Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on the 

Legislative Branch, Committee on 

Appropriations, U.S. Senate

United States General Accounting Office 

GAO

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 1:30 p.m. EST 

Thursday, March 27, 2003 FISCAL YEAR 2004 

BUDGET REQUEST 

U.S. General Accounting 

Office 

Statement of David M. Walker 

Comptroller General of the United States 

GAO-03-580T 
Page 1 GAO-03-580T 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am pleased to appear before the Subcommittee today as the Comptroller 

General of the United States and head of the U.S. General Accounting 

Office (GAO). GAO is a key source of objective information and analyses 

and, as such, plays a crucial role in supporting congressional decisionmaking and helping improve government for the benefit of the American 

people. My testimony today will focus on GAO’s (1) fiscal year 2002 

performance and results, (2) efforts to maximize our effectiveness, 

responsiveness and value, and (3) our budget request for fiscal year 2004 

to support the Congress and serve the American public. In summary, 

• In fiscal year 2002, GAO’s work informed the national debate on a broad 

spectrum of issues including helping the Congress answer questions about 

the associated costs and program trade-offs of the national preparedness 

strategy, including providing perspectives on how best to organize and 

manage the new Transportation Security Administration and Department 

of Homeland Security. GAO’s efforts helped the Congress and government 

leaders achieve $37.7 billion in financial benefits—an $88 return on every 

dollar invested in GAO. The return on the public’s investment in GAO 

extends beyond dollar savings to improvements in how the government 

serves its citizens. This includes a range of accomplishments that serve to 

improve safety, enhance security, protect privacy, and increase the 

effectiveness of a range of federal programs and activities. 

• The results of our work in fiscal year 2002 were possible, in part, because 

of changes we have made to transform GAO in order to meet our goal of 

being a model federal agency and a world-class professional services 

organization. We had already realigned GAO’s structure and resources to 

better serve the Congress in its legislative, oversight, appropriations, and 

investigative roles. Over the past year, we cultivated and fostered 

congressional and agency relations, better refined our strategic and annual 

planning and reporting processes, and enhanced our information 

technology infrastructure. We also continued to provide priority attention 

to our management challenges of human capital, information security, and 

physical security. We have made progress in addressing each of these 

challenges, but we still have work to do and plan to ask for legislation to 

help address some of these issues. 

• GAO is requesting budget authority of $473 million for fiscal year 2004. 

Our request represents a modest 4.1 percent increase in direct 

appropriations, primarily for mandatory pay and uncontrollable costs. This 

budget will allow us to maintain current operations for serving the 

Congress as outlined in our strategic plan and to continue initiatives to 

enhance our human capital, support business processes, and ensure the 

safety and security of GAO staff, facilities, and information systems. 
Page 2 GAO-03-580T 

Approximately $4.8 million, or about 1 percent, of our request relates to 

several safety and security items that are included in our fiscal year 2003 

supplemental request. If this supplemental request is granted, our fiscal 

year 2004 request could be reduced accordingly. 

Fiscal year 2002 was a year of challenges, not just for GAO but also for the 

Congress and the nation. The nation’s vulnerabilities were exposed in a 

series of events—America’s vulnerability to sophisticated terrorist 

networks, bioterrorism waged through mechanisms as mundane as the 

daily mail, and corporate misconduct capable of wiping out jobs, pensions, 

and investments virtually overnight. As the Congress’s priorities changed 

to meet these crises, GAO’s challenge was to respond quickly and 

effectively to our congressional clients’ changing needs. 

With work already underway across a spectrum of critical policy and 

performance issues, we had a head start toward meeting the Congress’ 

needs in a year of unexpected and often tumultuous events. For example, 

in fiscal year 2002 GAO’s work informed the debate over national 

preparedness strategy, helping the Congress determine how best to 

organize and manage major new departments, assess key vulnerabilities to 

homeland defense, and respond to the events of September 11 in areas 

such as terrorism insurance and airline security. GAO’s input also was a 

major factor in shaping the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which created the Public 

Company Accounting Oversight Board, as well as new rules to strengthen 

corporate governance and ensure auditor independence. Further, GAO’s 

work helped the Congress develop and enact election reform legislation in 

the form of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to help restore voter 

confidence. 

