GAO

United States Government Accountability Office

A

Testimony

Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, 

Committee on Government Reform, House of 

Representatives

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT 

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

HUMAN CAPITAL

Increasing Agencies’ Use of 

New Hiring Flexibilities

Statement of J. Christopher Mihm

Managing Director, Strategic Issues

GAO-04-959T
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-959T.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact J. Christopher 

Mihm at (202) 512-6806 or mihmj@gao.gov. 

Highlights of GAO-04-959T, a testimony 

before the Subcommittee on Civil Service 

and Agency Organization, Committee on 

Government Reform, House of 

Representatives 

July 13, 2004

HUMAN CAPITAL

Increasing Agencies’ Use of New Hiring 

Flexibilities 

Although Congress, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and 

agencies have all recently undertaken efforts to help improve the federal 

hiring process, agencies report they are making limited use of the two new 

hiring flexibilities contained in the Homeland Security Act of 2002: category 

rating and direct-hire authority. These flexibilities could help agencies in 

expediting and controlling their hiring processes. GAO surveyed members 

of the interagency Chief Human Capital Officers Council (CHCO) to 

determine the extent to which their respective agencies were using the new 

hiring flexibilities and to identify barriers to greater use of these flexibilities. 

Frequently cited barriers included (1) the lack of OPM guidance for using the 

flexibilities, (2) the lack of agency policies and procedures for using the 

flexibilities, (3) the lack of flexibility in OPM rules and regulations, and 

(4) concern about possible inconsistencies in the implementation of the 

flexibilities within the department or agency. 

The federal government is now facing one of the most transformational 

changes to the civil service in half a century. Today’s challenge is to define 

the appropriate roles and day-to-day working relationships for OPM and 

individual agencies as they collaborate on developing innovative and more 

effective hiring systems. Moreover, human capital expertise within the 

agencies must be up to the challenge for this transformation to be successful 

and enduring. 

Improving the federal hiring 

process is critical given that the 

executive branch hired nearly 

95,000 new employees during fiscal 

year 2003 and significant hiring 

may continue over the next few 

years. 

In May 2003, GAO issued a report 

highlighting several key problems 

in the federal hiring process. That 

report concluded that the process 

needed improvement and included 

recommendations to address the 

problems. Last month, GAO issued 

a follow-up to that report and 

testified before this subcommittee 

on the status of recent efforts to 

improve the federal hiring process. 

As part of this work, GAO also 

assessed the extent to which 

federal agencies are using two new 

hiring flexibilities: category rating 

and direct-hire authority. Category 

rating permits an agency manager 

to select a job candidate placed in a 

best-qualified category rather than 

being limited to three candidates 

under the “rule of three.” Directhire authority allows an agency to 

appoint individuals to positions 

without adherence to certain 

competitive examination 

requirements when there is a 

severe shortage of qualified 

candidates or a critical hiring need. 

 

Today, GAO’s statement highlights 

the extent to which agencies are 

using the new hiring flexibilities, 

points out some likely reasons why 

agencies are not using or making 

greater use of them, and suggests 

approaches that can help increase 

their use. 
Page 1 GAO-04-959T 

Chairwoman Davis, Mr. Davis, and Members of the Subcommittee:

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to continue the important 

discussion about efforts to improve the federal hiring process. As you are 

aware, federal agencies need effective hiring processes to compete for 

talented people in a highly competitive job market. Given that the 

executive branch hired nearly 95,000 new employees in fiscal year 2003 and 

may continue significant hiring over the next few years, improving the 

government’s hiring process is critical. Over the years, there has been 

widespread recognition that the federal hiring process all too often does 

not meet the needs of agencies in achieving their missions, the needs of 

managers in filling positions with the right talent, nor the needs of 

applicants for a timely, efficient, transparent, and merit-based process. 

In May 2003, we issued a report highlighting several key problems in the 

federal hiring process.1

 That report concluded that federal hiring needed 

improvements, and we made several recommendations to address 

problems with key parts of the hiring process. Specifically, we 

recommended that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) take 

additional actions to assist agencies in strengthening the hiring process. 

Moreover, we reported that agencies must take greater responsibility for 

maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of their individual hiring 

processes within the current statutory and regulatory framework that 

Congress and OPM have provided. 

