Thursday, February 09, 2012
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), considered by some as the most efficient federal agency in Washington, has been forced to reduce its staffing levels to a 75-year low, due to budget cuts.
The agency saved the government $45.7 billion in FY 2011 as a result of its audits. For every dollar GAO received in funding, it saved the U.S. Treasury $81.
Reductions in funding have resulted in a 11% shrinkage of GAO’s workforce over the last two years. And by September the agency will employ fewer than 3,000 employees for the first time in more than seven decades.
GAO is asking for a 3% increase in the next budget, which would allow it to boost the number of staff to about 3,100.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
GAO Scales Back To Fewer Than 3,000 (by Ed O'Keefe, Washington Post)
Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request U.S. Government Accountability Office (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)
Why is Congress Cutting the Budget of Agency that Saves Billions of Dollars? (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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