In fiscal year 2002, GAO also served the Congress and the American 

people by helping to: 

• Contribute to a national preparedness strategy at the federal, state, and 

local levels that will make Americans safer from terrorism 

• Protect investors through better oversight of the securities industry and 

the accounting profession 

• Ensure a safer national food supply 

• Expose the inadequacy of nursing home care 

• Make income tax collection fair, effective, and less painful to taxpayers 

• Strengthen public schools’ accountability for educating children 

• Keep sensitive American technologies out of the wrong hands 

Fiscal Year 2002 

Performance and 

Results 
Page 3 GAO-03-580T 

• Protect American armed forces confronting chemical or biological 

weapons 

• Identify the risks to employees in private pension programs 

• Identify factors causing the shortage of children’s vaccines 

• Assist the postal system in addressing anthrax and various management 

challenges 

• Identify security risks at ports, airports, and transit systems 

• Save billions by bringing sound business practices to the Department of 

Defense 

• Foster human capital strategic management to create a capable, effective, 

well-managed federal workforce 

• Ensure that the armed forces are trained and equipped to meet the 

nation’s defense commitments 

• Enhance the safety of Americans and foreign nationals at U.S. 

installations wordwide 

• Assess ways of improving border security through biometric technologies 

and other means 

• Reduce the international debt problems faced by poor countries 

• Reform the way federal agencies manage their finances 

• Protect government computer systems from security threats 

• Enhance the transition of e-government—the new “electronic connection” 

between government and the public 

During fiscal year 2002, GAO’s analyses and recommendations contributed 

to a wide range of legislation considered by the Congress, as shown in the 

following table. 
Page 4 GAO-03-580T 

Table 1: Selected Public Laws to Which GAO Contributed During Fiscal Year 2002 

• Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments of 2002, P.L. 107-188 

• Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, P.L. 107-1092 

• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110 

• Food Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2002, P.L. 107-171 

• Help America Vote Act of 2002, P.L. 107-252 

• Homeland Security Act of 2002, P.L. 107-296 

• Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, 

P.L. 107-188 

• Aviation and Transportation Security Act, P.L. 107-71 

• Department of Defense Appropriation Act, 2003, P.L. 107-248 

• Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery 

From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002, P.L. 107-117

• Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 P.L. 107-314 

• Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003, P.L. 107-228 

• Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, P.L. 107-198 

• Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, P.L. 107-347 

• Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, P.L. 107-204 

• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, P.L. 107-107 

• Legislative Branch Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2002, P.L. 107-68 

• Improper Payments Information Act of 2002, P.L. 107-300 

• Trade Act of 2002, P.L. 107-210 

• Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, P.L. 107-297 

• E-Government Act of 2002, P.L. 107-347 

Source: GAO. 

By year’s end, we had testified 216 times before the Congress, sometimes 

on as little as 24 hours’ notice, on a range of issues. We had responded to 

hundreds of urgent requests for information. We had developed 1,950 

recommendations for improving the government’s operations, including, 

for example, those we made to the Secretary of State calling for the 

development of a governmentwide plan to help other countries combat 

nuclear smuggling and those we made to the Chairman of the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission calling for his agency to develop an action 

plan for overseeing competitive energy markets. We also had continued to 

track the recommendations we had made in past years, checking to see 

that they had been implemented and, if not, whether we needed to do 

follow-up work on problem areas. We found, in fact, that 79 percent of the 

recommendations we had made in fiscal year 1998 had been implemented, 

a significant step when the work we have done for the Congress becomes 

a catalyst for creating tangible benefits for the American people. 
Page 5 GAO-03-580T 

Table 2 highlights, by GAO’s three external strategic goals, examples of 

issues on which we testified before Congress during fiscal year 2002. 

Table 2: Issues on Which GAO Testified During Fiscal Year 2002 

Goal 1 

Well-Being and Financial Security of the 

American People 

Goal 2 

Changing Security Threats and 

Challenge of Globalization 

Goal 3 

Transforming the Federal 

Government’s Role 

Aviation security 

Bioterrorism 

Blood supplies 

Child welfare 

Childhood vaccines 

Coast Guard’s security missions 

Customs’ cargo inspections 

Disability programs 

EPA cabinet status 

FBI reorganization 

Federal property management reform 

Food safety 

Highway trust fund 

Housing 

HUD management reform 

Identity theft 

Immigration enforcement 

Indian tribal recognition 

Intercity passenger rail 

Long-term care 

Medicare payments 

Nuclear waste storage 

Nursing homes 

Postal Service challenges 

Public health aspects of homeland security 

Retiree health insurance 

SBA’s human capital challenges 

Social Security reform 

Transit safety and security 

VA health care 

Welfare reform 

Wildfire threats 

Workforce development 

A-76 competitive sourcing 

Anthrax vaccine 

Ballistic missile defense 

Chemical and biological preparedness 

Combating terrorism 

Compact with Micronesia 

Conflict diamonds 

Debt relief for poor countries 

Encroachment on training ranges 

Export controls 

Food aid 

Foreign language needs 

Gulf War illnesses 

Information security aspects of homeland 

 security 

International trade 

Nuclear smuggling 

Organizational aspects of homeland 

 security 

SEC’s human capital challenges 

Strategic seaport protection 

Terrorism insurance 

U.S. overseas presence 

Weapons of mass destruction 

Contract management 

Contracting for services 

Corporate governance and accountability 

Debt collection 

DOD financial management 

Electronic Government Act of 2002 

Electronic-government security 

Enterprise architecture 

Federal budget issues 

Federal building security 

Federal financial management reform 

Federal rulemaking requirements 

Freedom to Manage Act 

Human capital strategy 

Illegal tax schemes and scams 

Intergovernmental aspects of homeland 

 security 

IRS modernization 

Medicaid financial management 

NASA’s management challenges 

President’s Management Agenda 

Purchase card controls 

Securing America’s borders 

U.S. government’s financial statements 

Source: GAO. 

