By one estimate, every year more than $140 billion in government benefits that Congress has authorised goes unclaimed—including tax credits for working families, health insurance coverage for low-income adults and children, unemployment benefits, and disability supports.  For instance, in recent years only about half of the women, infants, and young children eligible for nutrition assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture actually received that critical support. In a similar vein, many small businesses that could qualify for tax credits do not claim them. These unclaimed benefits increase material insecurity, make it harder for small businesses to grow, make it harder for families to climb out of poverty, and undermine our country’s economic potential. One important reason why members of the public do not take advantage of government programs for which they may be eligible are administrative burdens—costs like the “time tax” required to learn about a program, fill out paperwork, assemble required documents, and schedule visits to government offices. For some families or small businesses, these burdens keep them from accessing much-needed benefits altogether. Others may succeed in accessing benefits—but pay a heavy cost through lost time, additional stress, stigma, or more.

These costs do not just carry economic consequences; they also sap Americans’ trust in the ability of government to meet their basic needs or operate efficiently or fairly. And stigmatising interactions that individuals may have with the government—from unnecessary trips back-and-forth to government offices to intrusive questions on forms—make it less likely that those individuals will engage in other aspects of civic life.

All too frequently these burdens fall unequally across the population. Those families or small businesses that are already struggling—and who may face discrimination, exclusion, or marginalisation—tend to also bear the largest burdens and time taxes. Families with irregular wages due to unemployment may have a harder time documenting their income than families with steady employment. Workers with multiple, part-time jobs may face higher barriers in taking time off to visit a government office in the middle of the day compared to workers with more predictable schedules. Small businesses, often family run, may not have staff to focus on completing the paperwork necessary for government loans or contracts.

For all these reasons, reducing burdens across public benefits and services is a central priority for the Biden-Harris Administration, as well as a central priority for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Through its implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), OIRA is charged with ensuring that the Federal government minimises the burdens that fall on members of the public through government forms.

In 2022, OIRA announced a new initiative to use its authority under the PRA to:

(1) more accurately estimate all of the different burdens faced by the public and

(2) work collaboratively with Federal agencies to reduce those burdens.

OIRA launched this initiative with the publication of Federal government-wide guidance to agencies in April 2022 and an accompanying memo in December 2022. OIRA has been working closely with agencies to identify and implement burden reduction opportunities in ongoing regulations and forms and foster the sharing of leading practices, lessons, and tools for reducing burdens across the Federal government.

This progress report summarises over 100 burden reduction initiatives across 20 US Federal agencies and provides complete descriptions of six significant burden reduction initiatives that use the leading practices outlined in OIRA's guidance.