[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 136 (Wednesday, September 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5621-S5622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REMEMBERING COMPTROLLER GENERAL ELMER B. STAATS

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to the memory of 
Elmer B. Staats, one of the great civil servants of the post-World War 
II era. A former Comptroller General of the United States and head of 
the General Accounting Office, as GAO was then called, Mr. Staats died 
July 23 in Washington at the age of 97.
  Elmer Staats had the distinction of serving under every U.S. 
President from Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan. But more important 
than the longevity of his career was his record of professional 
achievement. A leading figure in the world of public administration and 
government accountability, Elmer Staats was renowned for his dedication 
to constructive change and good government principles.
  Appointed Comptroller General in 1966, Elmer Staats helped lay the 
foundation for the modern-day GAO. He transformed it from an agency 
primarily known for financial audit work to one that evaluates the 
effectiveness of virtually every Federal activity at home and abroad, 
from antipoverty programs to military spending to investments in 
infrastructure.
  At the start of Staats' tenure at GAO, accountants comprised more 
than 95 percent of the agency's professional staff. By the time he 
retired in 1981, the agency's workforce included such diverse 
professionals as economists, social scientists, attorneys, and computer 
experts--all career employees hired on the basis of their knowledge, 
skills, and ability.
  Under Elmer Staats, GAO took a lead role in issuing auditing 
guidance. In 1972, the Comptroller General issued the first edition of 
what has come to be known as the ``Yellow Book''--the final word on 
government auditing standards. He also directed GAO to issue guidance 
to help state and local auditors and was instrumental in establishing 
intergovernmental audit forums in the 1970s.
  In addition, Elmer Staats sought to strengthen ties with the 
international auditing community through his active involvement and 
leadership in the International Organization of Supreme Audit 
Institutions. He founded GAO's International Auditor Fellowship Program 
in 1979, which enables auditors from other countries to meet with GAO 
staff and acquire new knowledge and perspectives.
  His is a living legacy that is still delivering results, both for 
Congress and the American people. Just name a Federal program or 
policy, GAO has probably reviewed it and made suggestions for 
improvement. Last year, measurable financial benefits from GAO work 
totaled nearly $50 billion, an $87 return on every dollar invested in 
GAO.
  Elmer Boyd Staats was born in Richfield, KS, in 1914. His family were 
wheat farmers. The only one of his eight siblings to attend college, 
Elmer Staats graduated Phi Beta Kappa from McPherson College in 1935, 
and later earned a master's degree in political science and economics 
from the University of Kansas and a doctorate in political economy at 
the University of Minnesota, where he wrote his dissertation on the new 
Social Security Administration.
  Elmer Staats' career in the Federal Government began in 1939, when he 
joined the Bureau of the Budget, now the Office of Management and 
Budget. His talents were recognized early on, and he served in high-
level posts at the Bureau under Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, 
and Johnson. Eventually, he became the Bureau's Deputy Director before 
President Johnson appointed him to a 15-year term as the fifth 
Comptroller General of the United States. He held that post through the 
administrations of Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter, and 
into the early months of the Reagan administration.
  After leaving GAO, Elmer Staats became the president and later 
chairman of the board of trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship 
Foundation. He was a member of the Governmental Accounting Standards 
Board from 1984 to 1990. During the 1990s, he served as the

[[Page S5622]]

first chairman of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board.
  Elmer Staats helped found the American Society for Public 
Administration in 1939 and later served as its national president and 
vice president. He was also a founding member in 1967 of the National 
Academy of Public Administration and remained a trusted advisor on many 
Academy projects over the years. He received numerous awards for 
distinguished public service, along with honorary degrees from eight 
universities. He was elected to the Accounting Hall of Fame in 1981.
  When asked whether he was a Republican or a Democrat, Elmer always 
politely but firmly declined to answer. In fact, he was famous for 
having a needlepoint pillow in his office that featured an elephant on 
one side and a donkey on the other. The message about his and GAO's 
nonpartisan role in government was clear.
  As Bob Schieffer observed in a recent commentary on ``Face the 
Nation,'' Elmer Staats' reputation in Washington was such that you 
``knew you could take what his agency reported to the bank--its facts 
were seldom disputed, its neutrality never challenged, his political 
affiliation never known.''
  I want to express my gratitude for Elmer Staat's many years of 
exemplary service to our Nation. His intelligence, dedication, and 
integrity will be missed. At the same time, Elmer Staats set an example 
for the type of men and women who will be needed to help lead our 
government in the future--individuals of outstanding ability, sound 
character, and a genuine commitment to the greater good.
  My thoughts and prayers go to his three children--David Staats, 
Deborah Sanders, and Catharine Taubman--and to his three grandchildren 
and great-granddaughter.

                          ____________________