Politics
Agencies plan to decommission hundreds of .gov websites following GSA review
Hundreds of federal agency websites are being targeted for elimination, following a governmentwide review.
In an analysis led by the General Services Administration, the 24 largest departments and agencies inventoried more than 7,200 total websites. Documents obtained by Federal News Network show agencies plan to eliminate 332 of those websites — less than 5% of their total web presence.
According to documents obtained by Federal News Network, Thomas Shedd, commissioner of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, said the “low-hanging fruit” of websites to cut include standalone sites for agency blogs, photo galleries and forums that would be housed elsewhere.
GSA also directed agencies to eliminate sites for events or initiatives that haven’t been relevant for a number of years, as well as standalone sites for “niche topics or working groups.”
Documents obtained by Federal News Network show that Shedd, in addition to his GSA leadership role, serves as the Labor Department’s chief information officer, and as the primary point of contact for website audits at the Energy Department, Social Security Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and the National Archives and Records Administration.
While this governmentwide review will cut only a small fraction of .gov websites, some agencies are making more drastic cuts to their online presence than others.
The Small Business Administration, for example, is planning to eliminate more than half of its total websites. SBA is shuttering websites for defunct pandemic aid programs, and is consolidating some small-business certification websites into MySBA Certifications, a one-stop shop for federal contracting certifications.
The Department of Health and Human Services plans to eliminate more than 7% of its websites. Among them, HHS plans to eliminate vaccines.cdc.gov, a website that tracks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s state-by-state investments “in achieving national immunization goals and sustaining high-vaccination coverage rates to prevent death and disability” from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Documents obtained by Federal News Network state that vaccines.cdc.gov “is no longer maintained.” HHS also plans to cut 18 webpages that are part of cancer.gov, but the main site would remain.
The State Department decommissioned a website for the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, after shuttering the office in May. The website now redirects to a site for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
A department spokesperson told Federal News Network that Secretary of State Marco Rubio merged the responsibilities of the Office of Palestinian Affairs, including outreach to the Palestinians, into other sections of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.
The State Department also plans to “consolidate” a website for its inspector general’s office.
The department notes in the obtained documents that the IG’s office “is planning to reduce costs and merge into a shared service for website operations” with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE),” starting in fiscal 2026.
“The OIG sees significant opportunities for cost reduction by leveraging CIGIE’s Oversight.gov as a centralized platform,” the department wrote.
The department notes in obtained documents that “OIG is required by statute to maintain a website providing relevant reports on Department programs and operations, a hotline form to report fraud/waste/abuse, and whistleblower protection info.”
The State Department plans to decommission an online exhibit of former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s pin collection. The site states Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, wore more than 200 pins as “gentle implements of statecraft,” and served as artifacts of “cultural diplomacy.” The department expects to decommission the site and consolidate its contents elsewhere by September 30.
FEMA plans to decommission a website for the National Flood Insurance Program. The Agriculture Department is cutting bosque.gov, a Spanish-language version of the Forest Service’s website. The Commerce Department plans to cut a “Frequently Asked Questions” page for the Census Bureau.
The Defense Department, which maintains more than 2,000 websites — more than any other Cabinet-level agency — plans to eliminate a single website used by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR has overseen nearly $145 billion in U.S. aid to Afghanistan since 2022.
GSA is eliminating a website for the Federal Recycling Program, which provides agencies with contractors to handle their recycling needs.
Some agencies — including the Treasury Department, Office of Personnel Management, Social Security Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Science Foundation, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission — haven’t identified any websites they plan to eliminate so far.
NextGov/FCW reported in March that Federal Chief Information Officer Gregory Barbaccia directed agency chief information officers to streamline an “unnecessarily burdensome” sprawl of government websites.
In September 2023, the Office of Management and Budget, as part of guidance on “delivering a digital-first public experience,” directed agencies to remove duplicative or outdated websites as part of regular reviews.
“Content can easily become outdated or abandoned over time without strong internal agency controls to ensure that information is timely and accurate. Duplicative websites and content can also be problematic because they may cause public confusion,” OMB wrote.
OMB issued its guidance as part of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act. The 2018 law required agencies to modernize their websites, move more public-facing services online and accelerate the use of electronic signatures.
Federal websites receive about 2 billion visits every month, which represents about 80 billion hours of interactions with the public. More than half of those visits happen on mobile devices.
The post Agencies plan to decommission hundreds of .gov websites following GSA review first appeared on Federal News Network.