Congress and the executive agencies took a wide range of actions in fiscal 

year 2002 to improve government operations, reduce costs, or better target 

budget authority based on GAO analyses and recommendations, as 

highlighted in the following sections. 
Page 6 GAO-03-580T 

Federal action on GAO’s findings or recommendations produced financial 

benefits for the American people: a total of $37.7 billion was achieved by 

making government services more efficient, improving the budgeting and 

spending of tax dollars, and strengthening the management of federal 

resources (see fig. 1). For example, increased funding for improved 

safeguards against fraud and abuse helped the Medicare program to better 

control improper payments of $8.1 billion over 2 years, and better policies 

and controls reduced losses from farm loan programs by about $4.8 billion 

across 5 years. 

Figure 1: Financial Benefits Resulting from GAO’s Work 

In fiscal year 2002, we also recorded 906 instances in which our work led 

to improvements in government operations or programs (see fig. 2). For 

example, by acting on GAO’s findings or recommendations, the federal 

government has taken important steps toward enhancing aviation safety, 

improving pediatric drug labeling based on research, better targeting of 

funds to high-poverty school districts, greater accountability in the federal 

acquisition process, and more effective delivery of disaster recovery 

assistance to other nations, among other achievements. 
Page 7 GAO-03-580T 

Figure 2: GAO’s Work Improving Government Operations and Services 

As shown in table 3, we met all of our annual performance targets except 

our timeliness target. While we provided 96 percent of our products to 

their congressional requesters by the date promised, we missed this 

measure’s target of 98 percent on-time delivery. The year’s turbulent 

events played a part in our missing the target, causing us to delay work in 

progress when higher-priority requests came in from the Congress. We 

know we will continue to face factors beyond our control as we strive to 

improve our performance in this area. We believe the agency protocols we 

are piloting will help clarify aspects of our interactions with the agencies 

we evaluate and audit and, thus, expedite our work in ways that could 

improve the timeliness of our final products. We also believe that our 

continuing investments in human capital and information technology will 

improve our timeliness while allowing us to maintain our high level of 

productivity and performance overall. 
Page 8 GAO-03-580T 

Table 3: Annual Performance Measures and Targets 

Fiscal year 

Performance measure 

1998 

Actual 

1999

Actual

2000 

Actual 

2001 

Actual 

2002 

Target

2002 

Actual 

4-year 

avg. 

Actual 

2003 

Target 

2004

Target

Financial benefits (dollars in 

billions) $19.7 $20.1 $23.2 $26.4 $30.0 $37.7a

 $26.9 $32.5b $35.0

Other benefits 537 607 788 799 770 906 775 800b

 820

Past recommendations 

implemented 69% 70% 78% 79% 75% 79% N/A 77% 77%

New recommendations made 987 940 1,224 1,563 1,200 1,950 1,419 1,250b

 1,250

New products with 

recommendations 33% 33% 39% 44% 45% 53% 42% 50% 50%

Testimonies 256 229 263 151 200 216 215 180b

 200

Timeliness 93% 96% 96% 95% 98% 96% 96% 98% 98%

Legend: 

N/A = not applicable 

Source: GAO. 

a

Changes GAO made to its methodology for tabulating financial benefits caused about 11 percent of 

the increase in fiscal year 2002. 

b

Four targets published in GAO’s performance plan for fiscal year 2003 were subsequently revised 

based on more current information. Two were raised; two were lowered. The original targets were 

financial benefits, $35 billion; other benefits, 785; recommendations made, 1,200; and testimonies, 

210. 

The results of our work were possible, in part, because of changes we 

have made to maximize the value of GAO. We had already realigned GAO’s 

structure and resources to better serve the Congress in its legislative, 

oversight, appropriations, and investigative roles. Over the past year, we 

cultivated and fostered congressional and agency relations, better refined 

our strategic and annual planning and reporting processes, and enhanced 

our information technology infrastructure. We also continued to provide 

priority attention to our management challenges of human capital, 

information security, and physical security. Changes we made in each of 

these areas helped enable us to operate in a constantly changing 

environment. 

