Comments on H.R. 806 To Establish an Independent Agency To Be Known as the National Zoological Foundation

Gao ID: FGMSD-79-26 April 26, 1979

Comments were requested on a House resolution to establish an independent agency to be known as the National Zoological Foundation.

Functions similar to those of the new agency are presently performed by existing agencies of the executive branch. To avoid overlapping or duplicative functions, the functions of the proposed Foundation should be placed within the framework of an established department, such as the Department of Agriculture, and functions competing with those of other agencies should be combined or deleted. If it is decided to create the Foundation as an independent agency rather than place it within an established department, the following changes should be made in the provisions governing the Foundation's administration: clarify the responsibility of assuring compliance with accreditation standards recommended by the Foundation; and examine the classification of the Director of the Foundation to establish the appropriateness of classification as a top position of the executive branch. The proposal to give the Foundation authority to make advance progress and other payments without regard of regulation is questionable. It is unclear why this exception is considered necessary. Provisions for access to records and audit authority for the Foundation and the Comptroller General are needed. The need for authority to make appointments without regard to civil service and classification laws is unclear. The Foundation should, like other Federal executive agencies, be able to recruit qualified personnel within the framework of the civil service system. In addition, the bill contains no requirement for evaluation of the programs by the Foundation.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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