Congress should consider legislation compelling presidents to provide "comprehensive and timely" information on the number of political appointees serving in their administrations, the government's watchdog agency recommends.
"The public has an interest in knowing the political appointees serving and this information would facilitate congressional oversight and hold leaders accountable," the Government Accountability Office says in a report out this week. "No agency in the federal government is required to publicly report comprehensive and timely data on political appointees."
The GAO studied the systems for monitoring political appointees, and their compliance with government ethics and financial disclosure rules, at the Interior and Health and Human Services departments and Small Business Administration. It said all could use some improvement.
Samantha Shepherd, a child care director in Savannah, Georgia, and a single mom of two girls, said rising gas prices are affecting families at her center, including one mother who may not be able to take her children to school. (Courtesy of Samantha Shepherd)
