September 28, 2015
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro
Comptroller General
U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street, N.W., Room 7100
Washington, D.C. 20548
Dear Mr. Dodaro:
On September 16, 2015, your office provided the Judiciary Committee a copy of GAO’s
report on the American Red Cross, “Disaster Assistance Would Benefit from Oversight through
Regular Federal Evaluation.” Prior to the release of the report, the Red Cross CEO, Gail
McGovern, wrote a letter to the requesting party, Representative Bennie Thompson, in an
attempt to “…end the GAO inquiry that is currently underway.”1 In addition to the Red Cross’
efforts with respect to Rep. Thompson, the Committee has received additional information that
Red Cross personnel did not provide unfettered access to the GAO even after multiple requests
for relevant information. The lack of transparency is cause for concern as the Red Cross is a
federal instrumentality created by Congressional charter and receives millions of dollars every
year from donors across the country. As such, the Red Cross should have shared as much
information as possible in order for GAO to perform a complete and thorough study. In addition,
the Red Cross has a duty to the American people and the donor community to be as open and
transparent as possible.
In light of the Red Cross’ apparent unwillingness to fully cooperate, please provide the
following:
1. All records and communications that indicate the reasons cited by the Red Cross for not
providing the material requested by the GAO.
2. A list of all material GAO requested but the Red Cross refused to provide.

Justin Elliott, “Red Cross CEO Tried to kill Government Investigation,” PROPUBLICA (August 17, 2015). Accessible at
https://www.propublica.org/article/red-cross-ceo-tried-to-kill-government-investigation
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 The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro
September 28, 2015
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3. A list of all Red Cross officials that GAO contacted, including their titles.
4. A list of all Red Cross officials that did not provide the material GAO requested and a
corresponding list of the request(s) they refused to comply with.
Thank you for your help in addressing these issues. If you have any questions concerning
this request, please contact Josh Flynn-Brown of my Committee staff at 202-224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary