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AFMD-81-37 1 (1981-03-06)

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                      COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
                              WASHINGTON D.C. 20548

                            2RELEASED              MARCH 6, 1981
B-196862


The Honorable Edward R. RoybalII                         IIIlB111II
Chairman, Subcommittee on Treasury-
   Postal Service-General Government
Committee on Appropriations                1            114872
House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Chairman:

     Subject: LReview of White House and Executive Agency
               Expenditures for Selected Travel, Entertain-
               ment, and Personnel Costs(AFMD-81-37)

     On October 16, 1980, the Honorable Tom Steed, former Sub-
committee Chairman, requested that we provide a report on our re-
view of the possible misuse of appropriated funds to advance the
political candidacy of the incumbent President preceding the 1980
election. Because the request was made in his capacity as Chair-
man, we are providing the report to you.

     The review was conducted in response to a September 22, 1980,
request from 11 members of the United States Senate. An interim
report issued on October 20, 1980, provided information on
(1) the policies for handling political travel and entertainment
by White House and executive agency officials and (2) the funding
used for specific entertainment events. This, our final report,
addresses certain travel expenses of the President, Vice President,
and other administration officials; procedures used to prevent
misuse of appropriations; and the White House use of other agencies'
personnel.

     The overriding question raised in our review was whether
travel, speechmaking, and public appearances by senior-level offi-
cials (including the President and the Vice President), and other
personnel actions that may take place during a Presidential cam-
paign and may directly or indirectly benefit the campaign, consti-
tute an improper use of appropriated funds. This question has been
raised by members of both major political parties on various occa-
sions incident to a Presidential campaign. The question poses the
very difficult problem of distinguishing between permissible offi-
cial activities for which appropriated funds are available and
other activities that are similar in nature but are for purely
political or partisan purposes. The problem becomes particularly
troublesome when those activities tend to increase during the late


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