WASHINGTON — The federal government lacks a unified strategy to monitor cross-species disease outbreaks, and nearly $900 million in Department of Health and Human Services preparedness funds operate without coordinated oversight, the Government Accountability Office reported.
Two key federal programs designed to strengthen national public health emergency readiness do not formally coordinate, the GAO said. Those programs also fail to adequately track whether states and local jurisdictions can respond effectively to emerging threats.
A Congressional Research Service analysis corroborates the coordination gaps in broader disaster preparedness. The federal government lacks a formal system to track lessons learned from national preparedness drills, and multiple agencies conduct their own exercises without coordinating with one another.
The GAO has previously flagged how decentralized authority derails other federal modernization efforts. The Defense Department's travel modernization program, MyTravel, failed because no single authority managed system and policy changes and individual services handled adoption independently, limiting buy-in across the workforce. That fragmentation extends to public health, where no single entity drives a unified response strategy for zoonotic diseases.
Those coordination deficiencies compound longstanding problems in federal disaster response. The downsizing of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has weakened its ability to respond to large-scale disasters. Michael Coen, who served as FEMA's chief of staff under presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, said Florida built significant capability with federal funds.
The GAO, a nonpartisan legislative support agency, traditionally serves as the arbiter of appropriations law questions. The Trump administration's broad assertion of executive authority over spending decisions has placed pressure on that role. Specific actions cited by Brookings include the $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" created without congressional authorization or judicial oversight, paying for White House ballroom expenses and terminating grants en masse. The GAO has also addressed paying troops and TSA agents during government shutdowns.
Without a clear federal mandate or tracking system, accountability for national readiness remains fragmented. States and local jurisdictions are left to manage many preparedness efforts with limited federal guidance.
The GAO report does not outline specific legislative proposals, but it calls for a reevaluation of federal public health coordination. Congress faces pressure to consider legislation that centralizes authority for zoonotic disease monitoring and emergency preparedness.
