Summary: GAO discussed: (1) proposed legislation that would establish statutory inspectors general (IG) at the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); (2) its work on OPM audit and investigative operations; and (3) the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency's (PCIE) report on the audit and investigative capabilities of small agencies. GAO noted that: (1) it supports the establishment of IG at Treasury, FEMA, NRC, and OPM, because IG at those agencies would greatly strengthen their internal audit and investigative functions; (2) the legislation would consolidate several OPM offices responsible for insurance audits, retirement program integrity, and program analysis and evaluation; (3) Congress should change the proposed legislation to require heads of agencies without internal audit units to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on their audit coverage, rather than to both OMB and GAO; and (4) the legislation would strengthen the independence of the U.S. Postal Service's audit function. In addition, GAO believes that: (1) Congress should change the legislation to require that audit determinations occur within 6 months, rather than requiring GAO to change federal audit guidelines; and (2) while the intent of the PCIE recommendations is valid, it is unclear how PCIE would ensure that its recommendations are successfully implemented.
