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GAO-07-410R 1 (2007-05-16)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptauwy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GA 0 Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 May 16, 2007 Congressional Committees Subject: Department of Veterans Affairs'Lack of Timely andAccurate Information on Unexpended Balances Limits Effective Management and Congressional Oversight The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) holds about 5 percent of the real property owned by the federal government in terms of building floor area, including such facilities as hospitals and office buildings. VA's responsibility for managing its real property includes the construction of its facilities and cemeteries. Because these construction projects can span several years, VA is authorized to carry forward fund balances from year to year in its construction accounts. VA is responsible for keeping track of and managing these balances to ensure that any unexpended balances that remain after construction projects are completed are redirected to other construction project needs within the agency.' VA's budgets for new construction exist in two accounts-Major Construction and Minor Construction-which are funded as separate line items within the appropriation.2 For purposes of this report, we refer to the Major and Minor Construction accounts as VA's construction accounts. Construction projects undertaken to replace existing facility components are funded through the Non- Recurring Maintenance (NRM) portion of the Medical Facilities budget account. For purposes of this report, we refer to the NRM as VA's facility account. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, and as part of a continued effort to assist Congress in overseeing real property management issues, we examined VA's management of unexpended construction balances. Specifically, we addressed the following question: To what extent does VA have readily available information about unexpended balances in its construction and facility accounts to effectively manage these funds? 'Unexpended balances are the cumulative total of past fiscal years' unobligated and obligated-but-not- yet-outlayed balances. 2At the time of our review, major construction projects were those estimated to cost more than $7 million, while minor construction projects were those estimated to cost $7 million or less. See P.L. 109-114, 119 STAT. 2386-2387; 38 USC 8104(a)(3)(A). 3GAO, High-Risk Series: Federal Real Property, GA0-03-1 22 (Washington, D. C.: January 2003); High- Risk Series: An Update, GAO-7-310 (Washington, D. C.: January 2007). GAO-07-410R Veterans Affairs

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