The Atlanta Region: Welcome to the Now South!

This article appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 16, Issue 2, Spring 1981. The Atlanta regional office covers a five-state area that includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and much of Tennessee. It is the second largest regional office of GAO. Key military establishments in the region frequently involve the office in defense-related assignments. The relatively low income levels and high ratio of disadvantaged persons in the region have contributed to a heavy commitment to assignments in health, education, and welfare programs as well. The largest single area of work for the region relates to reviews of Government acquisition of major defense and civil systems. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's activities and projects such as the construction of Atlanta's mass transit system contribute to the area workload. The office also conducts a sizable number of defense-related reviews in the logisitics and communications area. The area has extremely large Medicaid and Medicare populations and ranks at or near the top in numbers of nursing homes, home health agencies, hospital management firms, hospitals and clinics, and various other providers of health services. The regional office is now analyzing the mission and capabilities of the Center for Disease Control cooperating with the agency to make improvements during the course of their work. The Atlanta office is a leader in reviews of federally assisted programs of higher education. Housing and community development are of great interest to the regional office. Most of the region's energy work involves the Tennessee Valley Authority. The office reviews of automated data processing systems, crime and law enforcement efforts, and banking practices have been extensive.