Summary: The Legislative Oversight Act of 1979 has been proposed in an effort to strengthen congressional oversight of Federal programs. While GAO supports this effort, there is some question whether the bill would achieve some important oversight reform objectives such as assuring that Congress has an opportunity to periodically reconsider all Federal programs, and establishing a workable review process and a review schedule with flexibility. The bill contains provisions which require committees to include statements of objectives in proposed authorizing legislation and require agencies to report their progress in meeting such objectives. The provisions concerning expanded coverage of the reauthorization process, which would place a limit on the time period for authorizations of new budget authority or new or increased tax expenditures, are ambiguous and need clarification. While the bill requires that GAO develop and maintain a catalog of interrelated Federal activities, it does not provide for the development of a program inventory, which GAO believes is necessary in order to prepare such a catalog. It was suggested that the best of both this bill and Senate Resolution 2 be combined in order to cover all of the critical elements of the oversight reform.
