TITLE 31 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER II - GENERAL DUTIES AND POWERS

31 USC 711 - General authority

The Comptroller General may

(1) prescribe regulations to carry out the duties and powers of the Comptroller General;

(2) delegate the duties and powers of the Comptroller General to officers and employees of the Government Accountability Office as the Comptroller General decides is necessary to carry out those duties and powers;

(3) regulate the practice of representatives of persons before the Office; and

(4) administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and settling accounts.

31 USC 712 - Investigating the use of public money

The Comptroller General shall

(1) investigate all matters related to the receipt, disbursement, and use of public money;

(2) estimate the cost to the United States Government of complying with each restriction on expenditures of a specific appropriation in a general appropriation law and report each estimate to Congress with recommendations the Comptroller General considers desirable;

(3) analyze expenditures of each executive agency the Comptroller General believes will help Congress decide whether public money has been used and expended economically and efficiently;

(4) make an investigation and report ordered by either House of Congress or a committee of Congress having jurisdiction over revenue, appropriations, or expenditures; and

(5) give a committee of Congress having jurisdiction over revenue, appropriations, or expenditures the help and information the committee requests.

31 USC 713 - Audit of Internal Revenue Service, Tax and Trade Bureau, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

(a) Under regulations of the Comptroller General, the Comptroller General shall audit the Internal Revenue Service and the Tax and Trade Bureau, Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice of the Department of the Treasury.^[1] An audit under this section does not affect a final decision of the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6406 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6406).

(b)

(1) To carry out this section and to the extent provided by and only subject to section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6103)

(A) returns and return information (as defined in section 6103(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6103 (b)) shall be made available to the Comptroller General; and

(B) records and property of, or used by, the Service or either Bureau, shall be made available to the Comptroller General.

(2) At least once every 6 months, the Comptroller General shall designate each officer and employee of the Government Accountability Office by name and title to whom returns, return information, or records or property of the Service or either Bureau that can identify a particular taxpayer may be made available. Each designation or a certified copy of the designation shall be sent to the Committee on Finance of the Senate, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Government Operations of the House, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Tax and Trade Bureau, Department of the Treasury, and the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice.

(3) Except as expressly provided by law, an officer or employee of the Office may make known information derived from a record or property of, or in use by, the Service or either Bureau that can identify a particular taxpayer only to another officer or employee of the Office whose duties or powers require that the record or property be made known.

[1] So in original.

31 USC 714 - Audit of Financial Institutions Examination Council, Federal Reserve Board, Federal reserve banks, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of Comptroller of the Currency

(a) In this section, agency means the Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Federal Reserve Board, Federal reserve banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

(b) Under regulations of the Comptroller General, the Comptroller General shall audit an agency, but may carry out an onsite examination of an open insured bank or bank holding company only if the appropriate agency has consented in writing. Audits of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal reserve banks may not include

(1) transactions for or with a foreign central bank, government of a foreign country, or nonprivate international financing organization;

(2) deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters, including discount window operations, reserves of member banks, securities credit, interest on deposits, and open market operations;

(3) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; or

(4) a part of a discussion or communication among or between members of the Board of Governors and officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System related to clauses (1)(3) of this subsection.

(c)

(1) Except as provided in this subsection, an officer or employee of the Government Accountability Office may not disclose information identifying an open bank, an open bank holding company, or a customer of an open or closed bank or bank holding company. The Comptroller General may disclose information related to the affairs of a closed bank or closed bank holding company identifying a customer of the closed bank or closed bank holding company only if the Comptroller General believes the customer had a controlling influence in the management of the closed bank or closed bank holding company or was related to or affiliated with a person or group having a controlling influence.

(2) An officer or employee of the Office may discuss a customer, bank, or bank holding company with an official of an agency and may report an apparent criminal violation to an appropriate law enforcement authority of the United States Government or a State.

(3) This subsection does not authorize an officer or employee of an agency to withhold information from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.

