The tech advisory group Tech Viaduct released a proposal on July 27 urging Congress to create uniform federal definitions for terms such as disability, homelessness, and income. The group argued that the current variation in definitions across federal agencies creates administrative burdens that prevent eligible citizens from receiving benefits and hinder the development of efficient digital service platforms.
The proposal is part of a "day one playbook" being developed for the next presidential administration. Tech Viaduct, a project of the Searchlight Institute, consists of former government technology officials who aim to streamline government service delivery. The group’s members previously served in roles such as the U.S. Digital Service and founded the initiative earlier this year to provide a research-based alternative to other government efficiency proposals.
The report identifies "administrative homographs," where the same word carries different legal meanings across departments. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires an individual to lack a "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" to be considered homeless. However, the Department of Education’s definition includes children sharing housing due to economic hardship or living in motels, categories HUD does not always include. Co-author Arabella Crawford stated that these discrepancies prevent the government from creating a "single front door" software interface for multiple benefit programs.
To address these issues, the group recommends that Congress pass legislation mandating a common glossary of federally regulated definitions. The proposal also suggests that lawmakers provide funding to identify and reconcile these differences. In cases where a single definition is not possible, the paper urges Congress to instruct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to harmonize program definitions and provide a clear map of where they conflict to reduce the burden on state and local agencies.
The scale of the impact involves billions of dollars in federal spending and the coordination of dozens of agencies that currently operate in silos. For state and local governments, which often administer these federal programs, standardized definitions could simplify compliance and auditing processes. This would allow community-based organizations to spend fewer resources on tracking separate eligibility data and more on direct service delivery. The use of "administrative homographs" is a persistent technical hurdle that has historically restricted the interoperability of government databases and modern software solutions.
Next steps involve more detailed research from Tech Viaduct on government procurement, workforce management, and data policy. The group plans to present its full "playbook" to the incoming administration in 2027. If Congress acts on these recommendations, the timeline for implementation would likely involve Multi-year regulatory updates as the OMB and individual agencies work to align their internal rules with a new federal glossary. The success of such a policy would set a precedent for how legislative drafting can be aligned with modern technological capabilities.