Skip to main content

Trade Adjustment: Funding Status of Commerce's Trade Adjustment Assistance Program

NSIAD-90-247 Published: Sep 06, 1990. Publicly Released: Oct 09, 1990.
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Department of Commerce's Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, focusing on: (1) the adequacy of funding for trade adjustment assistance centers; (2) the accuracy and usefulness of Commerce's February 22, 1990 report to Congress; and (3) operational constraints during fiscal years 1989 and 1990.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Commerce To improve the administration of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, the Secretary of Commerce should direct the Under Secretary, International Trade Administration (ITA) to provide the trade adjustment assistance centers with additional guidance on how to prepare their financial reports to ensure that unliquidated obligations and reserves for contingencies are properly recorded and reported.
Closed – Implemented
Commerce did not provide separate guidance to centers as recommended. Instead, Commerce cited Senate Appropriations Committee guidance from the fiscal year 1991 appropriations process. These recommendations should be closed because there has been an absence of congressional disapproval of Commerce's handing of this program since the GAO report.
Department of Commerce To improve the administration of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, the Secretary of Commerce should direct the Under Secretary, ITA, to separately itemize in any future reports to Congress on the status of Trade Adjustment Assistance Program funds the amount of unliquidated obligations and reserves being held for close-out purposes.
Closed – Implemented
GAO recommended that Commerce separately itemize in any future reports to Congress the amounts of unliquidated obligations and reserves for close-out purposes. The latest report to Congress did not break out these amounts. These recommendations should be closed because there has been an absence of congressional disapproval of Commerce's handling of this program since the GAO report.

Full Report

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

Appropriated fundsBusiness assistanceEconomic analysisFinancial recordsImportingInternational tradePublic assistance programsReporting requirementsUnobligated budget balancesReemployment assistance