Last month, we issued a follow-up report, done at the request of the 

Chairwoman and Mr. Davis, that focused on recent governmentwide efforts 

to improve federal hiring, and we also provided testimony before this 

subcommittee summarizing the work done for that report.2

 Our report last 

month also addressed your request that we include information on the 

extent to which agencies were using two new hiring flexibilities contained 

in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.3

 One of these hiring flexibilities, 

1

U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Opportunities to Improve Executive 

Agencies’ Hiring Processes, GAO-03-450 (Washington, D.C.: May 30, 2003).

2

U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Additional Collaboration Between OPM 

and Agencies Is Key to Improved Federal Hiring, GAO-04-797 (Washington, D.C.: June 7, 

2004) and U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Status of Efforts to Improve 

Federal Hiring, GAO-04-796T (Washington, D.C.: June 7, 2004).

3

These hiring flexibilities are contained in the Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002, 

Title XIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Pub. L. No. 107-296 (Nov. 25, 2002).
Page 2 GAO-04-959T 

known as category rating, permits an agency to select a job candidate 

placed in a best-qualified category rather than being limited to three 

candidates under the “rule of three.” The other hiring flexibility, often 

referred to as direct hire, allows an agency to appoint people to positions 

without adherence to certain competitive examination requirements when 

there is a severe shortage of qualified candidates or a critical hiring need. 

Various agency officials from across the federal government often 

previously cited both of these hiring flexibilities as needed tools to help in 

improving the federal hiring process.

As agreed with the subcommittee, today I will highlight information that we 

gathered and analyzed about the extent to which agencies are using the 

new hiring flexibilities and point out some likely reasons why agencies are 

not using or making greater use of these new flexibilities. Our work to 

address these issues was based on interviews with officials from OPM and 

the interagency Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council, the results 

of our April 2004 survey of 22 of the 23 agency members serving on the 

CHCO Council, and our review of OPM documents as well as data from 

OPM’s central database of governmentwide personnel information. I also 

will suggest, based on our prior work, some approaches that agencies and 

OPM can employ to better use existing authorities.

Summary In summary, our recent work found the following. Although Congress, 

OPM, and agencies have all undertaken efforts to help improve the federal 

hiring process, agencies report they are making limited use of the new 

hiring flexibilities: category rating and direct hire. In our April 2004 survey 

of CHCO Council members, 21 of the 22 respondents cited at least one 

barrier that they said prevented or hindered their agencies from using or 

making greater use of these hiring flexibilities. Frequently cited barriers 

included:

• the lack of OPM guidance for using the flexibilities,

• the lack of agency policies and procedures for using the flexibilities,

• the lack of flexibility in OPM rules and regulations, and

• concern about possible inconsistencies in the implementation of the 

flexibilities within the department or agency.
Page 3 GAO-04-959T 

The follow-up report that we issued last month on the federal hiring 

process included no new recommendations. We did, however, underscore 

our prior recommendations on which we believe additional attention is 

needed. On the basis of our work, OPM’s recent efforts and the CHCO 

Council members’ views do not appear consistent, which suggests that 

defining the appropriate roles and day-to-day working relationships for 

OPM and individual agencies is essential as they further collaborate on 

developing innovative and more effective hiring systems. At the 

subcommittee hearing on hiring last month, OPM identified a wide range of 

efforts it has undertaken to assist agencies in using the new hiring 

authorities, including a number of important initiatives that took place 

after we surveyed CHCO Council members. Moreover, since that hearing, 

OPM has taken further action with the goal of helping to ensure that 

agencies are aware of the hiring flexibilities available to them and assisting 

agencies in taking full advantage of these available flexibilities.

