GAO Lists Top “Urgent Issues” for Next President and Congress; Unveils New Transition Web Site (PDF; 64 KB)
Source: Government Accountability Office

Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro Thursday released a list of 13 urgent issues the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified as among those needing the attention of President-Elect Obama and the 111th Congress during the transition and the first year of the new administration and Congress. The list is the centerpiece of a new Web site GAO launched Thursday that is designed to help make the transition an informed and smooth one across the federal government.

• Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
• Oversight of Financial Institutions and Markets
• Preparing for Large-Scale Health Emergencies
• Protecting the Homeland
• Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting
• Retirement of the Space Shuttle
• Surface Transportation
• The 2010 Census
• Transition to Digital TV

In addition to the urgent issues, the new GAO Web site (http://www.gao.gov/transition_2009) will include sections on:

+ Agency-by-Agency Issues
Each agency faces a range of distinctive major challenges affecting its mission, budget, and programs. Here, GAO summarizes its work at 28 federal agencies. This section allows new appointees to quickly and easily review GAO’s findings and recommendations on challenges facing each particular agency.

+ Major Cost-Saving Opportunities
A number of opportunities exist to limit costs and reduce waste across agencies and programs, as well as increase collection of revenues already due the government. GAO discusses about 50 such opportunities.

+ Management Challenges Across the Government
Agencies share a number of management challenges to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness and address current and emerging demands.

+ Long-Term Fiscal Outlook
This section describes the federal government’s long-term fiscal challenges.

+ Examples of Upcoming GAO reports on Major National Issues
GAO’s forthcoming work focuses on a wide range of key federal policies and programs.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 9:58 pm and is filed under GAO, Government and politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.