In a letter dated April 15, 2004, the Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Government Reform, requested a monthly breakdown of all expenditures from October 2002 through September 2003 by Independent Counsel David M. Barrett. Under 28 U.S.C 596(c)(1) and (2) (2000), independent counsels are required to report on their expenditures from the permanent, indefinite appropriation established to fund independent counsel activities semiannually. We are required to audit these expenditures and report our findings to appropriate congressional committees. The request letter cited our two most recent semiannual reports, which covered the period in question on independent counsel expenditures.

On May 24, 1995, Independent Counsel Barrett was appointed to investigate certain allegations against the then Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. On March 17, 2003, the Special Division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered that Independent Counsel Barrett continue his work to the extent necessary or appropriate to perform the noninvestigative and nonprosecutorial tasks remaining as required to conclude the functions of his office. Recent expenditures are related to preparing the final report for submission to the court and to closing the office. In addition to the amounts reported as paid from the permanent, indefinite appropriation, there may be other significant expenses paid from other appropriations. These expenditures arise when an independent counsel uses detailees from other federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Independent counsels are not required to and do not include these other expenditures in their statements of expenditures. However, for the reporting period covered by the request, there were no expenditures reported by other agencies in support of Independent Counsel Barrett's activities.