Congressional Oversight: The General Accounting Office

GAO discussed its future work to achieve efficient management and full accountability throughout the government. GAO noted that: (1) despite the increase in its work, it plans to reduce its staff by 25 percent by 1997 in response to congressional directives; (2) it expects to fulfill its mission through increased efficiency and the use of enhanced technology; (3) precipitous budget reductions could lead to the loss of skilled staff and service disruptions; (4) GAO audits help ensure a more efficient and cost-effective government, expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, help target federal budget deficit reductions, and improve accountability through better financial and information management; (5) one of its priorities is to identify trends with fiscal, budgetary, or oversight consequences for the government; (6) GAO work is based on objective facts and analyses; (7) its role is advisory and recommendations should be based on work performed and never on political or ideological considerations; (8) in restructuring its operations and processes, it has improved staff training and incentives, adopted modern technology, and enhanced congressional feedback; (9) it should be given the flexibility to manage its own downsizing efforts over time so that its mission is not jeopardized; and (10) it has initiated several actions to improve its work processes.