House Contingent Fund

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the House of Representatives' contingent fund. GAO noted that: (1) if the House used the contingent fund to fund a proposed task force to investigate allegations concerning the holding of American hostages in Iran in 1980, steps could be taken to ensure that sufficient funds were available by administratively ensuring sufficient funds or legislatively limiting the task force to a known amount; (2) funds could be made available through reprogramming or a supplemental appropriation; (3) any unexpended balance of a member's allowance was part of the contingent fund; (4) it would know whether sufficient funds were available for the task force when the House either included funds for the task force in the Foreign Affairs Committee budget for 1992, committed funds to meet the estimated cost, or used a supplemental appropriation to fund the task force; and (5) audits of contingent fund expenses did not reveal any internal control weaknesses in the House Finance Office or indications that it did not comply with applicable laws and regulations.