Opinion on the Allowance of Budget Authority that was Appropriated to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the Department of Labor

GAO was asked for its opinion on whether the Department of Labor violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 when it allowed $500,000 in budget authority that was appropriated to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to lapse without notifying Congress of its intentions concerning the use of the funds or proposing a rescission thereof.

In view of the information available, GAO could not conclude that BLS's actions constituted an unreported impoundment of the budget authority.