Comptroller General Gene Dodaro
May 23, 2022
How has the mission of the U.S. Government Accountability Office evolved? How is GAO innovating the way it does its oversight mission? What does the future hold for the U.S. Government Accountability Office? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, leader of the GAO.
A Conversation with Gene Dodaro
April 23, 2012
Gene L. Dodaro became the eighth Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on December 22, 2010, when he was confirmed by the United States Senate. He was nominated by President Obama in September of 2010 and had been serving as Acting Comptroller General since March of 2008.
Mr. Dodaro has testified before Congress dozens of times on important national issues, including the nation’s long term fiscal outlook, efforts to reduce and eliminate overlap and duplication across the federal government and GAO’s “High Risk List” that focuses on specific challenges from reducing improper payments under Medicare and Medicaid to improving the Pentagon’s business practices.
In addition Mr. Dodaro has led efforts to fulfill GAO’s new audit responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—the stimulus legislation designed to combat the economic downturn, and under the TARP program to help stabilize financial markets and institutions.
As Comptroller General, Mr. Dodaro helps oversee the development and issuance of hundreds of reports and testimonies each year to various committees and individual Members of Congress. These and other GAO products have led to hearings and legislation, billions of dollars in taxpayer savings, and improvements to a wide range of government programs and services.
In a GAO career dating back more than 30 years, Mr. Dodaro has held a number of key executive posts. For 9 years, Mr. Dodaro served as the Chief Operating Officer, the number two leadership position at the agency, assisting the Comptroller General in providing direction and vision for GAO’s diverse, multidisciplinary workforce. Mr. Dodaro led the development of GAO’s strategic plans for serving Congress and improving government in the 21st Century. He also played a key role in guiding the agency’s efforts to highlight current and emerging issues that warrant attention from policymakers.
Until 1999, Mr. Dodaro headed GAO’s Accounting and Information Management Division, the agency’s largest unit, which specialized in financial management, computer technology, and budget issues. While there, he directed the first-ever audit of the comprehensive financial statements covering all federal departments and agencies. Mr. Dodaro also helped conceive GAO’s strategy for strengthening computer security governmentwide and led the updating of standards for internal controls in the federal government.
Mr. Dodaro worked closely with the Congress and several administrations on major management reform initiatives, including the 1994 Government Management Reform Act, which expanded the Chief Financial Officers Act; the revised 1995 Paperwork Reduction Act and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, which require agencies to implement modern management practices for information technology management; and the 1996 refinements to the Single Audit Act, which outlines requirements for audits of federal assistance to state and local governments. Mr. Dodaro also led management reviews of the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Personnel Management and has extensive experience working with state and local government officials.
Mr. Dodaro, who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the Association of Government Accountants. Mr. Dodaro has received many of GAO’s top honors as well as recognition from outside organizations, including the American Society for Public Administration, the Institute for Internal Auditors, and Federal Computer Week. These include:
-
- The 2009 Roger W. Jones Award from American University for outstanding executive leadership in the federal government.
- The 2008 Association of Government Accountants’ National President’s Award in recognition of outstanding vision in leading GAO through a major transition and for partnering with AGA to improve government financial management.
- The 2006 Association of Government Accountants’ Elmer B. Staats Award for improving government performance and government accountability.
- The 2003 American Society for Public Administration’s and the National Academy of Public Administration’s National Public Service Award recognizing outstanding practitioners in public service.
- The 2001 Association of Government Accountants’ Frank Greathouse Distinguished Leadership Award for sustained outstanding leadership in financial management.
- The 2000 Institute of Internal Auditor’s (D.C. Chapter) Person of the Year for leadership in addressing the Year 2000 computing challenge.
- The 1999 Federal Computer Week’s Information Technology Top 100 Award.
- The 1989 Arthur S. Flemming Award for outstanding individual performance in government.
Mr. Dodaro is married to the former Joan McCabe and has three adult children.
A Conversation with Dr. Jamie M. Morin
February 10, 2012
Dr. Jamie M. Morin is the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller, Washington, D.C. He serves as the Air Force’s Chief Financial Officer and principal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force on all financial matters. He is principally responsible for exercising the comptroller and financial management functions of the Air Force, which include preparation of the Air Force budget, directing cost and economic analysis programs and oversight of accounting and finance operations, systems and reporting. In this role, he oversees the financial management team responsible for providing financial management necessary for the effective and efficient use of Air Force resources, to include more than 680,000 military and civilian personnel and a budget of more than $119 billion.
From 2003 until his current appointment, Dr. Morin was a member of the professional staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget. In this capacity, he served as the committee’s lead analyst for the defense, intelligence, and foreign affairs budgets, responsible for drafting the relevant sections of the congressional budget resolution and advising the Senate on enforcement of budget rules. Additionally, he advised the Chairman of the Budget Committee on the full range of national security issues.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Morin served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as an economic development strategist with the firm J.E. Austin Associates, where he worked on projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Dr. Morin’s academic research focused on U.S. national security policy, particularly the role of Congress in defense budgeting and policy making. He held in-residence fellowships at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs and at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, where he conducted research for the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment. He also served as a policy adviser on President Obama’s defense transition team. He was confirmed as the 21st Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller on June 19, 2009.
A Conversation with Robert F. Hale
December 24, 2011
As Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Robert F. Hale is the principal advisor to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates on all budgetary and fiscal matters, including the development and execution of the Defense Department’s annual budget of more than $600 billion. As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Hale also oversees the Department’s financial policy, financial management systems, and business modernization efforts.
At the time of his nomination by President Barack Obama in January 2009, Robert Hale was Executive Director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC), the professional association of Defense financial managers. For three-and-a-half years, he led the society’s certification program (the Certified Defense Financial Manager program), as well as training programs, a professional journal, and other activities, including ASMC’s National Professional Development Institute, an annual conference which attracts more than 3,500 participants.
From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Hale served in the Pentagon as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller), where he was responsible for annual budgets of more than $70 billion, efforts to streamline Air Force financial management, and compliance with the Chief Financial Officers Act.
For the 12 years prior to his Air Force service, Mr. Hale headed the National Security Division at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), developing quantitative analyses of major defense budget issues and testifying frequently before Congressional committees.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Hale was a senior fellow and head of the acquisition and grants management group at LMI, a consulting firm specializing in service to the Federal government. He also spent three years as an active duty officer in the U.S. Navy and served as a staff analyst and study director at the Center for Naval Analyses.
Mr. Hale graduated with honors from Stanford University with a B.S. in mathematics and statistics. He also holds a Master’s degree in operations research from Stanford and an MBA from the George Washington University. He is a Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM), a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a past member of the Defense Business Board.
The Business of Government Hour 