d01145g.txt

November 2000 GAO s Congressional Protocols


United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C.
20548
November 3, 2000
This document contains the protocols governing the General
Accounting Office's (GAO) work for the Congress. The need for these
protocols was consistently voiced to me by Members of the Congress
and their staffs since my nomination as Comptroller General. I
firmly believe they will enable GAO to better serve the Congress,
improve satisfaction with our work, and ensure equitable treatment
of all requesters.
These protocols are intended to provide clearly defined and
transparent policies and practices relating to GAO's work. They
also provide a means of holding GAO accountable for commitments
made to the Congress and ensuring that GAO is consistent in dealing
with all committees and Members. They reflect a number of
refinements made on the basis of feedback from Members and staff
during our trial implementation phase (January 2000 to September
2000).
Along with all members of the GAO team, I look forward to using
these protocols to continue to serve the Congress for the benefit
of the American people. We will continue to monitor the application
of these protocols and will consider what, if any, changes should
be made in the future. Any changes will be made in consultation
with the Congress. I encourage you to contact our Office of
Congressional Relations on [phone] if you have any questions
or comments on these protocols.

David M. Walker Comptroller General of the United States
Contents

Letter


GAO's Congressional Protocols



GAO's Congressional Protocols

GAO's Approach
The following protocols are general principles governing GAO
work for the Congress involving audits, program reviews and
evaluations, analyses, and investigations.
To effectively support the Congress, GAO must be professional,
objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, and
balanced in all its work. All GAO products and services should
conform to generally accepted and applicable auditing, accounting,
investigative, and evaluation principles and standards. GAO will
only undertake work that is within its scope of authority and
competency. GAO will strive to meet the Congress' needs within
available resources and exercise the independence necessary to
guarantee that its products and work conform to professional
standards and the agency's core values of accountability,
integrity, and reliability.
Sources of GAO GAO undertakes work through
three primary means:
(1) congressional mandates, (2) congressional requests,


Work
and (3) legal authority allowing GAO to undertake work intended
to support the Congress.


Setting Priorities
GAO has a statutory obligation to fulfill requests from the
Congress and its committees. To effectively accomplish this
obligation, GAO senior officials consult regularly with committee
Members and their staffs to ensure that GAO's work is prioritized
in accordance with the committees' needs and GAO's resources by
subject matter. To ensure adherence to GAO's core values, effective
management practices, and efficient use of available resources, GAO
will prioritize its work in the following order.


1.
Congressional mandates, senior leader requests, and
committee leader requests


2.
Committee Member requests


3.
Individual Member requests


Congressional mandates include requirements specifically
directed by statutes, conference reports, or committee reports.
Senior leader requests include requests from the President Pro
Tempore, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker of
the House, House Majority Leader, or House Minority Leader.
Committee leader requests are those from the committee or
subcommittee Chair, Ranking Minority Member (Ranking Member), or
both, on a program or activity within the committee's jurisdiction.
Committee Member requests are those involving a program or activity
within the jurisdiction of the Member's assigned committees.
Individual Member requests are those for work where the program or
activity is not within the jurisdiction of the Member's assigned
committees.
With respect to setting priorities, GAO considers the nature of
the requested work in light of Senate and House rules governing the
committees, including their appropriation, authorization,
budgetary, and oversight jurisdiction over a program or activity.
When jurisdictional issues arise, GAO will encourage Members and
staff to consult with each other to resolve any related disputes.
In doing so, they may seek a resolution through the Senate or House
parliamentarian.
GAO devotes a limited portion of its resources for research and
development that enables GAO to
(1) invest in issues the Congress may need to address in the
future and (2) provide products of broad institutional interest to
the Congress. This work includes compendiums such as periodic
reports on highrisk areas and other governmentwide major management
challenges.


Congressional Mandates
GAO treats work that is directed by congressional mandates
differently from congressional requests. Because congressional
mandates are established by either the entire Congress or one or
more committees, it is GAO's policy that products prepared in
response to congressional mandates are issued without any
restrictions (i.e., immediately available to the entire Congress
and the public). When mandates direct GAO to report to a specific
committee, GAO will work with the majority and minority of the
designated committee to clarify our reporting objectives and time
frames. If the mandate does not specify a committee, GAO will work
with the committees of jurisdiction (majority and minority) as set
forth in Senate and House rules and any other committees and/or
Members identified by the committees of jurisdiction. GAO will meet
with designated committees and Members regarding the scope and
timing of work. While the work is ongoing, GAO will provide them
(1) periodic status reports on the work, (2) briefings on the
preliminary and final results of the work, and (3) notification
before the draft product is sent to the agency for comment and
offer a copy of the draft for informational purposes.


