David Walker, the head of the Government Accountability Office, is stepping down this week.  Under Walker, the GAO has released authoritative reports on Iraq reconstruction, FEMА, the FDA, Homeland Security, and many more agencies.  Walker, the subject of a profile by ...

The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing today on a Government Accountability Office report detailing problems with the Food and Drug Administration. Gardiner Harris of the New York Times obtains an early copy and focuses on the problem of backlogs caused by under-staffing and outdated computer ...

The Congressional Research Service has issued a study describing an emerging crisis in children's healthcare across the country, according to a story by Robert Pear in the New York Times.   California will begin cutting off 64,000 children each month beginning in January if the standoff between President Bush and the Congress is not resolved.

The Government Accountability Office has uncovered evidence that the Department of Homeland Security coached private contractors unfairly, helping them fine-tune radiation detection equipment planned for America's ports and borders prior to "test" uses of the equipment.  Robert O'Harrow, Jr. writes in the Washington Post that DHS informed contractors ahead of ...

Ever wonder why nothing ever really happens in Washington – even when crisis demands urgent action?  It’s because nobody goes to the trouble of obeying the law.

Washington Post reporting shows the importance of independent voices within government with the resources and authority to criticize government performance.  Two new GAO reports have emerged:  one describes in detail the lack of progress in meeting benchmarks in Iraq, and the second criticizes State Department effectiveness in hiring, staffing embassies, ...

Reporting on a study released by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Walter Pincus of the Washington Post notes the overwhelming importance of government contractors in Iraq, largely because “the military did not foresee the need” for numerous support and security services that have arisen during ...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will look into bonuses and pay raises granted to members of the Senior Executive Service – top executives who run major government operations and facilities.  See Stephen Barr’s Washington Post article here.

The Department of Agriculture has continued paying subsidies reaching into the millions of dollars to deceased farmers, according to a Government Accountability Office report.  Sarah Cohen reports in the Washington Post that “large farming operations . . . could exceed the payment limits by keeping an estate active years after ...

Two government reports -- one from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and one from the Government Accountability Office -- make it clear that even if the much-anticipated oil distribution law is passed by Iraq's parliament, the country is very far from realizing the benefits of their underground wealth.  ...