Government Corporations

Profiles of Existing Government Corporations Gao ID: GGD-96-14 December 13, 1995

Government corporations are generally federally chartered entities created to serve a public function of a predominantly business nature. These entities range from Amtrak to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the Export-Import Bank. This report discusses (1) government corporations now in operation and (2) their adherence to 15 federal statutes.

GAO found that: (1) identifying government corporations is difficult, since no comprehensive definition of or criteria for creating them exist; (2) there are 22 self-reported government corporations in operation and 5 other entities that are generally considered to be government corporations that receive some operating funds from annual federal appropriations; (3) Congress exempts government corporations from some key management laws to allow them flexibility in their personnel practices; and (4) government corporations vary in their reported compliance with certain federal statutes, mainly because of these exemptions.



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