[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 661 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 661

 To provide for the establishment of an Independent General Accounting 
         Office Peer Review Committee, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 25 (legislative day, March 3), 1993

   Mr. Domenici (for himself, Mr. Dole, Mr. Bond, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. 
    Brown, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Coats, Mr. Wallop, and Mr. 
  Murkowski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
           referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the establishment of an Independent General Accounting 
         Office Peer Review Committee, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``General Accounting Office Reform Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) an objective General Accounting Office, primarily 
        limited to auditing and accounting functions that are carried 
        out in a professionally responsible manner, provides an 
        essential service to the Congress and the United States;
            (2) the General Accounting Office maintains substantial 
        staff with expertise in a wide variety of fields to provide 
        comprehensive technical evaluations to the Congress;
            (3) the General Accounting Office is required to coordinate 
        its audits with offices of inspector generals to provide 
        Congress with factual analysis of waste, fraud and abuse;
            (4) the General Accounting Office may have exceeded its 
        accounting and auditing mission and increasingly makes 
        policymaking reports on subjects not directly related to 
        accounting and auditing;
            (5) there have been serious allegations questioning the 
        General Accounting Office's nonpartisanship, objectivity, 
        integrity and qualifications in carrying out its functions and 
        responsibilities under the law;
            (6) a review of the General Accounting Office's services 
        conducted by a newly established Independent Peer Review 
        Committee, including an examination of its organizational 
        structure, management policies and operations, should be 
        initiated to ensure that financial and accounting functions 
        remain the focus of the agency; and
            (7) immediate reforms should be enacted to address 
        deficiencies pending the completion of this outside review and 
        report.

  TITLE I--INDEPENDENT GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE

SEC. 101. INDEPENDENT GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Independent General 
Accounting Office Peer Review Committee (hereafter in this section 
referred to as the ``Committee''). The Committee shall consist of 11 
members as follows--
            (1) the Comptroller General of the United States; and
            (2) 10 members who--
                    (A) are not officers or regular employees of the 
                General Accounting Office;
                    (B) have expertise in government program analysis, 
                public policy analysis, financial and auditing review; 
                and
                    (C) are appointed by the Majority and Minority 
                Leaders of the House of Representatives and of the 
                Senate in consultation with the chairman and ranking 
                members of the Senate Committee on Governmental 
                Affairs, the House of Representatives Committee on 
                Government Operations, and the chairman and ranking 
                minority member of the Subcommittee on Legislative 
                Branch of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                Senate, and the chairman and ranking minority member of 
                the Subcommittee on Legislative of the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
One of the members appointed pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be 
appointed chair of the Committee.
    (b) Functions.--The Committee shall conduct a review of the 
organization, administration, management, and operations of the General 
Accounting Office, including the way the General Accounting Office 
conducts its reports, studies, and reviews. To conduct the review, the 
Committee shall engage the services of accountants or accounting firms 
and persons or entities with expertise in the fields of auditing, and 
public program and policy analysis pursuant to the appropriation under 
the heading ``Contract Study of GAO''. In planning the review the 
Committee shall take into account generally accepted standards for an 
external quality review of an auditing organization. In conducting the 
review the Committee shall--
            (1) select a sample of General Accounting Office reports, 
        studies, and reviews conducted over the past 24-month period 
        preceding the date of the enactment of this section, which 
        shall encompass a variety of topics, sectors, and subjects that 
        adequately reflect the endeavors of the General Accounting 
        Office;
            (2) submit the sample reports, studies, and reviews to 
        independent analysis by organizations, selected by the 
        Committee, with recognized expertise in the relevant field of 
        the selected reports, studies, and reviews to assess the 
        accuracy, fairness, and professionalism of the reports, 
        studies, and reviews; and
            (3) ensure that the Committee or the organization 
        responsible for conducting the analysis includes in each report 
        of the independent analysis--
                    (A) a thorough examination to determine the 
                objectivity, integrity, validity, and timeliness of 
                each General Accounting Office product;
                    (B) the requesting and clearance procedures to 
                maintain objectivity in analysis;
                    (C) the number of and reasons for the use of 
                outside consultants and contract services required to 
                complete the final General Accounting Office report;
                    (D) the contents and findings of any other support 
                agencies' reports for duplication of scopes of work, 
                and related efforts designed to solicit different 
                findings and recommendations;
                    (E) the costs associated with preparing the final 
                reports by the General Accounting Office, and the costs 
                incurred by other support agencies in preparing similar 
                or identical scopes of work; and
                    (F) a review of the final submission process to 
                determine how the information was released to the 
                appropriate congressional Members or committees, to the 
                public, and to any relevant Federal departments or 
                agencies.
    (c) Consultation.--In conducting the review and analysis under 
subsection (b), the Committee shall ensure that Federal departments and 
agencies, Members of Congress, appropriate congressional staff, and any 
other relevant organizations or individuals are consulted concerning 
their input, participation in, and responses to General Accounting 
Office studies, reports, and reviews with the intention of determining 
the objectivity and integrity of the final analysis.
    (d) Reports.--No later than 12 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Committee shall consolidate all analyses and 
submit a report of the review conducted under this section to the 
Comptroller General of the United States, the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch of the 
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Subcommittee on Legislative of the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and to the chairman and 
ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Governmental 
Affairs, and the chairman and ranking minority member of the House of 
Representatives Committee on Government Operations. Such report shall 
include an overall summary with recommendations for ways in which the 
General Accounting Office can accomplish its mandates in the most 
efficient and professional manner, at the most reasonable cost, with 
minimal duplication of other support agencies and Office of Inspector 
General undertakings, and with maximum objectivity and integrity.
    (e) Administrative Provision.--The provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Committee, except the 
Committee shall consult the guidelines established under section 7(d) 
of such Act.
    (f) Termination.--The Committee shall terminate 30 days after the 
date of submitting the report under subsection (d).
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions 
of this section.