(d)

(1) To carry out this section, all records and property of or used by an agency, including samples of reports of examinations of a bank or bank holding company the Comptroller General considers statistically meaningful and workpapers and correspondence related to the reports shall be made available to the Comptroller General. The Comptroller General shall give an agency a current list of officers and employees to whom, with proper identification, records and property may be made available, and who may make notes or copies necessary to carry out an audit.

(2) The Comptroller General shall prevent unauthorized access to records or property of or used by an agency that the Comptroller General obtains during an audit.

31 USC 715 - Audit of accounts and operations of the District of Columbia government

(a) In addition to the audit carried out under section 455 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Public Law 93198, 87 Stat. 803; D.C. Code, 47117), the Comptroller General each year shall audit the accounts and operations of the District of Columbia government. An audit shall be carried out according to principles, under regulations, and in a way the Comptroller General prescribes. When prescribing the procedures to follow and the extent of the inspection of records, the Comptroller General shall consider generally accepted principles of auditing, including the effectiveness of accounting organizations and systems, internal audit and control, and related administrative practices.

(b) The Comptroller General shall submit each audit report to Congress and (other than the audit reports of the District of Columbia Courts) the Mayor and Council of the District of Columbia. The report shall include the scope of an audit, information the Comptroller General considers necessary to keep Congress, the Mayor, and the Council informed of operations audited, and recommendations the Comptroller General considers advisable.

(c)

(1) By the 90th day after receiving an audit report from the Comptroller General, the Mayor shall state in writing to the Council measures the District of Columbia government is taking to comply with the recommendations of the Comptroller General. A copy of the statement shall be sent to Congress.

(2) After the Council receives the statement of the Mayor, the Council may make available for public inspection the report of the Comptroller General and other material the Council considers pertinent.

(d) To carry out this section, records and property of or used by the District of Columbia government necessary to make an audit easier shall be made available to the Comptroller General. The Mayor shall provide facilities to carry out an audit.

(e) Not later than March 1 of each year, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on the District of Columbia of the House of Representatives and the Subcommittee on General Services, Federalism, and the District of Columbia of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate a review of the report of the breakdown of the independently audited revenues of the District of Columbia for the preceding fiscal year by revenues derived from the Federal Government and revenues derived from sources other than the Federal Government that is included in the independent annual audit of the funds of the District of Columbia conducted for such fiscal year.

31 USC 716 - Availability of information and inspection of records

(a) Each agency shall give the Comptroller General information the Comptroller General requires about the duties, powers, activities, organization, and financial transactions of the agency. The Comptroller General may inspect an agency record to get the information. This subsection does not apply to expenditures made under section 3524 or 3526 (e) of this title.

(b)

(1) When an agency record is not made available to the Comptroller General within a reasonable time, the Comptroller General may make a written request to the head of the agency. The request shall state the authority for inspecting the records and the reason for the inspection. The head of the agency has 20 days after receiving the request to respond. The response shall describe the record withheld and the reason the record is being withheld. If the Comptroller General is not given an opportunity to inspect the record within the 20-day period, the Comptroller General may file a report with the President, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Attorney General, the head of the agency, and Congress.

(2) Through an attorney the Comptroller General designates in writing, the Comptroller General may bring a civil action in the district court of the United States for the District of Columbia to require the head of the agency to produce a record

(A) after 20 days after a report is filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection; and

(B) subject to subsection (d) of this section.

(3) The Attorney General may represent the head of the agency. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court under this subsection as a contempt of court.

(c)

(1) Subject to subsection (d) of this section, the Comptroller General may subpena a record of a person not in the United States Government when the record is not made available to the Comptroller General to which the Comptroller General has access by law or by agreement of that person from whom access is sought. A subpena shall identify the record and the authority for the inspection and may be issued by the Comptroller General. The Comptroller General may have an individual serve a subpena under this subsection by delivering a copy to the person named in the subpena or by mailing a copy of the subpena by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the residence or principal place of business of the person. Proof of service is shown by a verified return by the individual serving the subpena that states how the subpena was served or by the return receipt signed by the person served.

