Government Accountability Office and the Office of Management and Budget

Two resources for budget oversight are the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Management and Budget. In addition to GAO’s publicly available reports and information, Congressional staff have access to a special, non-public area that lists all reports currently under development. There is a public-facing GAO webpage called “restricted products” which lists all classified or sensitive reports. Congressional staff can request copies of these reports that are not readily available to the public. The OMB provides information about such things as data on the national defense budget function and all its components, including both discretionary and mandatory spending (www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Analytical_Perspectives); access to current agency budget appendices (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Appendix); an earmarks database (http://earmarks.omb.gov/); and information on federal agency improper payments.

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