Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise 
today to recognize the Honorable Gene L. Dodaro upon 
the completion of his term as the eighth Comptroller 
General of the United States. During his 52 years 
working at and leading the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO), Mr. Dodaro has helped root out waste, 
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement across the Federal 
Government. There is no Federal department, agency, 
or program that has not been made better because of 
Mr. Dodaro’s tireless work on behalf of the American 
people.
Mr. Dodaro was the first GAO employee to become 
Comptroller General, and under Mr. Dodaro’s 15-year 
term at the helm, GAO has saved the American 
taxpayer more than $1.2 trillion. The Committee on 
Homeland Security and I have relied on Mr. Dodaro’s 
deep experience and knowledge of Federal programs 
and operations to shape the Department of Homeland 
Security and protect civil rights and civil liberties in the 
post-9/11 era. 
The teams at GAO led by Mr. Dodaro have made 
Americans safer, made their government more 
responsive, and saved them money. It is because of 
GAO’s audits of Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) grant programs and response efforts 
that Americans facing natural disasters can rely on 
FEMA to get them help quickly and effectively. GAO’s 
examination of Federal cybersecurity and information 
programs helped with the creation and evolution of the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which 
helps protect American schools, hospitals, businesses, 
and critical infrastructure from costly and damaging 
cyber attacks. GAO’s examinations of Department of 
Homeland Security intelligence and counterterrorism 
programs helped protect the Nation, strengthen civil 
liberties, and implement needed reforms to make the 
country safer for all people. And in 2020, GAO helped 
Congress uncover that U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection was using migrant care funds to buy ATVs 
while children died in custody. 
Members of Congress from both parties and across 
all congressional committees have benefited from Mr. 
Dodaro’s dedication to accountability, efficiency, and 
management reform. He testified before Congress more 
than 200 times and helped Congress steer the United 
States through the global financial crisis. Mr. Dodaro’s 
work with Congress and Presidential administrations 
helped shape the Digital Accountability and 
Transparency Act of 2014, the Federal IT Acquisitions 
Reform Act of 2014, the Fraud Reduction and Data 
Analytics Act of 2015, and countless legislation that 
moved through the Committee on Homeland Security 
as a result of GAO reports and recommendations.
Mr. Dodaro’s accolades are known far and wide. 
He recently received the Association of Government 
Accountants’ (AGA) Lifetime Achievement Award for a 
Legacy of Service, was inducted into Government 
Executive’s Government Hall of Fame, and received the 
AGA Chapters Award for Extraordinary Service to the 
Nation in Advancing Government Performance and 
Accountability for Over Five Decades. These awards 
are deserved and will no doubt crowd his shelf full of 
similar honors for his lifetime of exemplary service to 
the Nation. Mr. Dodaro, his family and friends, and his 
alma mater, Lycoming College, should be proud of Mr. 
Dodaro’s accomplishments.
The United States needs more leaders and public 
servants in the mold of the Honorable Gene L. Dodaro. 
His steady leadership, forthrightness, and insight will be 
sorely missed. I congratulate him on the completion of 
his term of office and look forward to what is in store for 
the future