Word: gao
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Reagan's misstatements cover a wide range. Some examples: > Reagan claimed: "The General Accounting Office listed 41 separate items of waste and fraud in Government totaling $11 billion. That's $11 billion that could be eliminated right away." Reagan's figures apparently come not from a GAO report but from a study by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which estimated $7 billion of waste and fraud in HEW, most of which consisted of unnecessary health care. > Reagan claimed: "It costs HEW $3 in overhead to deliver $1 to a needy person in this country...
Consulting for Washington is Big Business, the hearings showed, though just how big is unclear. The GAO report estimates that federal agencies are spending between $1 billion and $2 billion a year on such services, but because there is no clear definition of a "consultant contract," GAO officials admit that the figure could just as easily top $5 billion. There are more than 1,000 firms in the advising business in the Washington area alone, and for years they have been known as the Beltway Bandits, since so many are clustered along the highway that circles the city. Trying...
...Most important, Pryor claims that agencies increasingly are allowing consultants to make important policy decisions. Says he: "It's a really scary situation. They [the consultants] are elected by no one and are accountable to no one." Among the examples of questionable practices and mismanagement detailed in the GAO report: - The Department of Health, Education and Welfare ordered a survey of college graduates in 1978. The contract was modified seven times, the cost rose from $160,947 to $325,920, and the report is still unfinished. - The Department of Commerce hired consultants for $25,000 to develop the concept...
...contracts for SAI by what he calls "the judicious use of hyperbole and exaggeration." Baran even admitted to TIME Correspondent Jonathan Beaty: "I did my part to falsify technical data to suit the objective of expanding and perpetuating the [consulting] program." Baran turned his evidence over to both the GAO and the U.S. Naval Investigative Service. So far, no action has been taken by the Navy, which is still conducting an inquiry into the situation...
During last week's hearings, Senators and Congressmen dueled with Langhorne Bond, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, who defended his use of consultants. Bond had been criticized by the GAO for not considering other firms before giving a $200,000 contract to the firm of Booz, Allen & Hamilton Inc. to study possible management changes at the agency. Bond pointed out, accurately, that he had not violated any policy or law, and then blasted the GAO itself as a "menace." Said Bond: "They want to create a world in which there is a perfect audit trail for every Government...