The General Accounting Office is under Comptrollers General of the United States the control and direction of the Comptroller General of the United States. There is also a Deputy Comptroller General of the United States' who performs such duties as may be assigned to him by the Comptroller General and who acts as Comptroller General during the absence or incapacity of the Comptroller General or during a vacancy in that office. The Comptroller General and the Deputy Comptroller General are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for terms of 15 years. John R. McCarl July 1, 1921—June 30, 1936 Fred H. Brown April 11, 1939-June 19, 1940 Lindsay C. Warren November 1, 1940–April 30, 1954 Joseph Campbell December 14, 1954-July 31, 1965 Elmer B. Staats March 8, 1966 Assistant Comptrollers General of the United States Lurtin R. Ginn July 1, 1921-November 11, 1930 Richard N. Elliott March 9, 1931-April 30, 1943 Frank L. Yates May 1, 1943-June 29, 1953 Frank H. Weitzel October 12, 1953-January 17, 1969 Deputy Comptrollers General of the United States Robert F. Keller October 3, 1969 'Public Law 92-51 (approved July 9, 1971) changed the title Assistant Comptroller General to Deputy Comptroller General. Mr. Staats and members of several GAO divisions are shown testifying on aspects of regulatory reform. (Photo courtesy of Creative Photographic Communications.) The fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, was the 58th year of operation of the General Accounting Office. Headed by the Comptroller General of the United States, GAO was created by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, making it "independent of the executive departments," to strengthen congressional control over the public purse. The legislative history of the 1921 act consistently stressed that the Comptroller General should exercise objective and independent judgment, unfettered by political influence from congressional and executive branch sources. This remains as important today as it was in 1921-perhaps even more so, in view of increasing concerns voiced in the Congress and elsewhere at apparent decreased public confidence in Government. Only by scrupulous adherence to this nonpartisan objectivity have the past and present Comptrollers General been able to inspire confidence in their actions, thereby serving the Congress and the public effectively. Our 58th year has seen many changes in this country, not the least of which is the phenomenon popularly known as the "Taxpayer Revolt"-taxpayers alarmed or Although GAO's responsibilities have expanded governmental authority generate increased pressures on GAO's mandate to assist the Congress by examining essentially all activities of the Federal Government in Washington, D.C., in the United States and around the world. That is why GAO maintains-in addition to its headquarters office and over 80 audit sites in the Washington, D.C., area-15 regional offices, and a branch office (Honolulu) in the United States and foreign branch offices in • Assist the Congress in its legislative and Bangkok, Frankfurt, and Panama City. • Audit and evaluate programs, activities, • Carry out financial control and related This year, as in past years, GAO's workload continues to grow. With increasing frequency, legislation and other congressional actions contain specific requirements for GAO audit and evaluation work. Also, laws establishing new programs or GAO's primary management objective has been to perform all of its functions effectively, economically, and promptly. To this end, GAO took a number of actions during the year in response to recommendations made by the House Select Committee on Congressional Operations, based on its assessment of GAO services to the Congress and recommendations made by the Comptroller General's Task Force on Improving GAO's Effectiveness. Most of these actions were directed toward improvements in responsiveness, timeliness, and quality of GAO services to the Congress, resulting in significant progress in these areas during fiscal year 1979. Assistance to the Congress Because all of GAO's responsibilities flow from its enabling legislation and subsequent laws passed by the Congress, all of its work is, in effect, directed toward assist ing the Congress. In developing work programs for our self-initiated work (as contrasted to work directed by a congressional request or mandated by specific statute), we attempt to ascertain congressional needs so that we can produce timely infor. mation useful to the Congress and thus contribute to better Government. As a result, we often receive requests from committees or Members to perform work already started or even completed. For internal planning purposes, we established a program category structure to describe the general nature and character of our audits and evaluations undertaken to fulfill the various tasks mandated by the Congress. These include direct assistance to the Congress, economy and efficiency work, evaluations of results of ongoing programs, special studies, and legal services and decisions. The category titled direct assistance to the Congress is used merely to determine the level of effort expended in response to a specific written request or requirement, for example: • Doing specific one-time studies directed by law. Answering committee and Member requests for audits or special studies. • Testifying at congressional hearings. Assigning staff to congressional committees. • Providing legal opinions and comments on proposed legislation. About 36 percent of the total effort of our professional staff was directed toward providing such direct assistance during fiscal year 1979. Ten years ago, such assistance represented less than 10 percent of our work. During fiscal year 1979, we issued 983 reports on audits or special studies. About 70 percent of these were submitted to the Congress or to its committees and Members. In addition, copies of many of the 299 reports addressed to Federal agency officials were also provided to interested committees and Members. A summary of these reports by subject and addressee is included in appendix 1. A detailed listing is included in appendix 2. Many of these reports recommend congressional or agency actions necessary to correct problems or improve Federal programs and activities. Chapter 2 presents legislative recommendations the Congress acted on this year and those on which final action has not been taken. Two special reports to the Congress prepared annually-one on civil, the other on defense activities-highlight matters deserving special congressional attention. Each January these special reports summarize important GAO conclusions and recommendations on which satisfactory department or agency actions have not been taken and which, therefore, should be considered during the appropriation process. It should be noted that GAO does not have authority to direct agencies to accept our recommendations. The extent to which we are successful in bringing about improvements depends basically on the adequacy of our factual analysis, persuasiveness of our findings and recommendations, and support our reports receive from the Congress. We have no doubt that the agencies' awareness of the Congress' attention to our reports stimulates their interest in and attention to our recommendations. Along these lines, the Comptroller General's testimony to the House Budget Committee Task Force on Legislative Savings in July 1979 offered the Congress 15 specific recommendations for potential savings. These were selected as the most significant unenacted legislative recommendations of those contained in our fiscal year 1978 annual report and in reports issued since October 1, 1978. The Comptroller General's purpose was to encourage action on recommendations which GAO continues to support. A Monthly List of GAO Reports (required by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970) is sent to every committee and Member. This publication identifies and summarizes reports released each month and provides information for obtaining them. This list is also published monthly in the Congressional Record. Staff from GAO divisions communicate to congressional committees information that is relevant, timely, and useful. Our Office of Congressional Relations is the coordination point for GAO's assistance to the Congress. Under the supervision of the Deputy Comptroller General, this office maintains close continuous contact with congressional committees and Members. During the year, a pamphlet entitled GAO Responsibilities and Services to Congress was issued to all committees and Members. This was done in response to the House Select Committee on Congressional Operations' recommendation that we provide the Congress with specific information explaining GAO, its services, and how best to obtain these services. Our professional staff at the Capitol audits House and Senate financial operations and private organizations doing business on the Capitol grounds. The staff advises committees, officers, and Members of Congress as needs arise. Committee and Member Requests The 1921 act requires that we perform investigations and furnish information and assistance to the Congress and congressional committees having jurisdiction over revenue, appropriations, or expenditures. |