Priority Open Recommendations: Office of Management and Budget

Why GAO Did This Study

In August 2024, GAO identified 37 priority recommendations for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Since then, OMB has implemented 11 of those recommendations.

In August 2026, GAO identified an additional seven priority recommendations, removed the priority designation from five, and closed eight others as no longer valid, bringing the total number to 20. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention:

•  Combatting federal fraud,
•  Reducing improper payments, and
•  Fully developing a federal program inventory.

Addressing GAO’s recommendations in these areas would provide OMB with tools to better understand and monitor government spending, reduce governmentwide fraud and waste, and track federal programs. Taking action to implement all of GAO’s open priority recommendations would help enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of OMB’s operations.

What GAO Found

Priority open recommendations are the GAO recommendations that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could save large amounts of money; improve congressional and/or executive branch decision-making on major issues; eliminate mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or make progress toward addressing a high risk or duplication issue, among other benefits. Since 2015, GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.

For more information, contact: Cardell Johnson at JohnsonCD1@gao.gov.