Budget and Accounting Act

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The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (Pub.L. 67-13, 42 Stat. 20, enacted June 10, 1921) created the General Accounting Office, the non-partisan audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress, and an agency in the Legislative Branch of the United States Government.

The Act required the head of GAO to "investigate, at the seat of government or elsewhere, all matters relating to the receipt, disbursement, and application of public funds, and shall make to the President...and to Congress...reports (and) recommendations looking to greater economy or efficiency in public expenditures" (Sec. 312(a), 42 Stat. 25). The GAO's name was changed to Government Accountability Office in 2004 to better reflect the mission of the office.^[1]