Future-Years Energy Program: DOE Should Complete Required Reporting to Help Ensure Transparency in Spending

What GAO Found

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has not fully complied with its future-years energy program (FYEP) statutory reporting requirements and has not explained why it has not done so. DOE began reporting on some elements of the FYEP in its fiscal year 2023 budget justification—9 years after the law required DOE to begin submitting the FYEP to Congress. However, DOE has not reported a department-wide FYEP that includes information about how the department's outyear estimates align with prioritized program and budgetary guidance, and the administration's policies and projections, as required. In addition, DOE's FYEP reporting has been inconsistent for fiscal years 2023 through 2025 and across offices. Moreover, DOE's fiscal year 2026 budget justification, released in May 2025, did not include any elements of the FYEP or outyear information for 4 future years.

In addition to incomplete and inconsistent FYEP reporting, DOE did not have a finalized strategic plan or implement budgeting processes to develop FYEP estimates and reports. Specifically, DOE has not implemented a planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) process, designed to improve outcomes of long-term initiatives, such as the FYEP. Implementing such a process and finalizing a strategic plan that articulates the department's priorities could help DOE develop FYEP estimates and ensure they are aligned with the administration's priorities. In doing so, DOE could be better positioned to provide complete and consistent FYEP reporting and submissions to Congress. This would help ensure the department's approximately $50 billion budget is transparent and meets the department's mission and the administration's energy goals. GAO is making three recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE should (1) provide complete information that addresses all legal requirements as part of DOE's FYEP submission to Congress, (2) develop and issue a strategic plan that outlines the department's priorities for the following 4 years and informs the development of the FYEP, and (3) formalize and implement a PPBE process to develop the department's FYEP. DOE neither agreed nor disagreed with our recommendations.

Why GAO Did This Study

In 2011, Congress directed the Secretary of Energy to submit a forward-looking energy program—the FYEP—with DOE's annual budget justifications, beginning with the fiscal year 2014 budget submission to Congress and for each subsequent fiscal year. The law establishing the FYEP requirement specifies elements that should be reported, including the estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations necessary to support DOE's programs, projects, and activities during the 5-fiscal year period covered by the FYEP.

This report examines the extent to which DOE's reported budget information met the FYEP requirements and the reasons for the department's delayed submissions. GAO also includes information about the types of future-years program information reported by three other federal entities that have future-years reporting requirements.