(d) In addition to all other functions vested in and imposed upon him by law, the Attorney General of the United States shall render pinions as to the jurisdiction and authority of the General Accounting Office, in connection with the settlement and adjustment of any account or claim, upon request of the Comptroller General or the head of the executive department or independent establishment concerned not later than sixty days after receipt of notice of the settlement and adjustment of any such account or claim, and such opinions of the Attorney General shall be final and conclusive as to the question of such jurisdiction and authority upon the Comptroller General and all departments and establishments of the Government.

(Budget and Accounting Act, 1921:) SEC. 309. (a) The [Comptroller General] Secretary of the Treasury shall supervise, and prescribe the forms, systems, and procedures for, administrative appropriation and fund accounting in the several departments and establishments, and [for] the administrative examination of fiscal officers' accounts and claims against the United States [.] in the District of Columbia and elsewhere; and shall prescribe the titles and symbols by which appropriations shall be designated on vouchers and other papers pertaining to accounts and claims. (b) The Comptroller General shall prescribe the form and manner in which accounts shall be submitted to the General Accounting Office for settlement and adjustment.

TITLE IV. THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL

SECTION 401. (a) There shall be in the General Accounting Office an officer to be known as the Auditor General of the United States (hereinafter referred to as the "Auditor General"), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall received a salary of $10,000 a year. The Auditor General shall be the head of the Audit Division of the General Accounting Office, which division shall hereafter be known as the "Office of the Auditor General". Auditor General shall be an agent of Congress and all functions vested in and imposed upon him by law shall be exercised by him without direction from any other officer. (b) The Auditor General shall designate one of his assistants to act as "Auditor General during the absence or incapacity of the Auditor General.

The

SEC. 402. Except as hereinafter provided in this section, the Auditor General shall hold office for fifteen years and shall not be eligible for reappointment. The Auditor General may be removed at any time by joint resolution of Congress after notice and hearing when, in the judgment of Congress, he has become permanently incapacitated or has been inefficient, or 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. Any Auditor General removed in the manner herein provided shall be ineligible for reappointment to that office. When an Auditor General attains the age of seventy years, he shall be retired from his office.

SEC. 403. (a) The accountable officers of the Government shall daily transmit their accounts of disbursements, together with all supporting documents, to the Auditor General.

(b) The Auditor General shall promptly make an audit of all expenditures of the Government after payment and prior to settlement and adjustment by the General Accounting Office of the accountable officers' accounts containing such expenditures, which audit shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in the vicinity of disbursing offices of the United States located in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. Auditor General shall promptly transmit to the accountable officer and the head of the executive department or independent establishment concerned and the Comptroller General the findings made by him in such audit.

The

(c) The findings of the Auditor General in the audit required by subsection (b) of this section shall be final and conclusive upon the General Accounting Office in the settlement and adjustment of accounts and claims, except that such findings shall not be final and conclusive (1) in the case of a review of such findings by the General Accounting Office under subsection (d) of this section, or (2) to the extent that any such findings are not in accord with an advance decision rendered by the Comptroller General under section 8 of the Act of July 31, 1894, as amended (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 74).

(d) The accountable officer or the head of the executive department or independent establishment concerned may within sixty days after the receipt of the findings of the Auditor General under subsection (b) of this section, request the General Accounting Office to review such findings. When such a request is made or, in the absence of such a request, whenever the Comptroller General in his discretion deems it necessary in the public interest, the General Accounting Office shall review such findings of the Auditor General in the settlement and adjustment of the accounts containing the expenditures involved in such findings.

SEc. 404. (a) The Comptroller General shall promptly furnish to the Auditor General copies of all certificates issued by the General Accounting Office in the settlement and adjustment of accounts and claims, and copies of all advance decisions rendered by the Comptroller General under section 8 of the Act of July 31, 1894, as amended (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 74).

(b) The Auditor General shall examine all copies of the certificates of settlement furnished to him by the Comptroller General under subsection (a) of this section, and the Auditor General shall promptly notify the Comptroller General of, and report to Congress, all accounts and claims deemed by the Auditor General to have been improperly settled and adjusted by the General Accounting Office: Provided, That no report shall be made to Congress with respect to any such disagreement between the Auditor General and the General Accounting Office until thirty days after the Comptroller General has been notified of such disagreement: Provided further, That no report of any such disagreement shall be made to Congress if the General Accounting Office revises its settlement and adjustment to accord with the views of the Auditor General: Provided further, That no report of any such disagreement need be made if the Auditor General deems that the question involved therein has previously been reported by him to Congress. (c) The Auditor General shall examine all copies of the advance decisions furnished to him by the Comptroller General under subsection (a) of this section, and the Auditor General shall notify the Comptroller General of, and report to Congress, all advance decisions authorizing the expenditure of public funds deemed by the Auditor General to be not in accordance with law. Expenditures made in conformity with advance decisions reported to Congress under this subsection need not be reported to Congress under subsection (b) of this section if otherwise correct.

