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B-245856.7 1 (1992-08-11)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadpre0001 and id is 1 raw text is: *Comptroler General of the United States Wa D.C 2054 B-245856.7 August 11, 1992 AThe Honorable Andy Ireland House of Representatives Dear Mr. Ireland: This responds to your letter of May 20, 1992, raising two issues for our consideration. The first issue stems from a Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) article that suggests that our Office would approve the use of current funds to pay overobligations in expired accounts, a proposition which you understandably find disturbing. The second issue involves ( your request for our comments on certain proposals made by the Deputy Inspector General, Department of Defense, intended to enhance enforcement of the Antideficiency Act. With respect to the first issue, a prominent purpose of the 1990 reforms Wo the account closing provisions in 31 U.S.C. §§ 1551-1558 was to apply the discipli~re of the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341 and the Bona Fide Needs statute, 31 U.S.C. § 1502, co expired accounts. The Ii Antideficiency Act and the Bona Fide Needs statute are intended to ensure that agencies discipline themselves to stay within congressionally authorized funding limitations and to control the level of obligations and outlays. Indeed, as a consequence of these statutes, and contrary to the suggestion contained in the BNA article, agencies generally are not authorized to pay overobligations of expired or closed accounts from current appropriations. Instead overobligations must be reported to the Congress and the President, and Congress may either make a deficiency appropriation to pay the overobligations or authorize the agency to pay the overobligations out of current appropriations. However, until and unless Congress takes one of these actions, a deficiency exists in the account. Hence, the process of agency reporting overobligations to the Congress and requesting funds to pay the obligations is vital to congressional oversight of how agencies manage their financial resources and necessary to accomplish the objectives of the Antideficiency Act. With respect to the second issue, you suggest that there are large number of overobligated DoD accounts and that the M accounts remain an insurance policy against violation of the Antideficiency Act. Noting that the M accounts will cease to exist after September 1993, you suggest that DoD will be confronted with massive violations of the Antideficiency Act that it might not report immediately as required by law.

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