[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 93 (Thursday, July 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               H.R. 5094, GOOD GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 11, 2002

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, our confidence in the financial information 
reported by U.S. corporations was shaken by the disclosures of 
accounting irregularities discovered on the books of some of the 
largest companies on the New York Stock Exchange. Congress is taking 
important steps to improve the financial reporting requirements for 
every public corporation. The public should have similar confidence in 
the financial information it hears about our own Federal Government. 
This is not an obscure subject--literally trillions of dollars are at 
stake.
  Two laws--The Chief Financial Officers Act passed in 1990, and the 
Government Management Reform Act passed in 1994--require Federal 
executive branch agencies to prepare audited financial statements, in 
accordance with undefined ``applicable standards.'' Who would set these 
standards and make sure they were fairly applied to all government 
agencies? In October 1990, the Secretary of the Treasury, Director of 
OMB and Comptroller General of the Government Accounting Office jointly 
agreed to create and sponsor the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory 
Board, better known as ``FASAB,'' to play a major role in establishing 
the rules that assess the government's efficiency and effectiveness. 
FASAB is entirely different from the Financial Accounting Standards 
Board, or ``FASB,'' that governs private sector standards.
  In carrying out its mission, the government's FASAB has published 18 
Federal Government accounting standards and four accounting 
interpretations, covering topics as diverse as direct student lending, 
social insurance, and deferred maintenance of federal property. In 
addition, FASAB writes technical bulletins and releases, and makes a 
public reading room available to any citizen who wants more information 
on Federal Government accounting standards.
  On January 11, Treasury, OMB, and GAO published a Memorandum of 
Understanding, or MOU, that announced a restructuring of FASAB. This 
MOU is designed to enhance the independence of FASAB and increase 
public involvement in the setting standards process. It became 
effective June 30, 2002. I am introducing legislation that simply takes 
the President's MOU and puts it into law. This bill, called the ``Good 
Government Accounting Act,'' has already gained bipartisan support. It 
establishes FASAB as an independent entity, operating under the terms 
of the structure that has just been put into force.
  Like the private sector, the Federal Government can benefit from 
using unbiased, equitable accounting standards with disclosures that 
increase public understanding of how our government works. FASAB should 
exist by law--not just by agreement between Treasury, OMB, and GAO.
  This bill, H.R. 5094, makes a major step forward to ensure that 
public accounting standards that govern trillions of dollars in 
taxpayer funds are well spent and reported accurately to the American 
people.

                          ____________________