House Passes by Voice Vote Bill Granting Expanded Powers to GAO to Litigate on Vital Federal Agency Records

On motion to suspend the rules, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed by voice vote and without any amendment H.R. 6388,  otherwise known as the Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2008.

Chairman Henry A. Waxman and 18 other committee chairs introduced this legislation to strengthen the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and restore GAO’s authority to pursue litigation if documents are improperly withheld from the agency.

In addition, the bill authorizes the Comptroller General, for five years following enactment of this Act, to conduct reviews, including on-site examinations, of credit facilities established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any federal reserve bank, and of the establishment of such facilities, in: (1) carrying out any action or function approved by the Board under provisions authorizing a federal reserve bank to discount for any individual, partnership, or corporation, notes, drafts, and bills of exchange when they are endorsed or otherwise secured to the satisfaction of the bank; or (2) in providing temporary assistance to private institutions as the lender of last resort.

The proposed legislation provides a list of credit facilities to which this section applies: (1) the Money Market Investor Funding Facility; (2) the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility; (3) the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility; (4) the Term Auction Facility; (5) the Primary Dealer Credit Facility; (6) the Commercial Paper Funding Facility; (7) the Term Securities Lending Facility, including the Term Securities Lending Facility Options Program; (8) the Revolving Credit Facility; (9) reciprocal currency arrangements with foreign central banks; (10) the Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase Program, as well as the purchase of debt obligations from a government sponsored enterprise; and (11) any special purpose vehicle through which any such credit facility conducts any activity or lending. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress within 90 days of each review’s completion.

“At a time when our budget deficits are soaring to record levels, we cannot afford to waste billions on poorly managed contracts and bloated federal programs,” said Chairman Waxman. “We need a strong GAO to root out waste and corruption.”

One key provision of the legislation repudiates the district court decision in Walker v. Cheney and reaffirms GAO’s authority to go to court when agencies or the White House refuse to provide access to records.

Other provisions of this bill give GAO authority to interview federal employees and administer oaths. The bill also affirms GAO’s right to obtain records from three agencies that have sometimes thwarted GAO oversight by denying access to documents: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Finally, the bill creates a reporting mechanism so that Congress will be informed when federal agencies do not cooperate.

The bill now goes on to be voted on in the Senate.

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