Summary: The Comptroller General testified on the key management aspects of H.R. 3400, the Government Reform and Savings Act of 1993. Most of these management proposals, which range from improving individual agency operations to furthering broad-based governmentwide initiatives, come from the Vice President's National Performance Review. Their goal is a smaller, more efficient government, one that stresses accountability and managing for results. GAO generally supports the thrust of the proposed management improvement sections of the bill. Certain provisions, especially the requirement for audited financial statements for the largest federal departments and agencies, are vital to meaningful management reform and should be swiftly enacted. In a few cases, especially in the franchise and innovation funds area, GAO has serious reservations about provisions in the bill and believes that alternatives should be considered. Finally, GAO suggests a number of refinements to specific sections and proposes an additional provision on preparing and auditing a much-needed consolidated picture of the federal government's financial condition.
