[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RETIREMENT OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL CHARLES A. BOWSHER

 Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, next Monday the Comptroller General 
of the United States, Charles A. Bowsher, will retire after 15 years in 
that position. At the time of his appointment in 1981, President Reagan 
said ``this is one of the most important appointments that I shall make 
as President, adding that ``it's obvious that in this post, a strong 
and effective leader can have an enduring impact on our political 
institutions.'' As chairman and ranking member of the Armed Services 
Committee, and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I have had 
the privilege of working with Mr. Bowsher and his able staff as they 
assist the Congress in its oversight function. I believe his efforts 
have made an enduring impact on our Government, making it more 
responsible, efficient and accountable to our citizens.
  During his tenure, Mr. Bowsher has overseen a tremendous growth in 
the amount of reports produced by GAO as well as the amount of official 
testimony given to Congressional committees. GAO is now producing over 
1,000 reports per year, and provides expert testimony before 
congressional committees over 300 times per year, doubling their 
productivity since 1983. Despite reductions of 25 percent in their 
audit and staffing budget since fiscal year 1992, Mr. Bowsher made sure 
the quality of GAO's report and services remained uncompromised.
  Under their mandate to evaluate and audit all Government programs and 
activities, GAO has consistently produced reports that are on the 
cutting edge of research, analysis, and investigation. Mr. Bowsher 
continually pressed for strengthened and revised budget and accounting 
systems. As a result of GAO's recommendations, over $100 billion in 
savings and benefits have been realized through budget reductions, cost 
avoidances, appropriations deferrals, and revenue enhancements.

  As chairman and ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on 
Investigations, I came to rely on the work produced by GAO through 
their high risk series. These reports documented programs where the 
potential for billions of dollars in waste, fraud, abuse and 
mismanagement existed. Their expertise in identifying problem areas 
didn't end here. Through their work for the subcommittee, they 
identified innumerable areas for improvement. In the last few years 
alone, their work for the subcommittee has resulted in hundreds of 
millions of dollars in documented savings to the Federal Government.
  In the Armed Services Committee, we relied on GAO's work on many 
occasions, especially in areas such as financial management and 
acquisition policy, and on their investigative abilities in cases where 
the committee needed to find out exactly what the facts were.
  GAO's fine work under Mr. Bowsher's leadership goes well beyond 
measurable cost savings. Although the benefits are less qualifiable 
than dollar savings, they are just as significant. Their work has 
repeatedly alerted Congress and the executive branch to weaknesses in 
Federal regulations, law enforcement, and issues related to our Armed 
Forces. Some examples include:
  Identifying problems in requirements for reporting currency 
transactions at banks and other financial institutions to strengthen 
the ability to detect money laundering to prevent billions of dollars 
of drug and criminal proceeds to escape taxation, forfeiture and 
seizure;
  Highlighting the shortcomings of State insurance regulation of the 
Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans that exposed thousands of subscribers to 
loss of health care benefits through insurer default;
  Identifying differences and weaknesses in state insurance regulations 
that permit fraudulent insurance schemes to sell worthless policies to 
unsuspecting consumers;
  Identifying loopholes in Department of Education procedures that 
regulate the Federal Student Loan and Pell Grant Programs to protect 
the quality of postsecondary education; and
  Prodding the Defense Department to improve its troubled financial 
management systems, providing continued oversight of DOD's progress, 
and continuing to press for further improvements in DOD's oversight of 
the Defense business operations fund and other systems required to 
ensure that the taxpayer's money has been correctly accounted for.
  Mr. Bowsher has also demonstrated great vision as our Government 
prepares for the next millennium. Under his leadership, GAO greatly 
enhanced its focus on issues related to information management and 
technology, and they have produced cutting edge analysis of the 
challenges our Government will face in the information age. GAO 
recently issued a report on the extent to which Defense computer 
systems are being attacked, the actual and potential damage to its 
information and systems, and the challenges the Defense Department is 
facing in securing its sensitive but unclassified information systems. 
This report and their resulting testimony before the Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations was some of the most professional and 
skillful I have seen.
  This Congress and the American people owe a great debt to Charles 
Bowsher for his fine work. I congratulate him on his 15 years of 
service, and wish him well in his future endeavors.

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