The Government Accountability Office is requesting $526.2 million for the 2013 fiscal year, a 2.9 percent increase from FY2012, but 5.4 percent below FY 2010.
The budget request will support 3,100 employees, but that number is expected to drop below 3,000 by the end of FY12. If that happens, it will be the first time in 75 years the staffing level has dipped that low and results in a net reduction of 11 percent of staff capacity in just a two-year period.
“We have carefully reviewed every aspect of our operations from a zero base to identify opportunities to reduce costs without sacrificing the quality of our work and preserving our ability to assist the Congress in addressing the most important priorities facing the nation,” the agency wrote in a statement. “However, given that staff costs now represent about 81 percent of our budget and the deep reductions already taken in our infrastructure programs, reducing the size of our workforce could not be avoided.”
