SELF-INITIATED WORK Within the area of discretion that we have, we have a systematic way of looking at all of the programs of the Government from time to time to determine areas which are, say, growing costs or of potential interest to the Congress; this derives from the committee reports, reading of the Congressional Record. PROGRAM PLANNING COMMITTEE Senator HOLLINGS. Do you have a review board? Senator HOLLINGS. I am thinking about hearings we had over at Public Broadcasting. It came up the other day, they said they didn't know how to put on a program and take it off. Mr. STAATS. We have a Program Planning Committee. Senator HOLLINGS. You have a system whereby it comes automatically before a review board? Mr. STAATS. Yes. We also have as another part of our system, a procedure whereby any of our staff at the audit sites located out with the agencies or any of our regional managers throughout the country may recommend areas of work if they feel it is an area that needs to be looked at, either because of allegations or because of information that they develop. We have a regular form for this, and we take their recommendation into account. So we try to be aware and sensitive to the criticism that is emerging with respect to any program in the Government. But we do have internally a regular procedure whereby we try to assess priorities. We have to assess priorities because our staff has requested 792 man-years more than I have in this budget. All of these are in a sense worthwhile projects. But we have to make judgments as to priorities. We also have to recognize the fact that we can only operate well with good people. We have tried to grow slowly and recruit soundly for that reason. COORDINATION OF REQUESTS FROM CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES Senator HOLLINGS. What about the warfare between the committees of Congress within a field, for example, international policy, the Finance Committee not only has that subject, there is the subcommittee of Commerce on Foreign Commerce, the group that will be just returning from Moscow tomorrow. Suppose you are requested by one committee to do an extensive research project in international trade. Do you correlate that with any other interested committees? Mr. STAATS. We have four professional staff members who spend full time working with the committees in terms of their current and planned work. If we would get a request of that type and we were aware of the interest of another committee, we would try to either get a joint request or to get permission from the original requesting committee that it be made a GAO report, which is then available to all of the Congress. This is done quite frequently where a committee recognizes that other committees have a related interest. The report being a public report would then be available to all of the committees of the Congress. ACCESS TO INFORMATION Senator HOLLINGS. Where are you with respect to the cooperation of other agencies and departments of Government, specifically the executive department, such as requests made for travel vouchers, say by the White House? Have you run into executive privileges there or what about the Defense Department on its contracts? Mr. STAATS. We testified before Senator Ervin's committee and Senator Muskie's, the Joint Committee, about 3 weeks ago. I have a copy of our statement with me today, which summarizes the problems that we have had with respect to access to information from the executive branch. We have to tell you that these problems have grown in recent months and we are concerned about it. We have suggested to that committee and again yesterday to the Senate Government Operations Committee some language which we would hope the Congress would consider favorably because of the growing problem that we have. DELAYS CAUSED BY ACCESS PROBLEMS It isn't always a problem of denial of information that we are concerned about. It is a question of the delays and the screening that takes place and the clearances that have to take place which have grown in the last 2 or 3 years. There are some parts of the Government where we have been surprisingly free of problems, for example, in most areas of the Defense Department. The area we have had our difficulty in Defense has involved the military assistance area. But beyond the military assistance area we have had rather good cooperation. Senator HOLLINGS. Do you get cooperation from the private contractors so you can make valid comparisons as to what is reasonable, say, in overruns? Mr. STAATS. Yes. With respect to Lockheed we had good cooperation from the contractor. Generally the answer to your question is yes. EXERCISING EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE The President exercised executive privilege with respect to a request that came from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the 5-year plan for military assistance, and a later request from the House Government Operations Committee for basic planning documents submitted by country field teams, he exercised executive privilege in both of those cases. In the light of those directives of the President, overseas activities, including military commands, set up more restrictive procedures for giving GAO access to information. This has made it much more difficult for us to function because in many cases the records have to be referred in to Washington to get clearance before they are provided to our man, say, in Frankfurt, Germany, or our man in Honolulu, or anywhere else. Senator HOLLINGS. When did these directives occur? Mr. STAATS. The two presidential directives were issued in August of 1971 and March of 1972. Senator HOLLINGS. Have you recommended to the Government Operations Committee legislation to correct this? Mr. STAATS. Yes. We have. Senator HOLLINGS. Also with respect to the tardiness of delivering records, let's say from the White House itself, and other executive departments, what are you recommending? EXCERPT OF STATEMENT AND EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE DETERMINATIONS Mr. STAATS. I will be happy to have these two executive privilege determinations for the record, if you wish. I will also be happy to include my statement, that part of my statement before the Senate Government Operations Committee yesterday, which bears on this. [The information follows:] MEMORANDUM FOR THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE August 30, 1971 It has been brought to my attention that the Senate Foreign Relations As you know, the policy of this Administration, as directed in my The precedents on separation of powers established by my predecessors from first to last clearly demonstrate, however, that the President has the responsibility not to make available any information and material which would impair the orderly function of the Executive Branch of the Government, since to do so would not be in the public interest. As indicated in my memorandum of March 24, 1969, this Administration will invoke Executive Privilege to withhold information only in the most compelling circumstances and only after a rigorous inquiry into the actual need for its exercise. I have accordingly conducted such an inquiry with regard to the Congressional requests brought to my attention in this instance. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has requested "direct access to the Executive Branch's basic planning data on Military Assistance" for future years and the several internal staff papers containing such data. The basic planning data and the various internal staff papers requested by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee do not, insofar as they deal with future years, reflect any approved program of this Administration, for no approved program for Military Assistance beyond the current fiscal year exists. Furthermore, the basic planning data requested reflect only tentative intermediate staff level thinking, which is but one step in the process of preparing recommendations to the Department Heads, and thereafter to me, for one-year programs to be approved for the ensuing budget year. I am concerned, as have been my predecessors, that unless privacy of preliminary exchange of views between personnel of the Executive Branch can be maintained, the full frank and healthy expression of opinion which is essential for the successful administration of Government would be muted. I have determined, therefore, that it would not be in the public interest to provide to the Congress the basic planning data on military assistance as requested by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in his letters of July 28 and August 6, 1971, to the Secretary of Defense. I, therefore, direct you not to make available to the Congress any internal working documents which would disclose tentative planning data on future years of the military assistance program which are not approved Executive Branch positions. I have noted that you and your respective Departments have provided much information and have offered to provide additional information including planning material and factors relating to the military assistance program to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. These planning materials and factors will enable the Congress to consider current year approved programs in light of considerations bearing on the future which can now be foreseen. In accordance with my general policy to provide the fullest possible information to the Congress, I will expect you and the Secretaries of other Executive Departments to continue to make available to that Committee all information relating to the military assistance program not inconsistent with this letter. /s/ Richard Nixon |