Natural Resources and Environment:

Deferrals of Budget Authority Appropriated to the Forest Service and BLM

OGC-86-20, Jun 12, 1986

Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

GAO provided information on deferrals of budget authority appropriated to the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that the President did not report to Congress.

GAO noted that: (1) the President failed to transmit a special message regarding the deferrals; and (2) the Office of Management and Budget improperly applied the Forest Service's required sequestered funds to receipts collected in fiscal year (FY) 1985, rather than FY 1986. GAO held that the sequestered funds are, in effect, deferred until 1986 and are subject to the procedures of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.