The President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control

In response to a congressional request, GAO obtained certain information on the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control which was established by executive order to conduct indepth reviews to find ways to improve management and reduce costs in the Federal Government. GAO was asked to collect information about the backgrounds and responsibilities of all participants, the legal authority for the effort, the organizational structure for conducting the survey, the process for doing the work through task forces, the involvement of Federal agencies and the White House, the source of funding, costs to the Government, and protections against conflicts of interest. The organizations that conduct the survey consist of a management office, a nonprofit foundation that collects money and resources from private sector firms to support the effort, an executive committee composed mostly of leaders of large corporations, and 36 task forces which will each study a particular organization or function. The executive committee is an advisory committee as defined by the Federal Advisory Committee Act which provides policy direction and oversees the task forces. Executive committee members are special Government employees who are required to disclose their financial interests. Task force members do not have Federal employee status and do not have to disclose their financial interests. At least two executive committee members serve as cochairmen for each task force. Each task force studies an assigned Federal area and renders findings and recommendations in a report which the Office of Management and Budget will implement as part of a new Government management reform effort. GAO has not collected all of the information requested, because the management office is seeking a legal opinion as to which data GAO should receive, and officials associated with the survey and agency contacts have been reluctant to discuss their efforts.