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    U.S. Government Accountability Office

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 8 min
    U.S. Government Accountability Office
    U.S. Government Accountability Office.png
    Basic facts
    Location:Washington, D.C.
    Type:Government Contracted Agency
    Top official:Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General
    Year founded:1921
    Website:Official website

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that is contracted by and under the supervision of the U.S. Congress. The agency monitors and audits U.S. Government spending, investigates illegal federal financial activity, and advises Congress on budget spending.[1]

    Mission[edit]

    According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office website, the agency's mission is as follows:[1]

    “

    Our Mission is to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide Congress with timely information that is objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced.[2]

    		”

    Background[edit]

    Founded in 1921, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was established after World War I, when the U.S. Government decided to transfer auditing, accounting, and claims functions from the U.S. Department of the Treasury via the Budget and Accounting Act. The wartime spending of U.S. had raised the national debt and Congress was eager to create an independent agency to monitor government finances in order to organize government spending.[3]

    The agency is led by the Comptroller General of the United States, a position is that is made by presidential appointment and held for 15-year terms. The agency has five key areas of focus, including the following:[1]

    • Auditing federal operations to determine if funds are being spent efficiently and effectively;
    • Investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities involving federal spending;
    • Tracking government programs and policies to ensure that they are meeting their objectives;
    • Conducting policy analyses and outlining options for Congressional consideration; and
    • Making decisions on legal matters, such as bid protest rulings and reports on agency rules.

    GAO is responsible for producing reports and monitoring federal spending for the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of the President among others.[4]

    Work[edit]

    Administrative State
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    ATF audit[edit]

    See also: U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

    In early August 2016, GAO publicly released an audit that they had conducted on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms' (ATF) firearms-related data systems. GAO reportedly found that several systems violated protocol by not maintaining information that is supposed to be dealt with according to official policies.[5][6]

    According to the report, the Access 2000 (A2K) system, which maintains a database of out-of-business federal firearms licensees (FFL), "did not comply with the restriction because ATF maintained these data on a single server at ATF."[6] Likewise, the audit pointed out that the Firearm Recovery Notification Program was found to have "a technical defect allows ATF agents to access FRNP data—including purchaser data—beyond what ATF policy permits."[6] The audit also found that the ATF's Multiple Sales (MS) system was not regularly deleting files with the personal information of buyers buying multiple firearms. The files, if there was no reported criminal activity, are supposed to be deleted after two years.[6][5]

    Federal telework report[edit]

    In July 2016, GAO released an analysis of federal employees working from home and the benefits and costs of such a program.[7][8] According to The Washington Post, one million federal employees are allowed to work from home full or part time. In 2010, in order "to save energy and commuting costs, boost productivity and attract top job candidates," Congress passed legislation allowing teleworking for federal employees.[8] According to GAO, while agencies are claiming that the program is a benefit, there is no evaluation program to support such claims, stating that "Agencies continue to face challenges in quantifying the impact of telework, identifying costs incurred, and translating benefits into quantifiable cost savings."[8][7] The study concluded that "Without data on net benefits including cost savings associated with telework, agencies have incomplete information to determine the value of telework through assessing whether the benefits being achieved outweigh the costs incurred."[7][8]

    U.S. Department of Energy report[edit]

    See also: U.S. Department of Energy

    According to a GAO report released on August 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) increased its operational costs by $64 million by not reopening the department's Nuclear Waste Isolation Pilot Plant on schedule.[9][10] The planned opening of the plant was in March 2016, but by delaying the opening by nine months, the DOE's operational cost of the plant went up $64 million and an additional $2 million was incurred in recovery costs. The report also stated that the new opening date may not be met either, which would add further costs.[9][10] According to the Current-Argus, the DOE responded to the report in a statement stating: "The Department appreciates the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) assessment of the DOE initial cost and schedule estimates for the recovery of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The GAO's recommendations are consistent with the Department's commitment to continuous improvement in project management."[10][9]

    Leadership[edit]

    Below is the list of the GAO leadership as of February 2024:[11]

    • Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General [12]
    • Orice Williams Brown, Chief Operating Officer
    • Karl Maschino, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer
    • Paul R. Johnson, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
    • Timothy P. Bowling, Chief Quality Officer
    • Sean DeBlieck (Acting), Continuous Process Improvement Office
    • Edda Emmanueli Perez, General Counsel
    • A. Nicole Clowers, Congressional Relations
    • Chuck Young, Public Affairs
    • Stephen Sanford, Strategic Planning and External Liaison
    • Kate Lenane, Opportunity and Inclusiveness

    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 GAO, "About GAO," accessed May 9, 2016
    2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    3. ↑ GAO, "History," accessed May 9, 2016
    4. ↑ GAO, "Reports and Testimonies - Browse by Agency Name," accessed May 9, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Daily Caller, "The ATF Is Illegally Hoarding American Gun Owners’ Personal Information," August 2, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 GAO, "FIREARMS DATA: ATF Did Not Always Comply with the Appropriations Act Restriction and Should Better Adhere to Its Policies," August 1, 2016
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 GAO, "Federal Telework," accessed August 8, 2016
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Washington Post, "More feds are working from home. But no one has figured out whether that’s really a good thing." August 8, 2016
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 GAO, "NUCLEAR WASTE: Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Recovery Demonstrates Cost and Schedule Requirements Needed for DOE Cleanup Operations," August 4, 2016
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Current-Argus, "GAO: DOE fails in cost, schedule best practices," August 5, 2016
    11. ↑ GAO, "GAO's Organization Chart," February 2024
    12. ↑ GAO, "Gene L. Dodaro's Biography," accessed May 9, 2016
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