Congressional Requests
Congressional requests for GAO work must be made in writing by a
Member and addressed to the Comptroller General. Members or their
staffs are encouraged to consult informally with GAO
representatives in developing requests for GAO work. GAO will do
work without a written request only if the work involves limited
technical assistance that can be completed within 5 staff days,
such as providing briefings on prior work or readily available
information. GAO will refer any person who wants a copy of a
request letter to the Member who submitted it.
For requests that involve work on programs or activities
relating to the internal operations of the Congress-the


Commitment to Congressional
Requesters
Senate, House, or both--GAO will work with the requester to seek
bipartisan support for such requests. If the request affects both
Houses of Congress, GAO will work with the requester to seek
bicameral support for the request from either (1) the senior
leaders of the Senate and House or (2) the Chairs and Ranking
Members of the Senate and House committees of jurisdiction over the
congressional program or activity. If the request affects only one
House, GAO will work with the requester to seek support for the
request from either (1) the senior leaders of the affected House
or
(2) the Chair and Ranking Member of the committee(s) of
jurisdiction over the congressional program or activity. When it is
not possible to obtain bicameral or bipartisan support, GAO will
work with the requester to notify the other House or party of the
request before 
GAO commits itself to do the work. (See
GAO-03-198G.)
GAO will provide to all Members who request work, within 10
business days of receipt, a letter acknowledging the receipt of the
request and either accepting or declining it. This letter may be
augmented by a verbal communication. When a request is accepted,
GAO will provide the requester an estimate of when the job is
likely to be staffed (e.g., immediately, within a few weeks, within
several months, or at a future date to be determined). When a
request is declined, GAO will provide the requester the rationale
for declining the work (e.g., the requested work is outside GAO's
scope of authority, GAO already has ongoing work addressing the
issue, or resource constraints limit our ability to respond to a
Member request). GAO will, where appropriate, suggest alternatives
to meet the requester's needs. In consideration of its past
practice for requests from GAO's oversight committees-Senate
Governmental Affairs and House Government Reform-GAO will send a
copy of our letter to either the Chair (if the Ranking Member
submitted the request) or the Ranking Member (if the Chair
submitted the request) of those committees.
Congressional requesters should not expect GAO to proceed with
the request or provide additional services until GAO has informed
each requester that it will accept the request. When Members submit
independent requests on the same issue and GAO has not formally
accepted the requests, GAO will consult with the Members and their
staffs and will merge requests only if the requesters agree.
Otherwise, GAO will issue separate products. In limited
circumstances, however, GAO will work with the requesters to merge
multiple requests it receives relating to a major event, such as a
natural disaster or accident.
After accepting the request, GAO will initiate a meeting with
the requester's staff within 20 business days of receiving the
request to gain a better understanding of the requester's need for
information and the nature of the research questions. During this
meeting, GAO will also (1) discuss GAO's ability to respond within
the desired time frame, (2) provide a verbal estimate of the level
of GAO resources required, and (3) advise the requester that, as
the original requester, only he or she can approve co-requesters.
If this option is exercised, GAO will send a letter to the original
requester and each co-requester documenting this agreement.
Once the requester and GAO have agreed to proceed with the
request, GAO will provide the following to the requester:


•
A letter confirming the agreements reached within 10
business days after GAO and the requester agree on the terms,
including the need for a job design phase and a preliminary
expected completion date.


•
Periodic status reports; notification of any significant
changed circumstances affecting the scope of work or related time
frames for completing the work (e.g., availability, reliability, or
access to agency records,




Commitment to Co-Requesters
data or sources of information); and briefing(s) on the
preliminary and final results of the work.



•
The option to withdraw at any time sponsorship of work
that is not intended to result in a written product (e.g., a
report).

