The Role of the General Accounting Office in Public Works Audits

GAO audits in the public works area tend to involve only certain aspects of projects such as quality control procedures, management of the funding process, or adherence to environmental standards. Much of GAO work in the construction area is the result of direct requests from committees or Members of Congress, and often these requests deal with measuring the costs and benefits of particular projects. GAO reviews agency procurement procedures since quality control factors are built into the contracting process by those who issue the contracts. GAO does a fair amount of work assessing the need for or appropriate size of public medical facilities. GAO looks at most aspects of ground transportation. The agency involved monitors the technical progress of mass transportation projects, but GAO reports on the process of developing cost estimates, deals with the management of the funding process itself, and determines whether grants are being used efficiently. Reviews of management practices or processes are done in all areas. The extensive and varied GAO energy work is focused on evaluating the results of the Government's ongoing energy programs and assessing the costs and benefits of alternative approaches to solving energy problems. GAO has also reviewed Federal efforts to construct energy facilities. Actions taken on GAO reports have made the Government's operations more efficient and have saved millions of dollars.