Unsupported Yearend Obligations Overstate the Progress of Assisted Housing
PSAD-80-41
Published: Apr 30, 1980. Publicly Released: May 01, 1980.
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Highlights
GAO believes that a substantial portion of the yearend obligations reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) since fiscal year 1976 for the "Annual Contribution for Assisted Housing" appropriation account have been invalid because they did not meet the statutory test of legal sufficiency. In a subsequent year, HUD deobligated many of the invalid obligations of prior years and reobligated the amounts involved. GAO was unable to determine how much was deobligated from each year prior to fiscal year 1979, but agency officials indicated that they expected several billion dollars in deobligations in the current fiscal year.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | The Secretary of HUD should direct that: (1) a complete review be made of this account from fiscal year 1976 to the present to determine valid obligations based on contracts; (2) the HUD Inspector General's office validate the results of the review; (3) HUD record obligations on the basis of executed contracts; and (4) a cumulative (including fiscal years 1976, 1977, and 1978) corrected Yearend Closing Statement be prepared for fiscal year 1979 and certified to by the responsible HUD officer as required by law. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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Topics
Appropriation accountsAppropriationsHousing programsProgram abusesYearend spendingHousingAssisted housingDeobligationsBudget appropriationsBudgets