Agencies Appear to Be 

Making Limited Use of 

New Hiring 

Flexibilities

Despite agency officials’ past calls for hiring reform, agencies appear to be 

making limited use of category rating and direct-hire authority, the two new 

hiring flexibilities created by Congress in November 2002 and implemented 

by OPM in June 2003. Data on the actual use of these two hiring 

flexibilities are not readily available, but most CHCO Council members 

responding to our April 2004 survey indicated that their agencies are 

making little or no use of either flexibility. Indeed, all but one of the 22 

CHCO Council members responding to our recent survey identified at least 

one barrier to using the new hiring flexibilities. OPM officials also 

confirmed with us that based on their contacts and communications with 

agencies, it appeared that the agencies were making limited use of the new 

hiring flexibilities. The limited use of category rating is somewhat 

unexpected given the views of human resources directors we interviewed 2 

years ago. As noted in our May 2003 report, many agency human resources 

directors indicated that numerical rating and the rule of three were key 

obstacles in the hiring process. Category rating was authorized to address 

those concerns. 

CHCO Council Members 

Offered Various Reasons for 

Limited Use of Category 

Rating

Category rating is an alternative rating and selection procedure that can 

provide agency managers with a larger pool of qualified job candidates 

from which to select than numerical ranking and the rule of three, while 

also protecting veterans’ preference. Under category rating, job candidates 

are assigned to quality categories—such as “best qualified” or “highly 
Page 4 GAO-04-959T 

qualified”—following an assessment of their knowledge and skills against 

job-related criteria. The names of all candidates in the highest quality 

group are then sent to the selecting official and are available for selection. 

If the highest quality group contains a veteran, the veteran must be hired 

unless an objection to hiring the veteran is sustained by OPM. If the 

number of candidates falling into the highest quality group is inadequate, 

applicants from the next highest quality group of eligible candidates can 

also be referred to the agency manager for selection.

Given the lack of available data on the extent to which agencies were using 

the newly authorized category rating flexibility, we asked about this issue 

in our April 2004 survey of the CHCO Council members. A majority (13 of 

22) of the officials responding to our survey said that their agencies were 

using category rating to “little or no extent” (see fig. 1). In narrative 

responses to our survey questions about category rating, several 

respondents said that their agencies were not using category rating but 

were considering options, developing procedures, or establishing pilot 

programs. For example, a CHCO Council member from a cabinet-level 

department said that his department had developed procedures for 

implementing category rating and had included this flexibility as a tool in 

the department’s hiring plan for fiscal year 2004. Another Council member 

representing a department said that the department had drafted a policy on 

the use of category rating and was establishing a program to pilot the use of 

this hiring flexibility with at least one occupation.
Page 5 GAO-04-959T 

Figure 1: CHCO Council Members’ Responses on the Extent to Which Their 

Agencies Are Using Category Rating

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Little or

no extent

Some

extent

Moderate

extent

Great

extent

Very great

extent

No basis/

not 

applicable

Number of agencies

Source: CHCO Council members' responses to GAO questionnaire.

Question: To what extent is your department/agency using the newly 

authorized category rating flexibility in its hiring process? 

We also surveyed CHCO Council members about the most significant 

barriers, if any, preventing or hindering their agencies from using or making 

greater use of the newly authorized category rating flexibility in their hiring 

processes. Although the responses provided by the Council members 

varied (see fig. 2), the most frequently cited barriers to using category 

rating were (1) the lack of policies and procedures within the department 

or agency for using the flexibility, (2) the lack of OPM guidance for using 

the flexibility, (3) a need to reprogram the agency’s automated systems to 

handle the new process, (4) rigid OPM rules and regulations, and 

(5) concern about possible inconsistencies in implementation. In narrative 

responses to our survey questions about category rating, a few CHCO 

Council members said that their agencies were not using or making greater 

use of category rating because of key stakeholders’ lack of understanding 

about the application of veterans’ preference and the Luevano consent 
Page 6 GAO-04-959T 

decree.4 One respondent said that each agency has had to research best 

practices and lessons learned prior to implementing this alternative rating 

system. Another Council member from a major department said that 

agencies need a governmentwide champion to advance the use of category 

rating in their hiring processes.

4

 The Luevano consent decree is a 1981 agreement that settled a lawsuit alleging that a 

written test, Professional and Administrative Careers Examination (PACE), had an adverse 

impact on African Americans and Hispanics. See Luevano v. Campbell, 93 F.R.D. 68 (D.D.C. 