Over the course of the year, we cultivated and fostered congressional and 

agency relations in several ways. On October 23, 2001, in response to the 

anthrax incident on Capitol Hill, we opened our doors to 435 members of 

the House of Representatives and their staffs. Later in the year, we 

continued with our traditional hill outreach meetings and completed a 7-

Maximizing GAO’s 

Effectiveness, 

Responsiveness and 

Value 

Congressional and Agency 

Relations 
Page 9 GAO-03-580T 

month pilot test of a system for obtaining clients’ views on the quality of 

our testimonies and reports. We also developed agency protocols to 

provide clearly defined, consistently applied, well-documented, and 

transparent policies for conducting our work with federal agencies. We 

have implemented our new reporting product line entitled Highlights—a 

one-page summary that provides the key findings and recommendations 

from a GAO engagement. We continued our policy of outreach to our 

congressional clients, the public, and the press to enhance the 

accessibility of GAO products. Our external web site now logs about 

100,000 visitors each day and more than 1 million GAO products are 

downloaded every month by our congressional clients, the public, and the 

press. 

In light of certain records access challenges during the past few years and 

with concerns about national and homeland security unusually high at 

home and abroad, it may become more difficult for us to obtain 

information from the Executive Branch and report on certain issues. If this 

were to occur, it would hamper our ability to complete congressional 

requests in a timely manner. We are updating GAO’s engagement 

acceptance policies and practices to address this issue and may 

recommend legislative changes that will help to assure that we have 

reasonable and appropriate information that we need to conduct our work 

for the Congress and the country. 

GAO’s strategic planning process serves as a model for the federal 

government. Our plan aligns GAO’s resources to meet the needs of the 

Congress, address emerging challenges and achieve positive results. 

Following the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, we 

established a process that provides for updates with each new Congress, 

ongoing analysis of emerging conditions and trends, extensive 

consultations with congressional clients and outside experts, and 

assessments of our internal capacities and needs. 

At the beginning of fiscal year 2002, we updated our strategic plan for 

serving the Congress based on substantial congressional input—extending 

the plan’s perspective out to fiscal year 2007 and factoring in 

developments that had occurred since we first issued it in fiscal year 2000. 

The updated plan carries forward the four strategic goals we had already 

established as the organizing principles for a body of work that is as wideranging as the interests and concerns of the Congress itself. Using the plan 

as a blueprint, we lay out the areas in which we expect to conduct 

research, audits, analyses, and evaluations to meet our clients’ needs, and 

Strategic and Annual 

Planning 
Page 10 GAO-03-580T 

we allocate the resources we receive from the Congress accordingly. 

Following is our strategic plan framework. Appendix I of this statement 

delineates in a bit more detail our strategic objectives and our qualitative 

performance goals for fiscal years 2002 and 2003. 
Page 11 GAO-03-580T 

We issued our 2001 Performance and Accountability Report that combines 

information on our past year’s accomplishments and progress in meeting 

our strategic goals with our plans for achieving our fiscal year 2003 

performance goals. The report earned a Certificate of Excellence in 

Accountability Reporting from the Association of Government 

Accountants. We issued our fiscal year 2002 Performance and 

Accountability Report in January 2003. 

Our financial statements, which are integral to our performance and 

accountability, received an unqualified opinion for the sixteenth 

consecutive year. Furthermore, our external auditors did not identify any 

material control weaknesses or compliance issues relating to GAO’s 

operations. 

During the past year, we acquired new hardware and software and 

developed user-friendly systems that enhanced our productivity and 

responsiveness to the Congress and helped meet our initial information 

technology goals. For example, we replaced aging desktop workstations 

with notebook computers that provide greater computing power, speed, 

and mobility. In addition, we upgraded key desktop applications, the 

Windows desktop operating system, and telecommunications systems to 

ensure that GAO staff have modern technology tools to assist them in 

carrying out their work. We also developed new, integrated, user-friendly 

Web-based systems that eliminate duplicate data entry while ensuring the 

reusability of existing data. As the Clinger-Cohen Act requires, GAO has an 

enterprise architecture program in place to guide its information 

technology planning and decision making. In designing and developing 

systems, as well as in acquiring technology tools and services, we have 

applied enterprise architecture principles and concepts to ensure sound 

information technology investments and the interoperability of systems. 

Given GAO’s role as a key provider of information and analyses to the 

Congress, maintaining the right mix of technical knowledge and expertise 

as well as general analytical skills is vital to achieving our mission. We 

spend about 80 percent of our resources on our people, but without 

excellent human capital management, we could still run the risk of being 

unable to deliver what the Congress and the nation expect from us. At the 

beginning of my term in early fiscal year 1999, we completed a selfassessment that profiled our human capital workforce and identified a 

number of serious challenges facing our workforce, including significant 

issues involving succession planning and imbalances in the structure, 

Information Technology 

Human Capital 
Page 12 GAO-03-580T 

shape, and skills of our workforce. As presented below, through a number 

of strategically planned human capital initiatives over the past few years, 

we have made significant progress in addressing these issues. For 

example, as illustrated in figure 3, by the end of fiscal year 2002, we had 

almost a 60 percent increase in the percentage of staff at the entry-level 

(Band I) as compared with fiscal year 1998. Also, the proportion of our 

workforce at the mid-level (Band II) decreased by about 8 percent. 

