Ruling on the Financing of Trips Being Taken by Members of the President's Cabinet and Chairmen of Independent Agencies

Congress requested a ruling from GAO regarding the financing of trips being taken by members of the President's cabinet and chairmen of independent agencies for the purpose of making political speeches which had been characterized as being political. As such, it was Congress' view that the expense of such trips should be borne by the Committee to Reelect the President or the Republican National Committee.

GAO found, that without distinctive guidelines, it could not reasonably expect to obtain proof even by exhaustive investigation that a particular activity was devoted solely to political campaign purposes. As such, GAO was unable to respond to a request for ruling on the matter.