In the current era of prioritizing a more efficiently run federal government, a well-tested and successful proposal should be revisited:  consolidating cross-government shared services. 

These ideas go back to President Ronald Reagan’s Grace Commission, which recommended that the government increase coordination of automated data processing systems, acquisitions, and establish a software clearing house.  Citizens Against Government Waste was founded to follow up on the commission’s recommendations, and applauds the efforts being made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to make the government more efficient.  The sharing of common services should be included in DOGE’s mission.

The federal government has tremendous buying power.  Unfortunately, as it stands now, each agency has a bespoke procurement system purchasing the same materials and services as other agencies.  The Trump administration signaled its intent to consolidate federal acquisition in a March 20, 2025, Executive Order that will shift more purchasing responsibility to the General Services Administration (GSA).  According to GSA Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, “Over the coming months, we are going to ingest all domestic, commercial goods and services inside the GSA.  We’re not going to do all $900 billion, but we will do about $400 billion, so we’re going to quadruple our size.”

A December 2024 proposal from the Shared Service Leadership Coalition, of which CAGW is a member, laid out a detailed plan to consolidate and modernize government-wide common service operations, including proposed legislation.  The plan would increase the efficiency of financial and grants management, reduce improper payments, streamline procurement, and improve other common services.  Shared services have a proven track record of success in government, as Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the United Kingdom have implemented such reforms.

According to a March 2015 Partnership for Public Service report, utilizing shared services at the federal level would save between $21 billion and $47.2 billion over 10 years.  This figure rises to up to $74.2 billion when accounting for inflation.  Most of the savings would be achieved by consolidating the government’s buying power, increasing the use of new technologies, reducing duplication, and increasing mobile and paperless transactions.

Moreover, 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies use the model for common services, resulting in average savings of between 15 percent and 40 percent.  Johnson and Johnson, with 150,000 employees, a miniscule workforce compared to the federal government, saved $2 billion in its first two years after applying the model.

Federal acquisition is inherently inefficient, which was noted by the Grace Commission and has since been revealed in dozens of reports from government agencies and congressional hearings.  The shared services model should be adopted as soon as possible to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and effectively provide needed services to taxpayers.  It fits perfectly into DOGE’s mission and President Trump’s call for consolidating federal acquisition.