Personnel Practices

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed agencies' detailing of employees from their regular duties to the White House to determine the extent and manner of the detailing during fiscal years (FY) 1980 to 1985.

GAO found that: (1) the President's annual reports to Congress have underreported the number of detailees to the White House, particularly for FY 1982 and later; (2) although it could not always determine the assignment within the White House of the unreported detailees, many were assigned to the Office of Presidential Personnel; (3) the White House did not budget funds for these employees because they considered them to be furthering their agencies' missions and not subject to the reporting and reimbursement requirements; (4) agency annual reports to Congress were misleading because they included as reimbursements funds they obligated, but did not expend; (5) the majority of the agencies inappropriately used their Schedule C hiring authority to hire people exclusively for a detail to the White House, since the authority's purpose was to facilitate the employment of policymakers and confidential assistants in the agency for which the position was established; and (6) except in the case of the Department of State's Foreign Service officers, none of the agencies routinely billed the White House for employees detailed for over 180 days in a year.