Figure 3: GAO’s Human Capital Profile 

a

Attorneys and criminal investigators 

b

Mission support includes both mission and mission support offices as discussed in GAO’s budget 

submission 

Our fiscal year 2002 human capital initiatives included the following: 

• In fiscal year 2002, we hired nearly 430 permanent staff and 140 interns. 

We also developed and implemented a strategy to place more emphasis on 

diversity in campus recruiting. 

• In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, to help meet our workforce planning 

objectives, we offered voluntary early retirement under authority 

established in our October 2000 human capital legislation. Early 

retirement was granted to 52 employees in fiscal year 2002 and 24 

employees in fiscal year 2003. 

• To retain staff with critical skills and staff with less than 3 years of GAO 

experience, we implemented legislation authorizing federal agencies to 

offer student loan repayments in exchange for certain federal service 

commitments. 

• In fiscal year 2002, GAO implemented a new, modern, effective, and 

credible performance appraisal system for analysts and specialists, 

adapted the system for attorneys, and began modifying the system for 

administrative professional and support staff. 
Page 13 GAO-03-580T 

• We began developing a new core training curriculum for managers and 

staff to provide additional training on the key competencies required to 

perform GAO’s work. 

• We also took steps to achieve a fully democratically-elected Employee 

Advisory Council to work with GAO’s Executive Committee in addressing 

issues of mutual interest and concern. 

The above represent just a few of many accomplishments in the human 

capital area. GAO is the clear leader in the federal government in 

designating and implementing 21st century human capital policies and 

practices. We also are taking steps to work with the Congress, the Office 

of Management and Budget, and the Office of Personnel Management, and 

others to “help others help themselves” in the human capital area. 

Ensuring information systems security and disaster recovery systems that 

allow for continuity of operations is a critical requirement for GAO, 

particularly in light of the events of September 11 and the anthrax 

incidents. The risk is that our information could be compromised and that 

we would be unable to respond to the needs of the Congress in an 

emergency. In light of this risk and in keeping with our goal of being a 

model federal agency, we are implementing an information security 

program consistent with the requirements in the Government Information 

Security Reform provisions (commonly referred to as “GISRA”) enacted in 

the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 

2001. We have made progress through our efforts to, among other things, 

implement a risk-based, agencywide security program; provide security 

training and awareness; and develop and implement an enterprise disaster 

recovery solution. 

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent 

anthrax incidents, our ability to provide a safe and secure workplace 

emerged as a challenge for our agency. Protecting our people and our 

assets is critical to our ability to meet our mission. We devoted additional 

resources to this area and implemented measures such as reinforcing 

vehicle and pedestrian entry points, installing an additional x-ray machine, 

adding more security guards, and reinforcing windows. 

GAO is requesting budget authority of $473 million for fiscal year 2004 to 

maintain current operations for serving the Congress as outlined in our 

strategic plan and to continue initiatives to enhance our human capital, 

Information Security 

Physical Security 

GAO’s Fiscal Year 

2004 Budget Request 
Page 14 GAO-03-580T 

support business processes, and ensure the safety and security of GAO 

staff, facilities, and information systems. This funding level will allow us to 

fund up to 3,269 full-time equivalent personnel. Our request includes 

$466.6 million in direct appropriations and authority to use estimated 

revenues of $6 million from reimbursable audit work and rental income. 

Our requested increase of $18.4 million in direct appropriations represents 

a modest 4.1 percent increase, primarily for mandatory pay and 

uncontrollable costs. Our budget request also includes savings from 

nonrecurring fiscal year 2003 investments in fiscal year 2004 that we 

propose to use to fund further one-time investments in critical areas, such 

as security and human capital. 

We have submitted a request for $4.8 million in supplemental fiscal year 

2003 funds to allow us to accelerate implementation of important security 

enhancements. Our fiscal year 2004 budget includes $4.8 million for safety 

and security needs that are also included in the supplemental. If the 

requested fiscal year 2003 supplemental funds are provided, our fiscal year 

2004 budget could be reduced by $4.8 million. Table 4 presents our fiscal 

year 2003 and requested fiscal year 2004 resources by funding source. 

Table 4: Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 Resources by Funding Source 

(Dollars in thousands) 

 Change – FY 2003 to 2004 

Funding source 

FY 2003 

Revised 

FY 2004 

Request Amount Percent 

Total budget authority 

Less: offsetting collectionsb

Direct appropriation 

$451,202a

(3,000) 

$448,202 

$472,627 

(6,006) 

$466,621 

 $21,425

(3,006)

$18,419 4.1

Source: GAO. 

a

Excludes request for supplemental funds of $4.8 million. 

b

Offsetting collections include reimbursable audit work and rental income. 

During fiscal year 2004, we plan to sustain our investments in maximizing 

the productivity of our workforce by continuing to address the key 

management challenges of human capital, and both information and 

physical security. We will continue to take steps to “lead by example” 

within the federal government in connection with these and other critical 

management areas. 

