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Summary: The primary objective of H.R. 12845 is greater independence of GAO from the executive branch. H.R. 12845 provides safeguards for the rights of employees and applicants and requires adherence to the principles of merit, equal employment opportunity, and veterans preference. By exempting GAO employees from certain civil service laws administered by the Civil Service Commission, the bill would provide GAO with greater flexibility in personnel management. The existing interrelationship between GAO and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) presents a continuous conflict of roles. On the one hand, GAO audits the effectiveness, propriety, and legality of CSC policies and enforcement of regulations. On the other hand, CSC controls the system upon which GAO must rely for acquiring and managing its staff. The legislation would remove any suspicion of compromise by establishing GAO authority, independent of the CSC, to appoint personnel, classify positions, rate the performance of, promote, suspend, and separate its employees on the basis of fitness and merit. It would eliminate any doubts in Congress or elsewhere concerning GAO or CSC objectivity and independence.
