GAO provided information on its Budget Issue area plan, focusing on the: (1) federal deficit; (2) effects of the budget and the budget process on policymakers' ability to make choices; and (3) budget's impact on government operations.

GAO plans to: (1) identify the causes, implications, and appropriate responses to the persistent budget deficit; (2) identify how the government can improve decisionmaking to better allocate federal resources and meet national priorities through improvements to the budget structure, process, and reporting mechanisms; (3) assess the issues involved in effectively restructuring the government and the appropriate federal role; (4) identify the long-term economic impact of current fiscal policy and deficit reduction options; (5) develop alternative analytical perspectives to educate the public and Congress on budget trends and the policy choices of deficit reduction; (6) develop alternative approaches to structuring, presenting, and analyzing the budget so that the implications of budget choices are highlighted; (7) explore areas where accounting concepts can add value to the budget and the budget process can be streamlined; and (8) improve the basis on which Congress makes decisions concerning federal government restructuring, privatization, and devolution.