About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

111071 1 (1979-12-06)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacupr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 




                                                             /2Z67


                                KEYNOTE ADDRESS

                                      BY

                                EAMER B. STAATS

                   COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES

                        TEANNUAL CONFERENCE OF NCAC/ASPA  1

                               WASHINGTON, D.C.

                               DECEMBER 6, 1979


               WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE?  TO WHOM?  FOR WHAT?  HOW?


     A few days ago the editorial page of a Washington newspaper carried a

letter from a lady in Springfield, Virginia.  I don't have any representation

in our government, she cries out.  I find it difficult to believe, she

continues, that the American people are aware of what is happening in their

government. . .  She was protesting some recent actions in the U.S. Senate

that need not concern us here.  But her final sentence, just quoted, should

concern us.  It touches the basic purpose of this conference.  For the lady

could just as well have said no one in our government is accountable to me,

a citizen and a taxpayer.  Is she correct in these heartfelt laments?  Would

she have been nearer right to use the word accountable?  To a measurable

extent she would have been, for the theme of my comments today is that although

there has been progress in making public servants and public representatives

more accountable for their actions, much remains to be done.  To be accountable

is to be answerable to someone for something.  Accountability in American

governments today--Federal, State, and local--is not the positive force that

it could be.  This should not surprise us.  Although accountability is what

citizens like the lady from Springfield demand, as of today.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most