires agencies to make "reasonable efforts" to relocate affected employees to other positions. **Taxpayers** could potentially benefit if the recommendations result in cost savings, though the bill specifies that any money saved must go toward paying down the national debt rather than funding other programs. **Federal agencies** would need to cooperate with audits and potentially restructure their operations based on recommendations.

## Key Provisions

- **Mandatory audits**: Every 10 years, an independent auditor must evaluate federal programs for waste, duplication, and obsolescence
- **Specific criteria for elimination**: Agencies can be eliminated if they've wasted funds, completed their mission, or failed to meet objectives
- **Consolidation option**: Agencies with overlapping functions can be merged into single streamlined operations
- **Employee protections**: Federal workers whose jobs are eliminated must be offered relocation to other federal positions when possible
- **Debt reduction**: All savings from eliminating or consolidating agencies must be used to pay down the national debt