(2) If a person residing, found, or doing business in a judicial district refuses to comply with a subpena issued under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Comptroller General, through an attorney the Comptroller General designates in writing, may bring a civil action in that district court to require the person to produce the record. The court has jurisdiction of the action and may punish a failure to obey an order of the court under this subsection as a contempt of court.

(d)

(1) The Comptroller General may not bring a civil action for a record withheld under subsection (b) of this section or issue a subpena under subsection (c) of this section if

(A) the record related to activities the President designates as foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities;

(B) the record is specifically exempted from disclosure to the Comptroller General by a statute that

(i) without discretion requires that the record be withheld from the Comptroller General;

(ii) establishes particular criteria for withholding the record from the Comptroller General; or

(iii) refers to particular types of records to be withheld from the Comptroller General; or

(C) by the 20th day after a report is filed under subsection (b)(1) of this section, the President or the Director certifies to the Comptroller General and Congress that a record could be withheld under section 552 (b)(5) or (7) of title 5 and disclosure reasonably could be expected to impair substantially the operations of the Government.

(2) The President or the Director may not delegate certification under paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection. A certification shall include a complete explanation of the reasons for the certification.

(e)

(1) The Comptroller General shall maintain the same level of confidentiality for a record made available under this section as is required of the head of the agency from which it is obtained. Officers and employees of the Government Accountability Office are subject to the same statutory penalties for unauthorized disclosure or use as officers or employees of the agency.

(2) The Comptroller General shall keep information described in section 552 (b)(6) of title 5 that the Comptroller General obtains in a way that prevents unwarranted invasions of personal privacy.

(3) This section does not authorize information to be withheld from Congress.

31 USC 717 - Evaluating programs and activities of the United States Government

(a) In this section, agency means a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government (except a mixed-ownership Government corporation) or the District of Columbia government.

(b) The Comptroller General shall evaluate the results of a program or activity the Government carries out under existing law

(1) on the initiative of the Comptroller General;

(2) when either House of Congress orders an evaluation; or

(3) when a committee of Congress with jurisdiction over the program or activity requests the evaluation.

(c) The Comptroller General shall develop and recommend to Congress ways to evaluate a program or activity the Government carries out under existing law.

(d)

(1) On request of a committee of Congress, the Comptroller General shall help the committee to

(A) develop a statement of legislative goals and ways to assess and report program performance related to the goals, including recommended ways to assess performance, information to be reported, responsibility for reporting, frequency of reports, and feasibility of pilot testing; and

(B) assess program evaluations prepared by and for an agency.

(2) On request of a member of Congress, the Comptroller General shall give the member a copy of the material the Comptroller General compiles in carrying out this subsection that has been released by the committee for which the material was compiled.

31 USC 718 - Availability of draft reports

(a) A draft report of an audit under section 714 of this title shall be submitted to the Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for comment for 30 days.

(b)

(1) The Comptroller General may submit a part of a draft report to an agency for comment for more than 30 days only if the Comptroller General decides, after a showing by the agency, that a longer period is necessary and likely to result in a more accurate report. The report may not be delayed because the agency does not comment within the comment period.

(2) When a draft report is submitted to an agency for comment, the Comptroller General shall make the draft report available on request to

(A) either House of Congress, a committee of Congress, or a member of Congress if the report was begun because of a request of the House, committee, or member; or

(B) the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives if the report was not begun because of a request of either House of Congress, a committee of Congress, or a member of Congress.

(3) This subsection is subject to statutory and executive order guidelines for handling and storing classified information and material.

(1) a statement of significant changes of a finding, conclusion, or recommendation in an earlier draft report because of comments on the draft by an agency;

(2) a statement of the reasons the changes were made; and

(3) for a draft report submitted under subsection (a) of this section, written comments of the agency submitted during the comment period.

