Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., chairman of the House Budget Committee, requested the review. Carolyn Kaster/AP
GAO to Review White House Sequestration Approach
Paul Ryan calls for audit of agencies’ planning for across-the-board cuts.
The Government Accountability Office will issue an agency-by-agency review of sequestration planning and implementation, according to Federal News Radio.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., chairman of the House Budget Committee, requested the review in a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro earlier this month. Ryan asked GAO to monitor the Obama administration’s compliance with the Budget Control Act and explain how agencies defined “program, project or activity” for the purpose of sequestration.
GAO will also review two White House budget memos, one from July 31, 2012 -- which called for agencies to continue normal spending and operations -- and another from March 1, the day sequestration went into effect.
Ryan also called on GAO to determine the necessity of furloughs and whether there are “alternatives available to [agencies] to achieve some or all of the savings” required by the across-the-board cuts.
A GAO spokesman told FNR the agency has not yet begun its review and does not have an expected date of completion.