U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Nonpartisan audit agency of the U.S. Congress
The Government Accountability Office is a federal agency created by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, which directed it to investigate all matters related to the use of public funds; it was known as the General Accounting Office until 2004. It audits federal agency operations, evaluates whether programs meet their goals, and advises Congress, and its head, the Comptroller General, serves a single 15-year term. In the linked stories GAO is the reviewing body: a May 5, 2026 report on Prison Rape Elimination Act audits of Bureau of Prisons facilities, a September 2026 report (GAO-26-107722) on child-labor violations and work-related deaths, a November 2024 report (GAO-25-106389) on Labor Department investigations of H-2A employers, and reviews of ICE detention data and DHS detention inspections (GAO-25-107580, May 21, 2025). In the last of these, DHS did not concur with GAO's recommendation that the Immigration Detention Ombudsman set performance goals.