31 USC 719 - Comptroller General reports

(a) At the beginning of each regular session of Congress, the Comptroller General shall report to Congress (and to the President when requested by the President) on the work of the Comptroller General. A report shall include recommendations on

(1) legislation the Comptroller General considers necessary to make easier the prompt and accurate making and settlement of accounts; and

(2) other matters related to the receipt, disbursement, and use of public money the Comptroller General considers advisable.

(b)

(1) The Comptroller General shall include in the report to Congress under subsection (a) of this section

(A) a review of activities under sections 717 (b)(d) and 731(e)(2) of this title, including recommendations under section 717 (c) of this title;

(B) information on carrying out duties and powers of the Comptroller General under clauses (A) and (C) of this paragraph, subsections (g) and (h)1 of this section, and sections 717, 731 (e)(2), 734, 1112, and 1113 of this title; and

(C) the name of each officer and employee of the Government Accountability Office assigned or detailed to a committee of Congress, the committee to which the officer or employee is assigned or detailed, the length of the period of assignment or detail, a statement on whether the assignment or detail is finished or continuing, and compensation paid out of appropriations available to the Comptroller General for the period of the assignment or detail that has been completed.

(2) In a report under subsection (a) of this section or in a special report to Congress when Congress is in session, the Comptroller General shall include recommendations on greater economy and efficiency in public expenditures.

(3) The report under subsection (a) shall also include a statement of the staff hours and estimated cost of work performed on audits, evaluations, investigations, and related work during each of the three fiscal years preceding the fiscal year in which the report is submitted, stated separately for each division of the Government Accountability Office by category as follows:

(A) A category for work requested by the chairman of a committee of Congress, the chairman of a subcommittee of such a committee, or any other Member of Congress.

(B) A category for work required by law to be performed by the Comptroller General.

(C) A category for work initiated by the Comptroller General in the performance of the Comptroller Generals general responsibilities.

(1) specially on expenditures and contracts an agency makes in violation of law;

(2) on the adequacy and effectiveness of

(A) administrative audits of accounts and claims in an agency; and

(B) inspections by an agency of offices and accounts of fiscal officials; and

(3) as frequently as practicable on audits carried out under sections 713 and 714 of this title.

(d) The Comptroller General shall report on analyses carried out under section 712 (3) of this title to the Committees on Governmental Affairs and Appropriations of the Senate, the Committees on Government Operations and Appropriations of the House, and the committees with jurisdiction over legislation related to the operation of each executive agency.

(e) The Comptroller General shall give the President information on expenditures and accounting the President requests.

(f) When the Comptroller General submits a report to Congress, the Comptroller General shall deliver copies of the report to

(1) the Committees on Governmental Affairs and Appropriations of the Senate;

(2) the Committees on Government Operations and Appropriations of the House;

(3) a committee of Congress that requested information on any part of a program or activity of a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government (except a mixed-ownership Government corporation) or the District of Columbia government that is the subject of any part of a report; and

(4) any other committee of Congress requesting a copy.

(g)

(1) The Comptroller General shall prepare

(A) each month a list of reports issued during the prior month; and

(B) at least once each year a list of reports issued during the prior 12 months.

(2) A copy of each list shall be sent to each committee of Congress and each member of Congress. On request, the Comptroller General promptly shall provide a copy of a report to a committee or member.

(h) On request of a committee of Congress, the Comptroller General shall explain to and discuss with the committee or committee staff a report the Comptroller General makes that would help the committee

(1) evaluate a program or activity of an agency within the jurisdiction of the committee; or

(2) in its consideration of proposed legislation.

[1] See References in Text note below.

31 USC 720 - Agency reports

(a) In this section, agency means a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government (except a mixed-ownership Government corporation) or the District of Columbia government.

(b) When the Comptroller General makes a report that includes a recommendation to the head of an agency, the head of the agency shall submit a written statement on action taken on the recommendation by the head of the agency. The statement shall be submitted to

(1) the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives before the 61st day after the date of the report; and

(2) the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress in the first request for appropriations submitted more than 60 days after the date of the report.