Office of Compliance: Status of Management Control Efforts to Improve Effectiveness;Report to the Congress

摘要

The Consolidated Appropriations Resolution of 2003 Conference Report mandated that GAO review the Office of Compliance (OOC), an independent legislative branch agency created by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA). OOC, a 15-person office with about ;2 million in expenditures during fiscal year 2003, administers and enforces various CAA provisions related to fair employment and occupational safety and health among certain legislative branch agencies. OOC's current Executive Director has been in place since April 2001 and its General Counsel joined the Office in June 2003. The mandate directed GAO to assess the OOC's overall effectiveness and efficiency and to make recommendations, as appropriate. GAO makes several recommendations to strengthen OOC's strategic planning process, facilitate communications between OOC and its congressional and legislative branch stakeholders, and build an enhanced control management environment within OOC. This report also contains matters for congressional consideration regarding statutory changes to the CAA to help maintain institutional continuity for OOC. In a joint response, OOC's Board of Directors, Executive Director, and General Counsel all generally agreed with our recommendations and stated that OOC is making progress toward their adoption and implementation.