GAO Presses OPM to Save $1 Billion, Flags OMB Fraud and Program Oversight Gaps
Updated
Updated · FEDweek · Aug 14
GAO Presses OPM to Save $1 Billion, Flags OMB Fraud and Program Oversight Gaps
1 articles · Updated · FEDweek · Aug 14
Summary
$1 billion in annual savings is at stake as GAO said OPM still lacks a monitoring mechanism to remove ineligible family members from the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, despite a 2023 recommendation and a law passed last summer.
GAO said OPM has made some workforce-management progress — including its Tech Force recruiting effort and skills-based updates — but still has not completed recommendations dating from 2014, 2016, 2023 and 2024 on hiring authorities, job classification, skills gaps and vetting IT.
OMB faces a parallel set of high-priority recommendations: GAO urged it to help agencies and inspectors general produce more precise fraud estimates, strengthen improper-payment controls and fully implement a 2011 law requiring a federal program inventory.
The separate reports underscore GAO's broader warning that weak payment controls, incomplete fraud measurement and outdated management systems are still limiting oversight across major federal programs.