This letter responds to the Ranking Minority Member's (RRM), Senate Committee on Appropriations, request of December 22, 2003, for our opinion on the Department of Commerce's (Department) plan to rescind $17.711 million of the unobligated balance of amounts appropriated for the Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program (Program). The Department has indicated that it would draw on the unobligated bala...

You asked whether the unobligated balance of the Program's appropriation is available to the Department for that purpose. We conclude that the Program's appropriation is not available to the Department for purposes of the $100 million rescission. Congress found that "a strong steel industry is necessary to the adequate defense preparedness of the United States" and that industry problems were caus...