is investigating allegations of irregularities in the State Department's
Bureau of Human Resources. For those of you not acquainted with the
GAO please visit http://www.gao.gov/about/index.html
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan
agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional
watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer
dollars. The head of GAO, the Comptroller General of the United States, is
appointed to a 15-year term by the President from a slate of candidates
Congress proposes. Gene L. Dodaro became the eighth Comptroller General of the
United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on
December 22, 2010, when he was confirmed by the United States Senate. He was
nominated by President Obama in September of 2010 and had been serving as
Acting Comptroller General since March of 2008.
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the
accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American
people. We provide Congress with timely information that is objective,
fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced.
Our Core Values of accountability, integrity, and reliability are reflected in
all of the work we do. We operate under strict professional standards of review
and referencing; all facts and analyses in our work are thoroughly checked for
accuracy.
Our Work is done at the request of congressional committees or
subcommittees or is mandated by public laws or committee reports. We also
undertake research under the authority of the Comptroller General. We support
congressional oversight by
-
auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being
spent efficiently and effectively;
- investigating
allegations of illegal and improper activities; - reporting
on how well government programs and policies are meeting their
objectives; - performing
policy analyses and outlining options for congressional consideration;
and - issuing
legal decisions and opinions, such as bid protest rulings and reports on
agency rules.
- investigating
We advise Congress and the heads of executive
agencies about ways to make government more efficient, effective, ethical,
equitable and responsive.
Our work leads to laws and
acts that improve government operations, saving the government and taxpayers
billions of dollars.
