Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on data it obtained from executive branch agencies on finance inquiries made by Congress, focusing on gathering data on the: (1) number of inquiries received from October 1, 1996, through March 31, 1998, that related to campaign finance practices during the 1992, 1994, and 1996 congressional and presidential elections; and (2) costs agencies incurred in responding to these inquiries.

GAO noted that: (1) agencies generally did not track the costs associated with these inquiries, and, accordingly, the data are based on estimates; (2) further, the determination as to whether an inquiry was related to campaign finance practices was solely that of the agency; and (3) as a result, GAO was unable to audit this data.