The principal witness today is the man we have been talking about— the Comptroller General, the Honorable Elmer B. Staats. Perhaps he will provide some answers to our questions, and in particular alleviate some of the fears expressed that he has become the head of a "fourth branch of government."

[The bills referred to follow :]

94TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION

S. 2206

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 29, 1975

Mr. METCALF introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Government Operations

A BILL

To provide for the appointment of the Comptroller General of the United States by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That, effective with respect to the first vacancy occurring 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 5 General of the United States (hereafter in this Act referred 6 to as the "Comptroller General") and the Deputy Comp7 troller General of the United States (hereafter in this Act 8 referred to as the "Deputy Comptroller General") shall be 9 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 10 and the President pro tempore of the Senate after considering

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1 recommendations from the Committees on Government 2 Operations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, 3 without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis 4 of his fitness to perform his duties.

5 SEC. 2. (a) The terms of office of the Comptroller Gen6 eral and the Deputy Comptroller General first appointed 7 pursuant to this Act shall expire seven years after the day 8 on which they take office, and the term of office of each 9 Comptroller General and Deputy Comptroller General sub10 sequently appointed shall expire seven years after the expira11 tion of the preceding term.

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(b) Any individual appointed as Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General pursuant to this Act to fill 14 a vacancy prior to the expiration of a term shall serve only 15 for the unexpired portion of that term. An individual serving 16 as Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General at 17 the expiration of a term may continue to serve until his suc18 cessor is appointed.

19 SEC. 3. An individual appointed as Comptroller General 20 or Deputy Comptroller General pursuant to this Act may be 21 removed from office by either the Senate or the House of 22 Representatives by resolution.

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1 SEC. 4. An individual shall not be eligible for reappoint2 ment to the office of Comptroller General or Deputy Comp

3 troller General if he has served as the Comptroller General

4

or Deputy Comptroller General, as the case may be, for 5 more than nine years.

94TII CONGRESS 1ST SESSION

S. 2268

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 1 (legislative day, JULY 31), 1975

Mr. METCALF (for himself, Mr. PERCY, and Mr. RIBICOFF) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Government Operations

A BILL

To revise and restate certain functions and duties of the Comptroller General of the United States, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "General Accounting 4 Office Act of 1975”.

TITLE I-ENFORCEMENT OF DECISIONS AND

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SEC. 101. The Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, as

8 amended (31 U.S.C. 42 et seq.), is further amended by add

9 ing at the end thereof the following new sections:

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"SEC. 320. (a) The authority provided by this section.

11 shall be exercised only in connection with accounts over

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1 which the Comptroller General has settlement authority pur2 suant to section 74 of title 31, United States Code, and shall 3 be construed as creating a procedural remedy in aid of such 4 authority, and not an enlargement or limitation of such 5 authority.

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"(b) Subject to subsection (a), whenever the Comp7 troller General, in the performance of any of his functions 8 authorized by law, has reasonable cause to believe that any 9 officer or employee of the executive branch is about to 10 expend, obligate, or authorize the expenditure or obligation 11 of public funds in an illegal manner, he may institute a 12 civil action in the United States District Court for the 13 District of Columbia for declaratory relief. If the Attorney 14 General is in disagreement with the Comptroller General, 15 he is authorized to represent the defendant official in such 16 action. Other parties, including the prospective payee or 17 obligee, who shall be served with notice or process, may 18 intervene or be impleaded as otherwise provided by law, 19 and process in such an action may be served by certified 20 mail beyond the territorial limits of the District of Columbia. "(c) In the event the institution of suit under this 22 section serves to delay a payment beyond the date it was 23 due and owing in payment for goods or services actually 24 delivered to and accepted by the United States, then such 25 payment when made by the agency involved shall include

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