IFPTE Calls on Congress to Halt Comptroller General Nomination Process and Defend a Non-Partisan GAO

WASHINGTON, DC – The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) issued the following statement in response to Senator Rand Paul scheduling a nomination hearing for a yet-unnamed individual to be Comptroller General and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

IFPTE President Matt Biggs:

“GAO’s independence is critical to its ability to function as a non-partisan agency serving both houses and both parties in Congress. It must follow the longstanding, statutory process for the appointment of the Comptroller General and ensure that Congress can exercise meaningful oversight over the federal government for the next 15 years. 

Over the past decades, bipartisan congressional commissions have produced nominees that were acceptable to both parties and adhered to the spirit of bipartisanship. This is the only way to ensure high-quality leadership that preserves GAO’s independence, professionalism, and credibility. The American people need a watchdog to root out fraud, waste, and abuse, not a lapdog for the Executive Branch.”

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch agency that works for Congress. It examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, non-partisan, fact-based information to help the government save money and work more efficiently.

As the head of the GAO, the Comptroller General serves Congress and helps it meet its constitutional responsibilities and improve federal government performance and accountability for the benefit of the American people. To ensure that the Comptroller General is best able to accomplish this mission, Congress has stipulated that the Comptroller General serve a 15-year term, be recommended by a bicameral, bipartisan Congressional commission, and only be removable by Congress. Therefore, it is important that this Congressional commission carefully evaluate any nominee to maintain GAO’s credibility, independence, and effectiveness. This process, established by Congress in 1980, has been consistently followed for each vacancy of the Comptroller General until now.

Instead, Senator Paul demanded nominations via e-mail on a federal holiday with a deadline of 8 AM the following day. Not all statutorily required members of the commission were notified, and the Commission has never met or interviewed candidates. This stands in stark contrast to the process for the previous three Comptroller General nomination processes since 1980.

IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 workers in the federal, public, and private sectors, including 2,500 employees of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

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Download a PDF of this press release here.

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