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COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES t~(
WASHINGTON D.C. 20548
May 17, 1982
B-20 5053
118451
To the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives
This letter reports four deferrals of budget authority,
totalling $320.1 million, provided for the Department of Defense,
which should have been, but were not, reported to Congress pur-
suant to the Impoundment Control Act, 31 U.S.C. SS1401 et seq.
In the four accounts involved, the amounts provided in
the 1982 Department of Defense Appropriation Act, Pub. L. No.
97-114 (December 29, 1981), and earmarked for specific items or
activities in the accompanying committee reports, exceed the
funding levels specified in the 1982 Department of Defense
Authorization Act, Pub. L. No. 97-86 (December 1, 1981). The
amounts withheld from obligation and reported herein as defer-
rals correspond to the amounts by which the Appropriation Act
levels exceed the authorized levels. In two of the accounts
(Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy; Aircraft Procurement, Navy),
the funds are being withheld pursuant to a decision by the
Office of the Secretary of Defense not to allot the funds to
the Navy. Funds in the two other accounts (Operation and Main-
tenance, Air Force; Research, Development, Test and Evaluation,
Air Force), are being withheld pursuant to a direction from the
Air Force.
Based on our review of budget documents and discussions
with DOD officials, it is clear to us that the primary reason
for withholding the funds is the Department's concern over the
disparity between the appropriations and the authorized funding
levels. Our conclusion is supported by testimony by Dr. Jack R.
Borsting, DOD Controller, during hearings before the House
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on March 17, 1982. When
asked whether a freeze had been imposed on any appropriations,
Dr. Borsting replied that [c]ertain items are being withheld
from obligation until we get better guidance from Congress
(Hearings, unpublished transcript, p. 42.). In addition,
although DOD officials told us that other, program-related,
reasons may exist to support the withholdings, the documents we
examined do not indicate any such justifications. To the con-
trary, those documents which mention the reasons for the with-
holdings allude solely to the disparity between the authorized
and appropriated funding levels.
Section 1011(l) of the Impoundment Control Act, 31 U.S.C.
51401(l), defines deferral of.budget authority to include--
OGC-82-12
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