Over the next several years, we need to continue to address skill gaps, 

maximize staff productivity and effectiveness, and reengineer our human 

capital processes to make them more user-friendly. We plan to address 
Page 15 GAO-03-580T 

skill gaps by further refining our recruitment and hiring strategies to target 

gaps identified through our workforce planning efforts, while taking into 

account the significant percentage of our workforce eligible for 

retirement. We will continue to take steps to reengineer our human capital 

systems and practices to increase their efficiency and to take full 

advantage of technology. We will also ensure that our staff have the 

needed skills and training to function in this reengineered environment. In 

addition, we are developing competency-based performance appraisal and 

broad-banding pay systems for our mission support employees. 

To ensure our ability to attract, retain, and reward high-quality staff, we 

plan to devote additional resources to our employee training and 

development program. We will target resources to continue initiatives to 

address skill gaps, maximize staff productivity, and increase staff 

effectiveness by updating our training curriculum to address 

organizational and technical needs and training new staff. Also, to enhance 

our recruitment and retention of staff, we will continue to offer a student 

loan repayment program and transit subsidy benefit established in fiscal 

year 2002. In addition, we will continue to focus our hiring efforts in fiscal 

year 2004 on recruiting talented entry-level staff. 

To build on the human capital flexibilities provided by the Congress in 

2000, we plan to recommend legislation that would, among other things, 

facilitate GAO’s continuing efforts to recruit and retain top talent, develop 

a more performance-based compensation system, realign our workforce, 

and facilitate our succession planning and knowledge transfer efforts. In 

addition, to help attract new recruits, address certain “expectation gaps” 

within and outside of the government, and better describe the modern 

audit and evaluation entity GAO has become, we will work with the 

Congress to explore the possibility of changing the agency’s name while 

retaining our well-known acronym and global brand name of “GAO.” 

On the information security front, we need to complete certain key actions 

to be better able to detect intruders in our systems, identify our users, and 

recover in the event of a disaster. Among our current efforts and plans for 

these areas are completing the installation of software that helps us detect 

intruders on all our internal servers, completing the implementation of a 

secure user authentication process, and refining the disaster recover plan 

we developed last year. We will need the Congress’ help to address these 

remaining challenges. 

We also are continuing to make the investments necessary to enhance the 

safety and security of our people, facilities, and other assets for the mutual 
Page 16 GAO-03-580T 

benefit of GAO and the Congress. With our fiscal year 2003 supplemental 

funding, if provided, or if not, with fiscal year 2004 funds, we plan to 

complete installation of our building access control and intrusion 

detection system and supporting infrastructure, and obtain an offsite 

facility for use by essential personnel in emergency situations. With the 

help of the Congress, we plan to implement these projects over the next 

several years. 

As a result of the support and resources we have received from this 

Subcommittee and the Congress over the past several years, we have been 

able to make a difference in government, not only in terms of financial 

benefits and improvements in federal programs and operations that have 

resulted from our work, but also in strengthening and increasing the 

productivity of GAO, and making a real difference for our country and its 

citizens. Our budget request for fiscal year 2004 is modest, but necessary 

to sustain our current operations, continue key human capital and 

information technology initiatives, and ensure the safety and security of 

our most valuable asset—our people. We seek your continued support so 

that we will be able to effectively and efficiently conduct our work on 

behalf of the Congress and the American people. 

As the Comptroller General of the United States, I am very proud of how, 

in a time of uncertainty, GAO staff responded with a positive attitude and 

did whatever their country required and demonstrated an unwavering 

resolve to continue their work. Knowing this organization as I do, I was 

not surprised. We at GAO look forward to continuing to help the Congress 

and the nation meet the current and emerging challenges of the 21st 

century 

Concluding Remarks 
Page 17 GAO-03-580T 

This appendix lists GAO’s strategic goals and the strategic objectives for 

each goal. They are part of our updated draft strategic plan (for fiscal 

years 2002 through 2007). 

Organized below each strategic objective are its qualitative performance 

goals. The performance goals lay out the work we plan to do in fiscal years 

2002 and 2003 to help achieve our strategic goals and objectives. We will 

evaluate our performance at the end of fiscal year 2003. 

Provide Timely, Quality Service to the Congress and the Federal 

Government to Address Current and Emerging Challenges to the WellBeing and Financial Security of the American People 

To achieve this goal, we will provide information and recommendations on 

the following: 

the Health Care Needs of an Aging and Diverse Population 

• evaluate Medicare reform, financing, and operations; 

• assess trends and issues in private health insurance coverage; 

• assess actions and options for improving the Department of Veterans 

Affairs’ and the Department of Defense’s (DOD) health care services; 

• evaluate the effectiveness of federal programs to promote and protect the 

public health; 

• evaluate the effectiveness of federal programs to improve the nation’s 

preparedness for the public health and medical consequences of 

bioterrorism; 

