The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent,nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing,evaluative,and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States. It identifies its core "mission values" as:accountability,integrity,and reliability. It is also known as the "congressional watchdog". The agency is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States. The comptroller general is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a vacancy occurs in the office of the comptroller general,Congress establishes a commission to recommend individuals to the president. The commission consists of the following:
In the United States,Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their parent agency. Such offices are attached to many federal executive departments,independent federal agencies,as well as state and local governments. Each office includes an inspector general and employees charged with identifying,auditing,and investigating fraud,waste,abuse,embezzlement and mismanagement of any kind within the executive department.
The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from four federal statutes:the Civil Service Reform Act,the Whistleblower Protection Act,the Hatch Act,and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). OSC's primary mission is the safeguarding of the merit system in federal employment by protecting employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices (PPPs),especially reprisal for "whistleblowing." The agency also operates a secure channel for federal whistleblower disclosures of violations of law,rule,or regulation;gross mismanagement;gross waste of funds;abuse of authority;and substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. In addition,OSC issues advice on the Hatch Act and enforces its restrictions on partisan political activity by government employees. Finally,OSC protects the civilian employment and reemployment rights of military service members under USERRA. OSC has around 140 staff,and the Special Counsel is an ex officio member of Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE),an association of inspectors general charged with the regulation of good governance within the federal government.
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General's position as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the Attorney General and provides its own written opinions and other advice in response to requests from the Counsel to the President,the various agencies of the Executive Branch,and other components of the Department of Justice. The Office reviews and comments on the constitutionality of pending legislation. The office reviews any executive orders and substantive proclamations for legality if the President proposes them. All proposed orders of the Attorney General and regulations that require the Attorney General's approval are reviewed. It also performs a variety of special assignments referred by the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General.
Glenn Alan Fine is the former principal deputy Inspector General of the Department of Defense and former Acting IG of the Department of Defense. Fine previously served as the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2000 until January 2011. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 15,2000. Prior to his appointment as the DOJ Inspector General,Fine served as Special Counsel to the DOJ Inspector General from January 1995 until 1996,when he was made Director of the OIG's Special Investigations and Review Unit.
United States Intelligence Community Oversight duties are shared by both the executive and legislative branches of the government. Oversight,in this case,is the supervision of intelligence agencies,and making them accountable for their actions. Generally oversight bodies look at the following general issues:following policymaker needs,the quality of analysis,operations,and legality of actions.
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) addresses integrity,economy,and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies;and increase the professionalism and effectiveness of personnel by developing policies,technical standards,and approaches to aid in the establishment of a well-trained and highly skilled workforce in the Office of Inspector General. CIGIE was established in October 2008 as an independent entity within the United States executive branch by the Inspector General Reform Act (IGRA).
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General is an independent,objective agency that provides oversight related to the programs and operations of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DoD IG was created in 1982 as an amendment to the Inspector General Act of 1978.
Daniel Ronald Levinson is an American attorney who served as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from September 8,2004,to May 31,2019. HHS is among the largest departments in the federal government,encompassing Medicare,Medicaid,public health,medical research,food and drug safety,welfare,child and family services,disease prevention,Indian health,and mental health services. It also exercises leadership responsibilities in public health emergency preparedness and combating bio-terrorism.
Michael Evan Horowitz is an American attorney and government official. He is the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice.
Robert Phillip Storch is an American lawyer and government official serving as the inspector general in the United States Department of Defense under Joe Biden. He previously served as the inspector general of the National Security Agency.
Sean W. O'Donnell is the current Inspector General of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He was previously appointed to be the acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense in April 2020,resulting in his membership on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee,which oversees $2.2 trillion in government spending.
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) is an independent oversight committee within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency,created by the Coronavirus Aid,Relief,and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 to ensure that the $2.2 trillion of the CARES act,plus 5 other pandemic-related pieces of legislation totaling over $5 trillion in government funds,were not misspent.
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) is an Inspector General position created by the Coronavirus Aid,Relief,and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 to oversee spending of government funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The position was included at the insistence of congressional Democrats. The SIGPR is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Hannibal "Mike" Ware is the inspector general of the United States Small Business Administration. Ware was sworn into office on May 24,2018.
Christi A. Grimm is an American government official who has served as the Inspector General in the United States Department of Health and Human Services since February 2022.
In April and May 2020,United States President Donald Trump dismissed the inspectors general (IGs) of five cabinet departments in the space of six weeks. The inspectors general removed were Michael K. Atkinson,Intelligence,on April 3;Glenn Fine (acting),Defense,April 7;Christi Grimm (acting),Health and Human Services,May 1;Mitch Behm (acting),Transportation,May 15;and Steve Linick,State,May 15. In four of the cases the announcement was made late on a Friday night in a classic Friday news dump. In several cases the fired IGs had taken an action which Trump disliked,so that the dismissals were widely described as retaliation. In two other cases,questions were raised about whether the dismissals related to ongoing IG investigations into the conduct of the cabinet secretary in charge of that department. The cumulative firings were often described as a "purge" or as a "war on watchdogs".
Phyllis Fong is an American attorney serving as the inspector general of the United States Department of Agriculture. Fong was nominated to the position in 2002 by President George W. Bush.