If GAO has agreed to produce a written product, GAO will:


•
Notify the requester before a draft product is sent to
the agency for comment and offer the requester a copy of the draft.
GAO will provide the draft, for informational purposes, when it is
sent to the agency for comment. By law, the Senate Governmental
Affairs and House Government Reform committees may request a copy
of any draft product generated under GAO's legislative authority
(research and development work) when it is sent to the agency for
comment. GAO will advise these committees when such drafts are sent
to the agency for comment.


•
Allow the requester an option to restrict the release of
a product for up to 30 calendar days after the date the product is
issued. This restriction does not preclude the requester from
sharing the product with other Members.


•
Inform the requester of the option to withdraw
sponsorship at any time before the product is submitted for
printing. GAO reserves the right to issue the product without
reference to the requester when sponsorship is
withdrawn.


If any Member is interested in becoming a co-requester of GAO
work, GAO will explain its policy on co-requests and refer the
Member to the original requester. If the original requester agrees,
the Member can become a co-requester any time before a product is
submitted for printing. GAO will extend the same commitments to
Page 9 GAO-01-145G GAO's Congressional Protocols


Supporting the Congress' Institutional
Interests
co-requesters as to the original requester (see Commitment to
Congressional Requesters). However, co-requesters cannot approve
additional co-requesters or restrict the timing of the release of
the product after it is issued.
In limited circumstances, GAO may be unable to do the requested
work on behalf of a particular committee or Member. These
circumstances involve situations in which the request (1) addresses
an important issue of broad interest to multiple committees or the
Congress as a whole, (2) involves an issue that is a legislative
priority or is on a fast legislative track, or (3) asks for a
compilation of information which GAO has developed from a
substantial body of prior work and/or work originally requested by
others. In such cases, GAO will advise the requester that it cannot
do the work as a request but will instead address the issue as part
of GAO's research and development work.
On rare occasions, the results of ongoing congressionally
requested work may be important and relevant to pending legislation
(e.g., when GAO has information which could inform the legislative
debate on the Senate or House floor) or other institutional
interests. In such cases, GAO reserves the right, after
consultation with the requester, to make the information or product
generally available regardless of a restriction placed on its
release. In these cases, GAO will promptly notify the requesters
why, when, and to whom the information or product will be
released.


Notification of Ongoing Work
For ongoing work--except for classified work and
investigations--GAO will disclose, if asked (e.g., by Members,
congressional staff, agencies, or the press), the source of the
request and the project's objectives, scope, and methodology.
Additionally, all congressional
Page 10 GAO-01-145G GAO's Congressional Protocols


Obtaining Agency Comments
offices have, through Senate and House intranet connections to
GAO, access to the objectives, scope, and methodology of active GAO
assignments, except for those cases where the reporting of such
work would result in disclosing classified or other sensitive
information. Active assignments are those that have been
staffed.
As required by generally accepted government auditing standards,
GAO will hold an exit conference with agency officials at the end
of the data collection and analysis phase to (1) validate the
factual accuracy of data gathered and (2) discuss the implications
that flow from them. Also, GAO will give agencies and other
directly affected parties the opportunity to officially comment on
a draft report to which they are a party (other than reports that
largely reflect prior GAO work). The substance of those comments
will be published in the report along with GAO's assessment.
GAO prefers written comments but will accept oral comments.
Although GAO may give an agency up to 30 calendar days to comment,
GAO may attempt to obtain comments in shorter time frames,
depending on the product timing needs of the requester and the
complexity of the issues involved. In rare cases, the Comptroller
General may grant an extension beyond 30 calendar days if the
agency shows that an extension is necessary and will likely result
in a more accurate product.
GAO will not provide an opportunity to comment in cases where
(1) disclosure of an investigation's results could pose risks to
individuals and their confidentiality or (2) premature disclosure
of information could compromise the results of the work.


Termination of Work
If requesters or co-requesters decide to withdraw their support
of GAO work that will not result in a written product (e.g., a
report), they may do so at any time. If a written product has been
planned, the requesters or co-requesters must advise GAO of their
withdrawal before the product is submitted for printing. Their
withdrawal will not result in the termination of a product if
significant resources have been expended and/or the product is in
the public interest. GAO will, under these circumstances, issue a
product as if it were undertaken on its own authority. The product
may be addressed to committees of jurisdiction or the affected
agency. Copies of such products will be sent to the committees of
jurisdiction and will be available to other interested parties and
the public.


