[Comments on Availability of Federal Funds To Pay Expenses of Supervising a Rerun of Teamsters Election]

GAO commented on the availability of federal funds to pay the expenses of supervising a rerun of the 1996 International Brotherhood of Teamsters election, focusing on the use of funds from the: (1) 1997 Justice Appropriations Act; (2) 1998 Justice and Labor Appropriations Acts; and (3) Judgment Fund. GAO noted that: (1) because the funds in the 1997 Justice Appropriations Act would remain available until expended, and the district court and court of appeals consider the rerun to be a continuation of the Union's 1996 election, the Department of Justice may apply any unobligated balance to the cost of supervising the 1996 election rerun; (2) provisions in the 1998 Justice and Labor Appropriations Acts prohibit Justice and the Department of Labor from using funds made available by those acts to pay the costs of supervising the 1996 election rerun; and (3) funds from the Judgment Fund are not available to pay the costs of supervising the rerun, since the court of appeals did not order Justice to supervise the rerun or pay its costs.