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PART II, BUDGET AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES ACT OF 1950 (64 Stat. 832, 834) PART II-ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING

SHORT TITLE

SEC. 110. This part may be cited as the "Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950”.

DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 111. It is the policy of the Congress in enacting this part that—

(a) The accounting of the Government provide full disclosure of the results of financial operations, adequate financial information needed in the management of operations and the formulation and execution of the Budget, and effective control over income, expenditures, funds, property, and other assets.

(b) Full consideration to be given to the needs and responsibilities of both the legislative and executive branches in the establishment of accounting and reporting systems and requirements.

(c) The maintainence of accounting systems and the producing of financial reports with respect to the operations of executive agencies, including central facilities for bringing together and disclosing information on the results of the financial operations of the Government as a whole, be the responsibility of the executive branch.

(d) The auditing for the Government, conducted by the Comptroller General of the United States as an agent of the Congress be directed at determining the extent to which accounting and related financial reporting fulfill the purposes specified, financial transactions have been consummated in accordance with laws, regulations or other legal requirements, and adequate internal financial control over operations is exercised, and afford an effective basis for the settlement of accounts of accountable officers.

(e) Emphasis be placed on effecting orderly improvements resulting in simplified and more effective accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, and auditing requirements and procedures and on the elimination of those which involve duplication or which do not serve a purpose commensurate with the costs involved.

(f) The Comptroller General of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget conduct a continuous program for the improvement of accounting and financial reporting in the Government (31 U.S.C. 65).

ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING PROVISIONS

SEC. 112. (a) The Comptroller General of the United States, after consulting the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget concerning their accounting, financial reporting, and budgetary needs, and considering the needs of the other executive agencies, shall prescribe the principles, standards, and related requirements for accounting to be observed by each executive agency, including requirements for suitable integration between the accounting processes of each executive agency and the accounting of the Treasury Department. Requirements prescribed by the Comptroller General shall be designed to permit the executive agencies to carry out their responsibilities under section 113 of this part, while providing a basis for integrated accounting for the Government, full disclosure of the results of the financial operations of each executive agency and the Government as a whole, and financial information and control necessary to enable the Congress and the President to discharge their respective responsibilities. The Comptroller General shall continue to exercise the authority vested in him by section 205(b) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 389) and, to the extent he deems necessary, the authority vested in him by section 309 of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921 (42 Stat. 25). Any such exercise of authority shall be consistent with the provisions of this section. (b) The General Accounting Office shall cooperate with the executive agencies in the development of their accounting systems, including the Treasury Department, in the development and establishment of the system of central accounting and reporting required by section 114 of this part. Such accounting systems shall be approved by the Comptroller General when deemed by him to be adequate and in conformity with the principles, standards, and related requirements prescribed by him.

(c) The General Accounting Office shall from time to time review the accounting systems of the executive agencies. The results of such reviews shall be available to the heads of the executive agencies concerned, to the Secretary of the Treasury, and to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, and the Comptroller General shall make such reports thereon to the Congress as he deems proper (31 U.S.C. 66).

SEC. 113. (a) The head of each executive agency shall establish and maintain systems of accounting and internal control designed to provide

(1) full disclosure of the financial results of the agency's activities; (2) adequate financial information needed for the agency's management purposes;

(3) effective control over and accountability for all funds, property, and other assets for which the agency is responsible, including appropriate internal audit;

(4) reliable accounting results to serve as the basis for preparation and support of the agency's budget requests, for controlling the execution of its budget, and for providing financial information required by the Bureau of the Budget under section 213 of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921 (42 Stat. 23);

(5) suitable integration of the accounting of the agency with the accounting of the Treasury Department in connection with the central accounting and reporting responsibilities imposed on the Secretary of the Treasury by section 114 of this part.

(b) The accounting systems of executive agencies shall conform to the principles, standards, and related requirements prescribed by the Comptroller General pursuant to section 112(a) of this part (31 U.S.C. 66a).

[(c) As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this subsection, the head of each executive agency shall, in accordance with principles and standards prescribed by the Comptroller General, cause the accounts of such agency to be maintained on an accrual basis to show the resources, liabilities, and costs of operations of such agency with a view to facilitating the preparation of costbased budgets as required by section 216 of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, as amended. The accounting system required by this subsection shall include adequate monetary property accounting records as an integral part of the system.] 25

SEC. 114. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall prepare such reports for the information of the President, the Congress, and the public as will present the results of the financial operations of the Government: Provided, That there shall be included such financial data as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget may require in connection with the preparation of the Budget or for other purposes of the Bureau. Each executive agency shall furnish the Secretary of the Treasury such reports and information relating to its financial condition and operations as the Secretary, by rules and regulations, may require for the effective performance of his responsibilities under this section.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to establish the facilities necessary to produce the financial reports required by subsection (a) of this section. The Secretary is further authorized to reorganize the accounting functions and install, revise, or eliminate accounting procedures and financial reports of the Treasury Department in order to develop effective and coordinated systems of accounting and financial reporting in the several bureaus and offices of the Department with such concentration of accounting and reporting as is necessary to accomplish integration of accounting results for the activities of the Department and provide the operating center for the consolidation of accounting results of other executive agencies with those of the Department. The authority vested in and the duties imposed upon the Department by sections 10, 15, and 22 of the Act entitled "An Act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred ninety-five, and for other purposes", approved July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 162, 208–210), may be exercised and performed by the Secretary of the Treasury as a part of his broader authority and duties under this section and in such a manner as to provide a unified system of central accounting and reporting on the most efficient and useful basis.