1981). The consent decree called for the elimination of PACE and required replacing it with 

alternative examinations. In response to the consent decree, OPM developed the 

Administrative Careers with America examination. The consent decree also established 

two special hiring programs, Outstanding Scholar and Bilingual/Bicultural, for limited use in 

filling former PACE positions.
Page 7 GAO-04-959T 

Figure 2: CHCO Council Members’ Responses on the Most Significant Barriers Preventing or Hindering Their Agencies’ Use of 

Category Rating

01234567

Lack of an OPM clearinghouse

Reluctance within agency

to change

Lack of expertise needed for

implementation

Lack of OPM technical

assistance

Concern about possible

inconsistencies in implementation

Rigid OPM rules and regulations

Need to reprogram

automated systems

Lack of OPM guidance

Lack of agency policies

and procedures

Source: CHCO Council members' responses to GAO questionnaire.

Question: What are the three most significant barriers, if any, preventing or hindering your department/agency from using or making greater use in its hiring 

process of the newly authorized category rating flexibility? 

Note: Respondents could select up to three barriers.

In our April 2004 survey of CHCO Council members, we also asked about 

the extent to which OPM had assisted their agencies in using category 

rating and their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with that assistance. 

In narrative responses to our survey questions about category rating, a 

CHCO Council member representing a major department said, for example, 

that the department was reluctant to use category rating until OPM 

provided further guidance on use of the flexibility. Another respondent 

said that OPM responded to ad hoc questions related to the technical 

application of category rating, but generally defers to the agency to make 

the final determination. This respondent suggested that it would be 

beneficial for OPM to broadly address technical issues for agencies rather 

than on an ad hoc basis. Another respondent remarked that unresolved 
Page 8 GAO-04-959T 

questions around the use of category rating may be common to all agencies 

and that OPM should provide additional implementation guidance in 

question and answer format. 

CHCO Council Members 

Cited Several Barriers to 

Use of Direct-Hire Authority

Direct-hire authority allows agencies to appoint candidates directly to 

positions where OPM determines there is a severe shortage of candidates 

or a critical hiring need. When making appointments under the newly 

authorized direct-hire authority, agencies are not required to numerically 

rate and rank applicants nor apply the rule of three or veterans’ preference. 

Agencies would still provide public notice of the vacancies and screen all 

applicants to ensure that they meet the basic qualification requirements of 

the position to be filled.

Given the lack of available data on the extent to which agencies were using 

the new direct-hire authority, we asked about this issue in our April 2004 

survey of the CHCO Council members. A majority (17 of 22) of the officials 

responding to our survey said that their agencies were using direct hire to 

“some extent” or to “little or no extent” (see fig. 3). In narrative responses 

to our survey questions about direct hire, several respondents stated that 

their agencies had used direct-hire authority to fill various medical 

positions and small numbers of information technology security positions. 

Several respondents also said that their agencies had not yet used directhire authority but were assessing the options for doing so. For example, a 

CHCO Council member representing an independent agency said that the 

agency had not thus far decided if it still had positions in a shortage 

category and would make such a determination after completing its 

workforce analysis and strategic assessments. A Council member from a 

cabinet-level department said that it had determined a need for direct-hire 

authority for acquisition specialists and was developing a request to OPM. 

Another Council member representing a large department said that the 

department’s components were aware of the newly authorized direct-hire 

authority but they had not yet identified situations for which they would 

request OPM’s approval to use the authority.
Page 9 GAO-04-959T 

Figure 3: CHCO Council Members’ Responses on the Extent to Which Their 

Agencies Are Using Direct Hire

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Little or no

extent

Some

extent

Moderate

extent

Great

extent

Very great

extent

No

basis/not

applicable

Number of agencies

Source: CHCO Council members’ responses to GAO questionnaire.

Question: To what extent is your department/agency using the newly 

authorized direct-hire authority in its hiring process? 

Additionally, we surveyed CHCO Council members about the most 

significant barriers, if any, preventing or hindering their agencies from 

using or making greater use of the newly authorized direct-hire authority in 

their hiring processes. Although the responses provided by the Council 

members varied (see fig. 4), the most frequently cited barriers to using 

direct hire were (1) rigid OPM rules and regulations, (2) concern about 

possible inconsistent implementation with the department or agency, 

(3) limited number of occupations for which the authority could be used, 

and (4) the lack of policies and procedures within the agency for using 

direct hire. In narrative responses to our survey questions about direct 

hire, a CHCO Council member representing a large department said, for 

example, that recently OPM officials informally told the department that 

OPM would likely disapprove a proposed request for direct-hire authority 

that the department desired for a specified occupation, even though at least 

one other agency had direct-hire authority for that same occupation. 

