Economic Development:

Information on EPA's Air and Radiation Program's Budget, 1990-95

RCED-96-201R, Jul 1, 1996

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Office of Public Affairs
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youngc1@gao.gov

GAO reviewed the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air and radiation program. GAO noted that: (1) funding for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) increased from less than $249 million for fiscal year (FY) 1990 to over $483 million for FY 1995; (2) most of the increase occurred between FY 1990 and FY 1992, and the four program offices within OAR had different rates of increase; (3) EPA requested $516 million for OAR programs for FY 1995, and then adjusted planned funding for individual programs to match the lower FY 1995 funding level; (4) Congress targeted reductions for certain OAR programs and EPA protected those programs from further budget cuts except for cuts applied agencywide; (5) the percentage of budget reductions varied widely among the four program offices, but each office's FY 1995 appropriation was more than its FY 1994 appropriation; and (6) EPA officials believe the budget reductions hampered their ability to meet legislative requirements such as meeting deadlines for issuing pollutant standards and data collection to revise standards and determine effective control measures.