• evaluate federal and state program strategies for financing and overseeing 

chronic and long-term health care; and 

• assess states’ experiences in providing health insurance coverage for lowincome populations. 

the Education and Protection of the Nation’s Children 

• analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of early childhood education and 

care programs in serving their target populations; 

• assess options for federal programs to effectively address the educational 

and nutritional needs of elementary and secondary students and their 

schools; 

• determine the effectiveness and efficiency of child support enforcement 

and child welfare programs in serving their target populations; and 

Appendix I: GAO’s Qualitative Performance 

Goals for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003 

Strategic Goal 1 
Page 18 GAO-03-580T 

• identify opportunities to better manage postsecondary, vocational, and 

adult education programs and deliver more effective services. 

the Promotion of Work Opportunities and the Protection of Workers 

• assess the effectiveness of federal efforts to help adults enter the 

workforce and to assist low-income workers; 

• analyze the impact of programs designed to maintain a skilled workforce 

and ensure employers have the workers they need; 

• assess the success of various enforcement strategies to protect workers 

while minimizing employers’ burden in the changing environment of work; 

and 

• identify ways to improve federal support for people with disabilities. 

a Secure Retirement for Older Americans 

• assess the implications of various Social Security reform proposals; 

• identify opportunities to foster greater pension coverage, increase 

personal saving, and ensure adequate and secure retirement income; and 

• identify opportunities to improve the ability of federal agencies to 

administer and protect workers’ retirement benefits. 

an Effective System of Justice 

• identify ways to improve federal agencies’ ability to prevent and respond 

to major crimes, including terrorism; 

• assess the effectiveness of federal programs to control illegal drug use; 

• identify ways to administer the nation’s immigration laws to better secure 

the nation’s borders and promote appropriate treatment of legal residents; 

and 

• assess the administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the federal court 

and prison systems. 

the Promotion of Viable Communities 

• assess federal economic development assistance and its impact on 

communities; 

• assess how the federal government can balance the promotion of home 

ownership with financial risk; 

• assess the effectiveness of federal initiatives to assist small and minorityowned businesses; 

• assess federal efforts to enhance national preparedness and capacity to 

respond to and recover from natural and man-made disasters; and 
Page 19 GAO-03-580T 

• assess how well federally supported housing programs meet their 

objectives and affect the well-being of recipient households and 

communities. 

Responsible Stewardship of Natural Resources and the Environment 

• assess the nation’s ability to ensure reliable and environmentally sound 

energy for current and future generations; 

• assess federal strategies for managing land and water resources in a 

sustainable fashion for multiple uses; 

• assess federal programs’ ability to ensure a plentiful and safe food supply, 

provide economic security for farmers, and minimize agricultural 

environmental damage; 

• assess federal pollution prevention and control strategies; and 

• assess efforts to reduce the threats posed by hazardous and nuclear 

wastes. 

a Secure and Effective National Physical Infrastructure 

• assess strategies for identifying, evaluating, prioritizing, financing, and 

implementing integrated solutions to the nation’s infrastructure needs; 

• assess the impact of transportation and telecommunications policies and 

practices on competition and consumers; 

• assess efforts to improve safety and security in all transportation modes; 

• assess the U.S. Postal Service’s transformation efforts to ensure its 

viability and accomplish its mission; and 

• assess federal efforts to plan for, acquire, manage, maintain, secure, and 

dispose of the government’s real property assets. 

Provide Timely, Quality Service to the Congress and the Federal 

Government to Respond to Changing Security Threats and the 

Challenges of Global Interdependence 

To achieve this goal, we will provide information and recommendations on 

the following: 

Respond to Diffuse Threats to National and Global Security 

• analyze the effectiveness of the federal government’s approach to 

providing for homeland security; 

• assess U.S. efforts to protect computer and telecommunications systems 

supporting critical infrastructures in business and government; and 

Strategic Goal 2 
Page 20 GAO-03-580T 

• assess the effectiveness of U.S. and international efforts to prevent the 

proliferation of nuclear, biological, chemical, and conventional weapons 

and sensitive technologies. 

Ensure Military Capabilities and Readiness 

• assess the ability of DOD to maintain adequate readiness levels while 

addressing the force structure changes needed in the 21st century; 

• assess overall human capital management practices to ensure a highquality total force; 

• identify ways to improve the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of 

DOD’s support infrastructure and business systems and processes; 

• assess the National Nuclear Security Administration’s efforts to maintain a 

safe and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile; 

• analyze and support DOD’s efforts to improve budget analyses and 

performance management; 

• assess whether DOD and the services have developed integrated 

procedures and systems to operate effectively together on the battlefield; 

and 

• assess the ability of weapon system acquisition programs and processes 

to achieve desired outcomes. 