               TITLE II--GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REFORM

SEC. 201. LIMITATION ON FUNDS FOR CONSULTING SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
General Accounting Office during fiscal year 1993 may not obligate and 
expend funds for consulting services involving management and 
professional services, special studies and analyses, technical 
assistance, and management review program funded organizations, in 
excess of an amount equal to 75 percent of the amount obligated and 
expended by the General Accounting Office during fiscal year 1992 for 
such purposes.
    (b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``consulting services'' shall be defined consistent with the provision 
of the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-120 dated January 4, 
1988.

SEC. 202. EXAMINATION OF INTERNAL CONTROLS.

    The Comptroller General shall submit annually a report to Congress 
containing--
            (1) a description and statement of the Comptroller 
        General's responsibility for establishing and maintaining an 
        adequate internal control structure; and
            (2) an assessment, as of the most recent fiscal year, of 
        whether such internal control structure reasonably assures 
        compliance with the laws and regulations governing, and the 
        objectives of, the General Accounting Office.

SEC. 203. PROHIBITION OF INVESTIGATIONS ON THE INITIATIVE OF THE 
              COMPTROLLER GENERAL.

    (a) Investigations and Evaluations.--Chapter 7 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 712 by striking out paragraphs (1) and (3) 
        and redesignating paragraphs (2), (4), and (5) as paragraphs 
        (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
            (2) in section 717(b) by striking out paragraph (1) and 
        redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), 
        respectively.
    (b) Prohibition on Use of Funds.--The General Accounting Office may 
not expend any funds to conduct any study, investigation, or audit, or 
produce or disseminate any material which has not been requested by the 
Congress or a Federal agency or is not required by statute.

SEC. 204. ASSIGNMENTS AND DETAILS TO THE CONGRESS.

    Section 734 of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
``Sec.  734. Assignment and details to Congress
    ``(a) The Comptroller General may assign or detail an officer or 
employee of the General Accounting Office to full-time continuous duty 
with a committee of Congress for not more than one year.
    ``(b) A committee or office of the Congress (including a Member's 
office) shall reimburse the Comptroller General for the pay of each 
officer or employee or the Office for the time the officer or employee 
is assigned or detailed to the committee or office of the Congress.''.

SEC. 205. REIMBURSEMENT FOR ASSIGNMENTS AND DETAILS.

    A Federal agency shall reimburse the Comptroller General for the 
pay of each officer or employee of the General Accounting Office for 
the time the officer or employee is assigned or detailed to the agency.

SEC. 206. CONGRESSIONAL COMMENT AND CERTAIN AGENCY REVIEW OF DRAFT 
              REPORTS.

    Section 718 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Any draft report on a study or audit requested by any 
committee or office of the Congress (including a Member's office) shall 
be submitted to the committees of the Congress with jurisdiction of the 
subject matter of the report, and if appropriate, to the Congressional 
Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the 
Congressional Research Service. Within 30 days of receiving the report, 
the majority and minority members of such committees, and the offices 
to which such draft report is submitted may review and submit comments 
to the General Accounting Office. Such comments shall be included in 
the final report.''.

SEC. 207. PROHIBITION OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PERSONNEL IN A 
              COMBAT ZONE.

    No officer or employee of the General Accounting Office may perform 
any function or duty of such Office in any military zone of combat 
operations as designated by the Secretary of Defense.

SEC. 208. STUDIES AND AUDITS NOT REVIEWED BY SUBJECT AGENCY.

    Section 720 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(c) If the General Accounting Office submits a report to the 
Congress or the President, and the agency which is the subject of the 
study or audit of the report did not review or comment on such report, 
the lack of such review or comment shall be noted on the front of such 
report.''.

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