Government Accountability Office District of Columbia Home Rule Act
This bill seeks to end the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) oversight of the District of Columbia government. It does so by removing DC from GAO’s jurisdiction as a federal audit target and repealing GAO authorities related to annual audits, program evaluations, and reporting to Congress that specifically involve the District. The measure also makes conforming changes to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to strike GAO-related requirements from DC budget and performance accountability provisions. In short, if enacted, the District would no longer be subject to GAO audits or GAO-driven evaluations and reporting, and federal oversight language tied to GAO would be removed from DC law. The bill reflects a shift toward greater DC home rule by reducing federal accountability mechanisms tied to GAO. However, it also reduces direct federal oversight over the District’s use of federal funds and performance accountability reporting that currently feed into congressional oversight.
Key Points
- 1Repeal GAO authorities over DC government
- 2- Treats the District as no longer within GAO’s authority for purposes of GAO oversight (Section 701(1) changes).
- 3- Repeals GAO’s annual audit requirement for DC (Section 715) and removes the related section from the table of sections (Title 31).
- 4- Removes DC from GAO’s program evaluation authority (Section 717(a)).
- 5- Eliminates DC-related items in GAO reports to Congress (Section 719(f)(3)).
- 6- Eliminates GAO’s role in DC’s responses to GAO reports (Section 720(a)).
- 7Conforming amendments to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act
- 8- Strikes references to the Comptroller General in the Mayor’s annual budget status reporting (Section 442(a)(5)).
- 9- Replaces and removes GAO/comptroller general references in performance accountability provisions (Sections 456, 456(b), and related subsections).
- 10- Repeals requirements for GAO-related financial accountability plans and reports (Sections 456(c)(1) and 456(c)(2)).
- 11- Removes GAO oversight of debt service audit provisions (Section 481 with related subsections).
- 12Administrative scope and naming
- 13- The bill title designates it as the Government Accountability Office District of Columbia Home Rule Act, signaling a shift in GAO’s role relative to DC governance.