Advance and Protect U.S. International Interests 

• analyze the plans, strategies, costs, and results of the U.S. role in conflict 

interventions; 

• analyze the effectiveness and management of foreign aid programs and 

the tools used to carry them out; 

• analyze the costs and implications of changing U.S. strategic interests; 

• evaluate the efficiency and accountability of multilateral organizations 

and the extent to which they are serving U.S. interests; and 

• assess the strategies and management practices for U.S. foreign affairs 

functions and activities. 

Respond to the Impact of Global Market Forces on U.S. Economic and 

Security Interests 

• analyze how trade agreements and programs serve U.S. interests; 

• improve understanding of the effects of defense industry globalization; 

• assess how the United States can influence improvements in the world 

financial system; 

• assess the ability of the financial services industry and its regulators to 

maintain a stable and efficient global financial system; 
Page 21 GAO-03-580T 

• evaluate how prepared financial regulators are to respond to change and 

innovation; and 

• assess the effectiveness of regulatory programs and policies in ensuring 

access to financial services and deterring fraud and abuse in financial 

markets. 

Help Transform the Government’s Role and How It Does Business to 

Meet 21st Century Challenges 

To achieve this goal, we will provide information and recommendations on 

the following: 

Analyze the Implications of the Increased Role of Public and Private 

Parties in Achieving Federal Objectives 

• analyze the modern service-delivery system environment and the 

complexity and interaction of service-delivery mechanisms; 

• assess how involvement of state and local governments and 

nongovernmental organizations affect federal program implementation 

and achievement of national goals; and 

• assess the effectiveness of regulatory administration and reforms in 

achieving government objectives. 

Assess the Government’s Human Capital and Other Capacity for Serving 

the Public 

• identify and facilitate the implementation of human capital practices that 

will improve federal economy, efficiency, and effectiveness; 

• identify ways to improve the financial management infrastructure 

capacity to provide useful information to manage for results and costs day 

to day; 

• assess the government’s capacity to manage information technology to 

improve performance; 

• assess efforts to manage the collection, use, and dissemination of 

government information in an era of rapidly changing technology; 

• assess the effectiveness of the Federal Statistical System in providing 

relevant, reliable, and timely information that meets federal program 

needs; and 

• identify more businesslike approaches that can be used by federal 

agencies in acquiring goods and services. 

Strategic Goal 3 
Page 22 GAO-03-580T 

Support Congressional Oversight of the Federal Government’s Progress 

toward Being More Results-Oriented, Accountable, and Relevant to 

Society’s Needs 

• analyze and support efforts to instill results-oriented management across 

the government; 

• highlight the federal programs and operations at highest risk and the 

major performance and management challenges confronting agencies; 

• identify ways to strengthen accountability for the federal government’s 

assets and operations; 

• promote accountability in the federal acquisition process; 

• assess the management and results of the federal investment in science 

and technology and the effectiveness of efforts to protect intellectual 

property; and 

• identify ways to improve the quality of evaluative information. 

• develop new resources and approaches that can be used in measuring 

performance and progress on the nations 21st century challenges 

Analyze the Government’s Fiscal Position and Approaches for Financing 

the Government 

• analyze the long-term fiscal position of the federal government; 

• analyze the structure and information for budgetary choices and explore 

alternatives for improvement; 

• contribute to congressional deliberations on tax policy; 

• support congressional oversight of the Internal Revenue Service’s 

modernization and reform efforts; and 

• assess the reliability of financial information on the government’s fiscal 

position and financing sources. 

Maximize the Value of GAO by Being a Model Federal Agency and a 

World-Class Professional Services Organization 

To achieve this goal, we will do the following: 

Sharpen GAO’s Focus on Clients’ and Customers’ Requirements 

• continuously update client requirements; 

• develop and implement stakeholder protocols and refine client protocols; 

and 

• identify and refine customer requirements and measures. 

Strategic Goal 4 
Page 23 GAO-03-580T 

Enhance Leadership and Promote Management Excellence 

• foster an attitude of stewardship to ensure a commitment to GAO’s 

mission and core values; 

• implement an integrated approach to strategic management; 

• continue to provide leadership in strategic human capital management 

planning and execution; 

• maintain integrity in financial management; 

• use enabling technology to improve GAO’s crosscutting business 

processes; and 

• provide a safe and secure workplace. 

Leverage GAO’s Institutional Knowledge and Experience 

• improve GAO’s use of Web-based knowledge tools; 

• develop a framework to manage the collection, use, distribution, and 

retention of organizational knowledge; and 

• strengthen relationships with other national and international 

accountability and professional organizations. 

Continuously Improve GAO’s Business and Management Processes 

• improve internal business and administrative processes; 

• improve GAO’s product and service lines; and 

• improve GAO’s job management processes. 

Become the Professional Services Employer of Choice 

• maintain an environment that is fair, unbiased, family-friendly, and 

promotes and values opportunity and inclusiveness; 

• improve compensation and performance management systems; 

• develop and implement a training and professional development strategy 

targeted toward competencies; and 

• provide GAO’s people with tools, technology, and a working environment 

that is world-class. 

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