GAO Weighs In On “Countering Violent Extremism”

[*wildcats forever*]

(04-23-2017, 06:20 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Well, that is an interesting question. The short answer is: it depends. The GAO's assessments are non-partisan themselves, but the agenda is set by Congress. So of course, the programs looked into will be different depending on the congressional make up. Then, what happens with the findings is also up to Congress, since the GAO is a part of the legislative branch. The GAO has no authority in itself to mandate anything. It is up to Congress to implement policy changes based on the findings.

So, the weight the GAO carries is dependent on whether Congress likes their findings, really. Then, of course, it also depends on the way the executive views the findings, as well. It's a lot of fun, really. Hard to believe this is what I want to do with my life.

Thanks - this was pretty much how I understood it, though something led me to believe the GAO had some sort of power over how money was spent, at least in some regard. Maybe if an impropriety was discovered, then a halt in that spending could be implemented. Sorry that I can't recall how I got that impression. 

If only we had a wise old Grandparent that could effect an intervention on Congress when needed