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B-280396.2 1 (1999-10-28)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadbnz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I & GAO i ccounta lityV integrtty Redlabfity United States General Accounting Office Office of the General Counsel Washington, DC 20548 B-280396.2 October 28, 1999 The Honorable Larry Combest Chairman, Committee on Agriculture House of Representatives The Honorable Bob Goodlatte Chairman, Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition & Forestry Committee on Agriculture House of Representatives By letter dated October 13, 1999, you asked us to examine the Department of Agriculture's (the Department) use of liquidating and financing accounts for farm credit programs (direct loans and loan guarantees) to cover the cost of administrative settlements of alleged discriminatory treatment of African-American farmers. We understand that your concern involves the source of funds used to pay the administratively settled claims and not the merits of the underlying claims. In response to an inquiry made in June 1998, the Department advised us that it used the farm credit program liquidating and financing accounts to administratively pay compensatory damages for alleged violations of the civil rights of six African- American farmers. We have examined the legal authority of the Department to use the Credit Reform financing and liquidating accounts as a source of funds for such payments. If the Credit Reform accounts are available, the Department will fund the payments out of the permanent indefinite appropriations provided by the Credit Reform Act to cover reestimates of the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees paid out of the financing and liquidating accounts. On the other hand, if the Credit Reform accounts are not available, the Department will have to charge its salary and expense appropriation. Depending on the amount of these payments, the Department may need to request additional funding to cover the payments of compensatory damages. A permanent indefinite appropriation is an appropriation without time limitation that contains no specific dollar amount. In effect, the General Fund of the Treasury is liable for any amount necessary to cover obligations incurred incident to the stated purpose.

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