GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
The General Accounting Office (GAO), created by the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921 (31
U.S.C.A. 41), was vested with all powers and duties of the six auditors and the comptroller of the Treasury, as stated in the act of July 31, 1894
(28 Stat. 162), and other statutes extending back
to the original Treasury Act of 1789 (1 Stat. 65).
The 1921 act broadened the audit activities of
the government and established new responsi-
bilities for reporting to Congress.
The scope of the activities of the GAO was
further extended by the Government Corpora-
tion Control Act (31 U.S.C.A. 841 [1945]), the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (31
U.S.C.A. 60), the Accounting and Auditing Act
of 1950 (31 U.S.C.A. 65), the Legislative Reorga-
nization Act of 1970 (31 U.S.C.A. 1151), the
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 (31 U.S.C.A. 1301), the General
Accounting Office Act of 1974 (31 U.S.C.A. 52c),
and other legislation.
The GAO is under the control and direction
of the comptroller general of the United States
and the deputy comptroller general of the
United States, who are appointed by the presi-
dent with the advice and consent of the Senate
for terms of 15 years.
The GAO has the following basic purposes:
to assist Congress, its committees, and its mem-
bers in carrying out their legislative and over-
sight responsibilities, consistent with its role as
an independent, nonpolitical agency in the leg-
islative branch; to carry out legal, accounting,
auditing, and claims-settlement functions with
respect to federal government programs and
operations as assigned by Congress; and to make
recommendations that are designed to provide
for more efficient and effective government
operations.
Direct Assistance to Congress
The GAO directly assists Congress and its
committees, members, and officers upon
request. This assistance can come in any of the
forms described in the following paragraphs.
Legislation may be enacted to direct the
GAO to examine a specific matter; special
audits, surveys, and reviews may be performed
for the committees, members, or officers of
Congress; professional staff members may be
assigned to assist committees in conducting
studies and investigations; the comptroller gen-
eral or his or her representatives may testify
before committees on matters considered to be
within the special competence of the GAO; and
committees or members may request comments
on, or assistance in, drafting proposed legislation or other advice in legal and legislative matters. Further, the GAO responds to numerous
requests from congressional sources for infor-
mation relating to, or resulting from, its work,
and it provides advice on congressional, admin-
istrative, and financial operations.
The Congressional Budget and Impound-
ment Control Act of 1974 specified numerous
additional ways in which the GAO is to assist
Congress: (1) provide information, services,
facilities, and personnel (as mutually agreed) to
the CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE; (2) assist
congressional committees in developing state-
ments of legislative objectives and goals and
methods for assessing and reporting actual pro-
gram performance; (3) assist such committees
in analyzing and assessing federal agency pro-
gram reviews and evaluation studies; (4)
develop and recommend methods for review
and evaluation of government programs; (5)
conduct a continuing program to identify needs
of committees and members of Congress for fis-
cal, budgetary, and program-related informa-
tion; (6) assist congressional committees in
developing their information needs; (7) monitor
recurring reporting requirements of the Con-
gress; (8) develop, in cooperation with the Con-
gressional Budget Office, the Treasury, and the
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, an up-
to-date inventory and directory of sources and
information systems for fiscal, budgetary, and
program-related information; (9) help commit-
tees and members to obtain information from
such sources and to appraise and analyze it; (10)
develop, with the Congressional Budget Office, a
central file of data and information to meet
recurring requirements of Congress for fiscal,
budgetary, and program-related information;
(11) review and report to Congress on deferrals
and rescissions of budget authority proposed by
the president; and (12) bring suit, where neces-
sary, to ensure the availability for obligation of
budget authority.
Auditing
In general, the audit authority of the GAO
extends to all departments and agencies of the
federal government. Exceptions to this audit
authority principally involve funds that relate to
certain intelligence activities.
Where audit authority exists, the GAO has
the right of access to, and examination of, any
books, documents, papers, or records of the
departments and agencies. The law provides that
departments and agencies must furnish to the