SEC. 405. (a) The Auditor General shall investigate in the District of Columbia and elsewhere matters relating to the receipt, disbursement, and application of public funds and the acquisition, transfer, sale, disposition, or use of property of the United States. The Auditor General shall promptly report to Congress all cases in which he deems there has been failure to collect, deposit, or account for, or there has been misapplication or improvident use of, public funds, or there has been unauthorized or improvident acquisition, transfer, sale, disposition, or use of property of the United States. In such reports the Auditor General shall make recommendations looking to greater efficiency or economy in the administration of the Government.

(b) The Auditor General shall render to Congress from time to time such reports as he may deem advisable, and an annual report not later than March 1 of each year in which he shall report fully with respect to his audit of the receipts and expenditures of the Government. Such annual report shall be made as nearly as practicable in accordance with the accepted principles of auditing followed in auditing the fiscal transactions of large private corporations, and shall contain all necessary memoranda and tables, together with an appropriate certificate of audit and such comments as may be pertinent to the subject matter of the audit.

(c) The Auditor General shall make such investigations and reports as shall be requested by either House of Congress, or by any committee of either House having jurisdiction over expenditures, appropriations, or revenue; and the Auditor General shall, at the request of any such committee, direct any of his assistants to furnish the committee such aid and information as it may request.

SEC. 406. The reports of the Auditor General shall be referred by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the appropriate committees of the Senate and House having jurisdiction over the subject matter of such reports. To aid the committees in their examination and study of the reports of the Auditor General, such committees are authorized (1) to request the Auditor General or such of his assistants as may be designated by him to sit with such committees in an advisory capacity at public hearings or in executive sessions; (2) to request any officer or employee of any department or establishment of the Government to attend any such hearings or sessions and to produce any books, documents, papers, or records relative to the subject matter of any such reports, and to testify with respect thereto; and (3) to require, by subpena issued under the signature of the chairmen of such committees, the attendance of any other witnesses and the production of any other books, documents, papers, or records.

SEC. 407. The Auditor General, or any of his assistants or employees when duly authorized by him, shall, to the extent necessary to perform the functions vested in and imposed upon him, have access to and the right to examine any books, documents, papers, or records of any department or establishment of the Government. The Authority contained in this section shall not be applicable to expenditures made under the provisions of section 291 of the Revised Statutes (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 107), or any other provisions of law prohibiting or limiting review by the accounting officers of the Government of expenditures made by the President, the heads of executive departments or independent establishments, or other officers of the Government

SEC. 408. (a) The Auditor General is authorized, subject to the civil-service laws and regulations, to appoint such officers and employees as he deems necessary to enable him to exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon him by law; and the compensation of all such officers and employees shall be fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended.

(b) The Auditor General is authorized to delegate to any officer or employee of the Office of the Auditor General any functions vested in and imposed upon him by law. (c) The Auditor General is authorized to adopt an official seal for the Office of the Auditor General and judicial notice shall be taken of such seal.

(d) The Auditor General is authorized to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to enable him to exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon him by this title.

SEC. 409. The Auditor General and the Office of the Auditor General shall exercise no functions other than those vested in and imposed upon the Auditor General by this title or by any subsequent law, and nothing contained in this title shall be construed as authorizing the Auditor General to revise the settlements and adjustments of accounts and claims made by the General Accounting Office or the advance decisions rendered by the Comptroller General under section 8 of the Act of July 31, 1894 (U. S. C., 1934 edition, title 31, sec. 74), or, except as provided in section 403 (c), to direct the manner in which the General Accounting Office or the Comptroller General shall exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon them by law.

SEC. 410. Such of the personnel of the General Accounting Office employed in connection with the functions exercised by the General Accounting Office through the Audit Division of that Office, and such of the unexpended balances of appropriations available to the General Accounting Office for the exercise of such functions, as the President shall deem to be necessary to enable the Auditor General to exercise the functions vested in and imposed upon him by this title, are transferred to the Office of the Auditor General, and any unexpended balances of appropriations so transferred shall hereafter be available to the Auditor General for the purpose of exercising the functions of his Office and for otherwise carrying out the provisions of this title: Provided, That the transfer of personnel under this section shall be without change in classification or compensation, except that this requirement shall not operate after the end of the fiscal year during which the transfer becomes effective to prevent the adjustment of classification or compensation to conform to the duties to which such transferred personnel may be assigned: Provided further, That such of the personnel so transferred who do not already possess a classified civil-service status shall not acquire such status by reason of such transfer except (a) upon recommendation by the Auditor General to the Civil Service Commission, and certification by him to such Commission, within one year after such personnel have been so transferred, that such personnel have served with merit for not less than six months prior to the transfer of such personnel, and (b) upon passing such suitable noncompetitive examinations as the Civil Service Commission may prescribe.

