GAO Mission and Operations:

Fiscal Year 1990 Budget Estimates for the General Accounting Office

T-OCG-89-28, May 11, 1989

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GAO discussed its fiscal year (FY) 1990 budget request for: (1) about $385.4 million to fund about 5,200 positions; and (2) authority to obligate about $5.56 million other agencies paid it for the costs related to their use of the GAO building. GAO noted that: (1) mandatory pay and related costs, increased staffing, program enhancements, and microcomputer purchases accounted for the $38 million increase over its FY 1989 appropriations; (2) during FY 1988, its work addressed such major national issues as the budget deficit, financial institution soundness, public health, air traffic safety, major computer acquisitions, defense operations, and drug abuse; (3) during FY 1988, it testified before congressional committees a record 227 times, issued a record 825 reports to Congress, and substantially revised government auditing standards; and (4) its program operations improvement activities included rewarding employees for suggestions which improve efficiency, analyzing the cost-effectiveness of contracting for some audit and evaluation support tasks, closing some of its sub-offices, increasing effective automation of systems and procedures, establishing a national recruitment program and new training initiatives, implementing a pay-for-performance personnel evaluation system, and improving its working environment.