(c) The system of central accounting and reporting provided for herein shall be consistent with the principles, standards, and related requirements prescribed

* Added by sec. 2(b), Public Law 863 (70 Stat. 782, 783), 84th Cong.

by the Comptroller General pursuant to section 112 of this part (31 U.S.C. 66b). SEC. 115. (a) When the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller General determine that existing procedures can be modified in the interest of simplification, improvement, or economy, with sufficient safeguards over the control and accounting for the public funds, they may issue joint regulations providing for the waiving, in whole or in part, of the requirements of existing law that— (1) warrants be issued and countersigned in connection with the receipt, retention, and disbursement of public moneys and trust funds; and

(2) funds be requisitioned, and advanced to accountable officers under each separate appropriation head or otherwise.

(b) Such regulations may further provide for the payment of vouchers by authorized disbursing officers by means of checks issued against the general account of the Treasurer of the United States: Provided, That in such case the regulations shall provide for appropriate action in the event of delinquency by disbursing officers in the rendition of their accounts or for other reasons arising out of the condition of the officers' accounts, including under necessary circumstances, the suspension or withdrawal of authority to disburse (31 U.S.C. 66c). SEC. 116. The Comptroller General is authorized to discontinue the maintenance in the General Accounting Office of appropriation, expenditure, limitation, receipt, and personal ledger accounts when in his opinion the accounting systems and internal control of the executive, legislative, and judicial agencies are sufficient to enable him to perform properly the functions to which such accounts relate (31 U.S.C. 66d).

AUDITING PROVISIONS

SEC. 117. (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the financial transactions of each executive, legislative, and judicial agency, including but not limited to the accounts of accountable officers, shall be audited by the General Accounting Office in accordance with such principles and procedures and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States. In the determination of auditing procedures to be followed and the extent of examination of vouchers and other documents, the Comptroller General shall give due regard to generally accepted principles of auditing, including consideration of the effectiveness of accounting organizations and systems, internal audit and control, and related administrative practices of the respective agencies.

(b) Whenever the Comptroller General determines that the audit shall be conducted at the place or places where the accounts and other records of an executive agency are normally kept, he may require any executive agency to retain in whole or in part accounts of accountable officers, contracts, vouchers, and other documents, which are required under existing law to be submitted to the General Accounting Office, under such conditions and for such period not exceeding ten years as he may specify, unless a longer period is agreed upon with the executive agency: Provided, That under agreements between the Comptroller General and legislative and judicial agencies the provisions of this sentence may be extended to the accounts and records of such agencies. (31 U.S.C. 67)

GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 118. As used in this part, the term "executive agency" means any executive department or independent establishment in the executive branch of the Government but (a) except for the purposes of sections 114, 116, and 119 shall not include any Government corporation or agency subject to the Government Corporation Control Act (59 Stat. 597), and (b) except for the purposes of sections 111, [113 (c)], 114, and 116 shall not include the Post Office Department (31 U.S.C. 65a).

SEC. 119. The head of each executive agency is authorized to designate the place or places, at the seat of government or elsewhere, at which the administrative examination of fiscal officers' accounts will be performed, and with the concurrence of the Comptroller General to waive the administrative examination in whole or in part: Provided, That the same authority is hereby conferred upon the officers responsible for the administrative examination of accounts for legislative and judicial agencies (31 U.S.C. 65b).

20 Added by sec. 2(c), Public Law 863 (70 Stat. 782, 783), 84th Cong.

TITLE II-APPROPRIATIONS

AUTHORIZATIONS FOR APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 201. No requests for legislation, which, if enacted, would authorize subsequent appropriations for a department or establishment in the executive branch of the Government, shall be transmitted to the Bureau of the Budget, to the President, or to the Congress by such department, or establishment, or by any organization unit thereof, without the prior approval of the head of such department or establishment (31 U.S.C. 581b).

ADJUSTMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR REORGANIZATION

SEC. 202. (a) When under authority of law a function or an activity is transferred or assigned from one agency within any department or establishment to another agency in the same department or establishment, the balance of appropriations which are determined by the head of such department or establishment to be available and necessary to finance or discharge the function or activity so transferred or assigned may, with the approval of the President, be transferred to, and be available for use by, the agency to which said function or activity is transferred or assigned for any purpose for which said funds were originally available. Balances so transferred shall be credited to any applicable existing appropriation account or accounts, or to any new appropriation account or accounts, which are hereby authorized to be established, and shall be merged with funds in the applicable existing or newly established appropriation account or accounts and thereafter accounted for as one fund. (b) When under authority of law a function or activity is transferred or assigned from one department or establishment to another department or establishment, the balance of appropriations which are determined by the President to be available and necessary to finance or discharge the function or activity so transferred or assigned, shall be transferred to and be available for use by the department or establishment to which said function or activity is transferred or assigned for any purpose for which said funds were originally available. Balances so transferred shall be credited to any applicable existing appropriation account or accounts, or to any new appropriation account or accounts, which are hereby authorized to be established, and shall be merged with funds in the applicable existing or newly established appropriation account or accounts and thereafter accounted for as one fund. (31 U.S.C. 581c)

TITLE III-REPEALS AND SAVING PROVISIONS

REPEALS

SEC. 301. The following Acts and parts of Acts are hereby repealed:
NOTE.-Repeals numbered (1) through (106) omitted from this codifica-

tion.

SAVING PROVISIONS

SEC. 302. (a) The omission of any provision of law from the provisions of law repealed under section 301 shall not be construed as limiting the application of section 201 or 216 of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, as amended, or the powers of the President thereunder, or as evidencing an intent that such provision was not to be superseded by such sections.

(b) Whenever any law authorizes expenditures for a particular object or purpose to be made from an appropriation item referred to in such law by the specific title theretofore used for that appropriation item in the appropriation Act concerned, and thereafter such title is changed or is eliminated from such appropriation Act, expenditures for such object or purpose thereafter may be made from any corresponding appropriation item.

(c) Except where authority for performance of a function is specifically repealed in section 301, none of the provisions of such section shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibility of any agency or officer of the Government over any function or organizational unit referred to in such section. (d) Existing laws, policies, procedures, and directives pertaining to functions covered by this Act, and not inconsistent herewith or repealed hereby, shall remain in full force and effect unless and until superseded, or except as they may be amended, under the authority of this Act or under other appropriate authority.

Approved September 12, 1950.

EXHIBIT No. 6

SECTION 206, LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1946

EXPENDITURE ANALYSES BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL

SEC. 206. The Comptroller General is authorized and directed to make an expenditure analysis of each agency in the executive branch of the Government (including Government corporations), which, in the opinion of the Comptroller General, will enable Congress to determine whether public funds have been economically and efficiently administered and expended. Reports on such analyses shall be submitted by the Comptroller General, from time to time, to the Committees on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, to the Appropriations Committees, and to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over legisla tion relating to the operations of the respective agencies, of the two Houses.

EXHIBIT No. 7

[House of Representatives, 66th Cong., 2d sess. Doc. No. 805])

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, RETURNING TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WITHOUT APPROVAL, HOUSE BILL 9783, "AN ACT TO PROVIDE A NATIONAL BUDGET SYSTEM, AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," AND STATING CERTAIN OBJECTIONS THERETO.

JUNE 4, 1920.-Referred to the Select Committee on Budget and ordered to be printed To the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

I am returning without my signature H.R. 9783, "An Act to provide a national budget system, an independent audit of Government accounts, and for other purposes.' I do this with the greatest regret. I am in entire sympathy with the objects of this bill and would gladly approve it but for the fact that I regard one of the provisions contained in section 303 as unconstitutional. This is the provision to the effect that the comptroller general and the assistant comptroller general, who are to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, may be removed at any time by a concurrent resolution of Congress after notice and hearing, when, in their judgment, the comptroller general or assistant comptroller general is incapacitated or inefficient, or has been guilty of neglect of duty, or of malfeasance in office, or of any felony or conduct involving moral turpitude, and for no other cause and in no other manner except by impeachment. The effect of this is to prevent the removal of these officers for any cause except either by impeachment or a concurrent resolution of Congress. It has, I think, always been the accepted construction of the Constitution that the power to appoint officers of this kind carries with it, as an incident, the power to remove. I am convinced that the Congress is without constitutional power to limit the appointing power and its incident, the power of removal derived from the Constitution.

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The section referred to not only forbids the Executive to remove these officers but undertakes to empower the Congress by a concurrent resolution to remove an officer appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. I can find in the Constitution no warrant for the exercise of this power by the Congress. There is certainly no express authority conferred and I am unable to see that authority for the exercise of this power is implied in any express grant of power. On the contrary, I think its exercise is clearly negatived by section 2 of Article II. That section, after providing that certain enumerated officers and all officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, provides that the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of department. It would have been within the constitutional power of the Congress, in creating these offices, to have vested the power of appointment in the President alone, in the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, or even in the head of a department. Regarding as I do the power of removal from office as an essential incident to the appointing power, I can not escape the conclusion that the vesting

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