Page:Procedures and Practices for Legal Decisions and Opinions 203101.pdf/5



The Office of General Counsel (OGC) is the component of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) responsible for providing legal opinions to Congress, its committees, and Members, and legal decisions to accountable officers and heads of executive agencies. See GAO Order No. 0130.1.10, Apr. 5, 2004. Congress has charged the Comptroller General to settle the accounts of the United States, 31 U. S. C. § 3526. Since the turn of the nineteenth century, Congress has provided disbursing and certifying officers (accountable officers) and heads of agencies the right to request decisions from the Comptroller General in advance of an audit and settlement of an account. 31 U. S. C. § 3529.

In recognition of the Comptroller General’s account settlement function, Congress has designated the Comptroller General as the administrative officer authorized to relieve accountable officers from liability for physical loss or losses from illegal, improper, or erroneous certifications and payments. 31 U. S. C. §§ 3527, 3528. It is these (and related) statutes that represent the statutory foundation for Comptroller General decisions on the obligation, expenditure, and accounting of appropriated funds.

Congress also has directed the Comptroller General to investigate all matters related to the receipt, disbursement, and use of public money, 31 U. S. C. § 712(1), and to evaluate the results of programs 3