Another Council member representing an independent agency commented 

that the governmentwide direct-hire authorities that OPM has issued cover 

occupations generally not applicable to the agency or in which the agency 
Page 10 GAO-04-959T 

has an extremely limited number of positions. In contrast, a CHCO Council 

member representing a cabinet-level department responded that no 

barriers exist for using direct-hire authority.

Figure 4: CHCO Council Members’ Responses on the Most Significant Barriers Preventing or Hindering Their Agencies’ Use of 

Direct Hire

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Reluctance within agency to change

Lack of expertise needed for

implementation

Lack of agency policies and

procedures

Limited number of occupations for

which the authority could be used

Concern about possible

inconsistencies in implementation

Rigid OPM rules and regulations

Source: CHCO Council members' responses to GAO questionnaire.

Question: What are the three most significant barriers, if any, preventing or hindering your department/agency from using or making greater use in its hiring 

process of the newly authorized direct-hire authority?

Note: Respondents could select up to three barriers.

In our April 2004 survey of CHCO Council members, we also asked about 

the extent to which OPM had assisted their agencies in using direct hire 

and their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with that assistance. In 

narrative responses to our survey questions about direct hire, one 

respondent from a cabinet-level department said, for example, that the 

department had attempted to use direct-hire authority for information 

technology security positions but received inconsistent guidance on the 

application of veterans’ preference from OPM. A Council member from a 

large department said that OPM should delegate authority to approve direct 

hire requests to the agencies as permitted by the Homeland Security Act of 

2002. A respondent from another department said that the department had 

surveyed its components to determine if it should petition OPM for directhire authority, but that most of the positions identified to date could not be 

justified based on the OPM criteria. 
Page 11 GAO-04-959T 

Moving Forward to 

Improve Federal Hiring

In December 2002, we issued a comprehensive report on the effective use 

of human capital flexibilities in the federal government, including 

flexibilities related to hiring.5

 We reported that agencies were often not 

maximizing their use of the human capital flexibilities already available to 

them, and we identified key practices that agencies can implement to 

effectively use such flexibilities (see fig. 5). For example, agencies need to 

plan strategically and make targeted investments for how they will use and 

fund these authorities. As we emphasized in our report, the insufficient 

and ineffective use of flexibilities can significantly hinder the ability of 

federal agencies to recruit, hire, retain, and manage their human capital. 

Figure 5: Key Practices for Effective Use of Human Capital Flexibilities

● Obtain agency leadership commitment 

● Determine agency workforce needs using fact-based analysis

● Develop strategies that employ appropriate flexibilities to meet workforce needs

● Make appropriate funding available

● Engage the human capital office 

● Engage agency managers and supervisors

● Involve employees and unions

● Use input to establish clear, documented, and transparent policies and procedures

 

● Train human capital staff 

● Educate agency managers and supervisors on existence and use of flexibilities

● Inform employees of procedures and rights

● Ascertain the source of existing requirements 

● Reevaluate administrative approval processes for greater efficiency

● Replicate proven successes of others

● Delegate authority to use flexibilities to appropriate levels within the agency

● Hold managers and supervisors directly accountable 

● Apply policies and procedures consistently

● Ensure involvement of senior human capital managers in key decision-making processes 

● Encourage greater acceptance of prudent risk taking and organizational change

● Recognize differences in individual job performance and competencies

Plan strategically and make 

targeted investments 

Ensure stakeholder input in 

developing policies and 

procedures 

Educate managers and employees 

on the availability and use of 

flexibilities

Streamline and improve 

administrative processes

Build transparency and accountability 

into the system

Change the organizational 

culture

Source: GAO.