Product Release
All congressionally requested products will have a targeted
issuance date. GAO will notify requesters approximately 30 calendar
days before they are to receive a product and accommodate their
requests for restrictions on the release of the product of up to 30
calendar days after the issuance date. GAO will grant extensions
beyond the 30 calendar days only in limited cases (e.g., a change
in the date of a hearing related to the report). GAO reserves the
right to release any product that has been issued but is under
restriction if it is leaked or otherwise made publicly available.
In addition, GAO reserves the right to release drafts of products
that have been leaked or made publicly available. In such cases,
GAO will advise requesters prior to the release.
Workpaper Access GAO will grant Members,
upon their written request, access to its workpapers at the GAO
site or will provide copies of selected workpapers only after a
product has been made publicly available. This is subject to legal
and privacy considerations, such as those concerning
Page 12 GAO-01-145G GAO's Congressional Protocols


Requests for Testimony
taxpayer return information, protected banking information,
grand jury information, and credit card accounts listed in travel
vouchers.
Requests for GAO testimony should be made by a committee Chair
in writing. GAO will strive to respond to all congressional
requests for testimony. However, GAO will decline an invitation to
testify when (1) GAO cannot produce a testimony that conforms to
its core values and standards or (2) the substance of the GAO
testimony would be new information developed for another committee
or Member who wants to restrict the information until its public
release. In cases of multiple requests for testimony involving the
same subject matter, GAO will testify on the date of the first
hearing held and will be available to testify at any subsequent
hearings. For testimony based on new work, regardless of whether it
is a preliminary or final product, GAO will, consistent with
professional auditing standards, hold an exit conference with
agency officials before the written testimony is completed to (1)
validate the accuracy of data gathered and (2) discuss the
implications that flow from the data. GAO will distribute its
written testimony in accordance with the rules of the Senate or
House, including the committees' rules, and be available to brief
the majority and the minority on material facts, major findings,
and recommendations relating to any new work.


Detailees to the Congress
By law, GAO staff can be assigned on detail only to
congressional committees, not to leadership or personal offices.
GAO staff may not engage in partisan activities or discussions.
Committee requests for GAO detailees should be in writing and be
for specific purposes for a period not to exceed 1 year. All
detailees must be approved by the Comptroller General in a
manner


Press Policy
consistent with the applicable rules and policies of the Senate
or House.
In response to media inquiries about ongoing work, GAO will
provide information only about the objectives, scope, and
methodology of an assignment; the names of the requesters; and the
expected completion date. GAO will refer inquiries for any
additional information to the requesters. As a professional
courtesy, GAO will inform requesters of substantive media inquiries
during an ongoing assignment. Once a product is publicly released,
GAO staff with expertise in the subject matter will answer
questions from the media when asked. On-camera interviews for
television news programs are done only on request and only when GAO
deems them appropriate for public understanding of the facts,
findings, conclusions, and recommendations of GAO products. GAO's
policy is that senior executives with the broadest knowledge of a
completed assignment do such interviews. Before GAO agrees to do an
on-camera interview, GAO will advise the requesters of the media
source and the expected date and time. If asked to participate in
press briefings sponsored by requesters, GAO will provide support
if the press briefing is held in Washington, D.C. In such
instances, GAO will provide knowledgeable staff with the
understanding that they are present only to answer questions about
the specifics of released GAO products. GAO does not hold press
conferences or issue press releases about products, but it does
advise the media and the public of the release of GAO products via
the World Wide Web and other venues.
Investigations GAO has an Office of Special
Investigations that


(1)
investigates referrals concerning specific allegations of
federal fraud, waste, abuse, or misconduct and


(2)
conducts specific projects that require special
investigative tactics. It is GAO's policy to conduct


Page 14 GAO-01-145G GAO's Congressional Protocols
investigations according to standards established by the
President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) as adapted
for GAO's work. PCIE standards place upon GAO and its investigators
the responsibility to ensure that (1) investigations are conducted
by personnel who collectively possess the required knowledge,
skills, and abilities to perform the investigations, (2) judgments
made in collecting and analyzing evidence and communicating results
are impartial, and (3) due professional care (e.g., thoroughness,
appropriate use of investigative techniques, impartiality,
objectivity, protection of individual rights, and timeliness) is
exercised. GAO's congressional policies and protocols apply to all
investigative work conducted by the Office of Special
Investigations unless an exception is specified herein or noted in
advance.


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