Summary: H.R. 2, the Sunset Act, and H.R. 65, the Legislative Oversight Act, are two bills being considered that will improve congressional oversight. The two bills are complementary: the Sunset Act would force reconsideration of existing laws and programs, with the result that "the sun would set" on programs not reviewed and reauthorized; and the Legislative Oversight Act would require improved statements of legislative and reporting requirements before "the sun would rise" on authorized programs. Required elements that must be considered in the oversight reform legislation are as follows: (1) a workable review process; (2) statements of objectives and evaluation requirements; (3) coverage of all types of federal programs and activities; (4) review of all funded programs once every 10 years; (5) a review schedule to ensure that all programs are reviewed periodically and within committee capabilities; and (6) expanded coverage of the periodic reauthorization process. It is recommended that the committees should try to review closely related programs as a group, and that the program inventory should be developed and maintained by a single agency. GAO would be the logical agency to carry out this responsibility. GAO believes that improvements in congressional oversight will also increase the effectiveness of the audit and evaluation work performed by GAO. GAO noted, however, that some problems remain that should be considered: (1) there are instances of duplication of effort among other agencies and GAO; and (2) the process of ranking and grading its own programs by the executive branch according to their effectiveness would be meaningless.