TITLE IV.-CIVIL SERVICE AND CLASSIFICATION

GENERAL STATEMENT

The purposes of this title are (1) to reorganize and improve the administration of the civil-service laws, (2) to provide for the extension of the classified civil service, and (3) to authorize the extension of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended.

Parts 1 and 2 of this title provide for the reorganization of the civil-service administration by the abolition of the existing commission of three members, and the creation in its place of a single Administrator and a Civil Service Board of seven members. An improved and strengthened central personnel administration is essential if the classified civil service is to be extended to the employees who are now outside of the service. Effective and efficient administration requires a single executive head of this important managerial function under the general direction of the Chief Executive.

The Civil Service Commission was set up over 50 years ago, and at that time only about 15,000 employees were placed within the classified civil service. The number has now reached more than 500,000 civil-service employees, and there are about 300,000 employees out.

side of the classified civil service. It is well known that the board form of organization is unsuited to large administrative tasks. It is almost always slow, cumbersome, and inefficient when utilized for administrative functions. Its members serve for relatively short terms. The Civil Service Commission has been no exception to this rule. It is not suited to provide the constructive leadership, initiative, and vigorous administration needed in the central personnel agency of the Government. While many notable advances have been made in civil-service administration in the Government since the creation of the Civil Service Commission 50 years ago, it is increasingly being recognized that a more effective organization is needed. The protective features of the existing system will not be weakened by providing for more efficient and vigorous administration through a single responsible executive. The greatest stumbling block to the advancement of civil service in this country has been inefficient administration; the greatest step forward is to be achieved through the improvement of administration.

The central civil-service agency, like the Bureau of the Budget with its single head, is a managerial agency of the Chief Executive. As the Civil Service Commission is organized at present, however, it is difficult if not impossible for the President to exercise effectively the direction and leadership in bringing about more effective personnel management. The board form of organization is as equally unsuited for personnel administration as it would be for budgetary administration. There has been a general trend in this country away from the board form of organization for civil-service administration. While all of the older laws provided for civil-service commissions, the recent State laws and municipal charters have more commonly provided for a single administrator in charge of the administration of civil service. The need for a single civil-service administrator in the Federal service has been recognized and widely advocated for a number of years. It was recommended by President Hoover in 1932, and was strongly supported by the then President of the Civil Service Commission.

In addition to the creation of a single Civil Service Administrator, appointed by the President, by and with the advice of the Senate, and serving for an indefinite term, the bill creates also a Civil Service Board of seven members, which will exercise important investigatory and advisory authority. This Board will serve as the "watchdog" of the merit system. To it will be drawn representatives of business, industry, labor, education, and other walks of life interested in the promotion of an efficient civil service. It will meet the need for an independent-citizen agency charged with the duty of recommending broad policies, of making investigations into civil-service practices and methods, and of safeguarding the integrity of the system by bringing to the attention of the President, of the Congress, and of the people conditions or abuses demanding correction. This Board, though charged with no administrative duties, will play a large part in the development and improvement of the civil service.

Part 3 of this title provides for the extension of the classified civil service by vesting in the President authority to cover into the classified civil service offices and positions now outside such service, except those which are filled by appointment by the President with the confirmation of the Senate.

The Government of the United States employs over 1,000,000 men and women. The extent of the classified civil service in the executive branch of the Government at the end of 1936 is indicated in the following table:

Distribution of employees in the executive branch according to method of appointment, Dec. 31, 1936

It should be noted, however, that of the employees outside of the classified civil-service system, approximately 35,000 are under a merit system set-up within the agency such as that of the Foreign Service, the Public Health Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Home Owners' Loan Corporation.

During the last 4 years there has been a great awakening of public interest in the improvement of the Government service. Not only the leaders of the country but the people as well have come to see more clearly that good and effective government, as well as efficient and economical government must rest in the last analysis upon a highly competent public service.

This renewed interest in efficient civil service is shown particularly in the active work of national and local civic organizations, the establishment of "career training" courses here in Washington and at the leading universities, and the publication of important and scientific studies of Government personnel problems. There has never been as much public sentiment as there is now for the improvement of the public service.

An interesting illustration of this is found in the Nation-wide poll conducted in March 1936 by the American Institute of Public Opinion, the accuracy of whose polls has been repeatedly noted. The question whether the classified civil service should be extended to all except the highest offices and positions was submitted without argument to carefully selected "ordinary" citizens in all parts of the country. The result was an 88 percent vote for civil-service extension. It is significant that virtually no other question submitted in the past 2 years to a national poll has been accorded a higher affirmative vote.

This Nation-wide demand for better government personnel has already resulted in important new legislation in some 10 States during the legislative session this year. Five States (Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, and Tennessee) adopted civil-service laws for the first time. This is the largest number of States taking action of this sort in any one year in our history, and is a further indication of the attitude of public opinion at the present time.