5

 U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Effective Use of Flexibilities Can Assist 

Agencies in Managing Their Workforces, GAO-03-2 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 6, 2002).
Page 12 GAO-04-959T 

In a report we issued in May 2003 related to OPM’s role in assisting federal 

agencies in using human capital flexibilities, we recommended that OPM 

work with and through the new CHCO Council to more thoroughly 

research, compile, and analyze information on the effective and innovative 

use of these flexibilities.6

 We noted that sharing information about when, 

where, and how the broad range of personnel flexibilities is being used, and 

should be used, could help agencies meet their human capital management 

challenges. As we recently testified, OPM and agencies need to continue to 

work together to improve the hiring process, and the CHCO Council should 

be a key vehicle for this needed collaboration.7

 Such communication and 

collaboration is especially important given the apparent widely different 

views between OPM and at least some agencies regarding the amount and 

adequacy of guidance and assistance that OPM has provided. In order for 

this collaboration to be effective, agencies need to provide OPM with 

timely and comprehensive information about their experiences in using 

various approaches and flexibilities to improve their hiring processes. 

OPM—working through the CHCO Council—can, in turn, help by being a 

facilitator in the collection and exchange of information about agencies’ 

effective practices and successful approaches to improved hiring. Such 

additional collaboration between OPM and agencies could go a long way in 

helping the government as a whole and individual agencies to improve 

federal hiring efforts.

Since our June 2004 testimony on these issues, OPM has taken some 

additional actions in providing further guidance to agencies in using hiring 

flexibilities. For example, on June 15, 2004, OPM issued final regulations 

on the use of category rating and direct-hire authority, providing some 

clarification in response to various comments it had received on interim 

regulations. On June 29, 2004, OPM conducted a training symposium to 

provide federal agencies with further instruction and information on ways 

to improve the quality and speed of the hiring process. According to OPM, 

230 officials from over 30 federal agencies attended this training session 

and were encouraged to make better use of available flexibilities to 

improve the hiring process. In addition, OPM recently hosted a briefing to 

6

U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: OPM Can Better Assist Agencies in 

Using Personnel Flexibilities, GAO-03-428 (Washington, D.C.: May 9, 2003).

7

U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Observations on Agencies’ 

Implementation of the Chief Human Capital Officers Act, GAO-04-800T (Washington, D.C.: 

May 18, 2004). 
Page 13 GAO-04-959T 

inform various interest groups about the results of a survey that OPM 

conducted on federal hiring.

In conclusion, the federal government is now facing one of the most 

transformational changes to the civil service in half a century. This change 

is illustrated in the new personnel systems for the Department of 

Homeland Security and the Department of Defense and in new hiring 

flexibilities provided to all agencies. For this transformation to be 

successful and enduring, human capital expertise within the agencies must 

be up to the challenge.

Madam Chairwoman and Mr. Davis, this completes my statement. I would 

be pleased to respond to any questions that you might have.

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments

For further information on this testimony, please contact J. Christopher 

Mihm, Managing Director, Strategic Issues, (202) 512-6806 or at 

mihmj@gao.gov. Individuals making key contributions to this testimony 

include K. Scott Derrick and Trina Lewis.

(450341)
GAO’s Mission The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and 

investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its 

constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and 

accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO 

examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; 

and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help 

Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO’s 

commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of 

accountability, integrity, and reliability.

Obtaining Copies of 

GAO Reports and 

Testimony

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost 

is through GAO’s Web site (www.gao.gov). Each weekday, GAO posts 

newly released reports, testimony, and correspondence on its Web site. To 

have GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted products every afternoon, go to 

www.gao.gov and select “Subscribe to Updates.”

Order by Mail or Phone The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2 each. 

A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent of 

Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or 

more copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. Orders 

should be sent to:

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G Street NW, Room LM

Washington, D.C. 20548

To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512-6000 

TDD: (202) 512-2537 

Fax: (202) 512-6061

To Report Fraud, 

Waste, and Abuse in 

Federal Programs

Contact:

Web site: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm

E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov

Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470

Congressional 

Relations

Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, JarmonG@gao.gov (202) 512-4400

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7125 

Washington, D.C. 20548

Public Affairs Jeff Nelligan, Managing Director, NelliganJ@gao.gov (202) 512-4800

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 

Washington, D.C. 20548
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the 

United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further 

permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or 

other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to 

reproduce this material separately.