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United States Coast Guard: Implementation of the Inflation Adjustment Act

GAO-03-221R Published: Nov 01, 2002. Publicly Released: Nov 01, 2002.
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Highlights

Earlier this year, GAO began a governmentwide review of the implementation of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. The act requires each federal agency to issue a regulation adjusting its covered maximum and minimum civil monetary penalties for inflation by October 23, 1996, and requires them to make necessary adjustments at least once every 4 years thereafter. During the review, GAO determined that the United States Coast Guard published its first round of penalty adjustments in 1997, but has not published a second round of adjustment for 56 eligible penalties.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Transportation The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to initiate a regulatory action as soon as possible to adjust eligible civil penalties in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Inflation Adjustment Act.
Closed – Implemented
On December 23, 2003 (68 FR 74189), the Coast Guard published a final rule adjusting its fines and other civil penalties for inflation in accordance with the Inflation Adjustment Act. The final rule indicated that the agency's method of calculation took into account GAO's November 2002 report and subsequent discussions with GAO.

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Topics

InflationFederal lawFines (penalties)NoncomplianceMilitary forcesFederal assistance programsFederal rulemakingDebt collectionFederal agenciesPrice indexes