B-209970 L/M, JAN 19, 1983

B-209970 L/M, JAN 19, 1983

PRECIS-UNAVAILABLE

ALAN CRANSTON, UNITED STATES SENATE:

THIS RESPONDS TO YOUR LETTER DATED NOVEMBER 23, 1982, IN WHICH YOU ASKED US TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISCAL YEAR 1982 FUNDS FOR THE INDIAN URBAN HEALTH PROGRAM INVOLVES AN IMPOUNDMENT OF FUNDS UNDER THE IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, PUB.L. NO. 93-344, TITLE X, 88 STAT. 332. FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF AN IMPOUNDMENT. A DETAILED ANALYSIS FOLLOWS.

THE INDIAN URBAN HEALTH PROGRAM OPERATES UNDER 25 U.S.C. 1651 ET SEQ. (SUPP. IV 1980), WHICH AUTHORIZES THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS WITH URBAN INDIAN ORGANIZATIONS TO ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER HEALTH SERVICES PROGRAMS. THE URBAN HEALTH PROGRAM IS ONE OF SEVERAL ACTIVITIES FUNDED FROM A $625 MILLION LUMP SUM APPROPRIATION FOR INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDED IN THE 1982 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATION ACT, PUB.L. NO. 97-100, 95 STAT. 1391, 1410 (1981).

IN PRIOR YEARS, CONTRACTS WITH PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN FUNDED FOR A FULL YEAR. FN1 IN FISCAL YEAR 1982, HOWEVER, THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE (IHS) INITIALLY FUNDED ALL CONTRACTS FOR NO MORE THAN 6 MONTHS. THIS ACTION WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON THE INTERIOR APPROPRIATION ACT WHICH DIRECTED THAT THE CONTRACTS BE FUNDED FOR 6 MONTHS ONLY, TO ALLOW FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION. SEE H.R.REP. NO. 97-315, 31 (1981).

AN IHS BUDGET OFFICIAL TOLD US THAT, AS THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 1982 APPROACHED AND IT APPEARED INCREASINGLY UNLIKELY THAT THE PERMANENT APPROPRIATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 1983 WOULD BE ENACTED BY OCTOBER 1, IHS DECIDED TO USE THE REMAINING FISCAL YEAR 1982 FUNDS TO CONTINUE ALL EXISTING CONTRACTS AT CURRENT LEVELS FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. THE REMAINING FISCAL YEAR 1982 FUNDS ALLOWED SUCH FUNDING THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1982. FN2 THE SMALL AMOUNT ($100,000) REMAINING AFTER THAT DISTRIBUTION WAS MADE WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT ONLY TO FUND ALL CONTRACTS FOR A FEW DAYS BEYOND DECEMBER 31. INSTEAD OF FUNDING THE CONTRACTS FOR A FEW MORE DAYS, THE $100,000 WAS REPROGRAMMED TO THE HOSPITALS AND CLINICS ACTIVITY OF THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES LUMP SUM ACCOUNT.

ACCORDING TO AN AGENCY OFFICIAL, ALL EXISTING CONTRACTS NOW ARE FUNDED THROUGH JANUARY 31, 1983, USING FUNDS AVAILABLE UNDER THE SECOND CONTINUING RESOLUTION FOR FISCAL YEAR 1983, PUB.L. NO. 97-377 (DECEMBER 21, 1982). THE AGENCY PLANS TO COMPLETE ITS EVALUATION OF THE PROJECTS BY JANUARY 31, AND THEN TO MAKE ANNUAL CONTRACT AWARDS.

OUR INQUIRY INTO THE IMPOUNDMENT ASPECTS OF AN AGENCY'S DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOCUSES ON WHETHER THE FUNDS ARE BEING MADE AVAILABLE FOR ANY AUTHORIZED PURPOSE. IN THIS CASE, IHS APPEARS TO HAVE MADE AVAILABLE ALL THE FUNDS EARMARKED FOR THE URBAN HEALTH PROGRAM. MOST OF THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN, OR WILL BE USED FOR THE URBAN HEALTH PROGRAM; A SMALL REMAINING AMOUNT ($100,000) HAS BEEN REPROGRAMMED TO ANOTHER AUTHORIZED INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES ACTIVITY, AS NOTED ABOVE. ACCORDINGLY, WE FIND NO EVIDENCE OF AN IMPOUNDMENT IN THE AGENCY'S DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR THE PROGRAM.

YOU ALSO STATE IN YOUR LETTER THAT "IHS HAS REPROGRAMMED AT LEAST $487,473 OF THE FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR CALIFORNIA." BASED ON OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH AN IHS OFFICIAL, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS FIGURE PROBABLY REPRESENTS THE ADDITIONAL AMOUNT THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN EARMARKED FOR THE CALIFORNIA PROGRAM IF ITS CONTRACTS HAD BEEN FUNDED ON AN ANNUAL, RATHER THAN ON A MONTHLY, BASIS. INSTEAD, BECAUSE OF IHS' DECISION TO CONTINUE ALL CURRENT PROJECTS USING FISCAL YEAR 1982 FUNDS THROUGH DECEMBER 31, THAT AMOUNT WAS REDISTRIBUTED AMONG OTHER INDIAN HEALTH PROJECTS.

THE AGENCY COMPLIED WITH THE ONLY DIRECTION IN THE COMMITTEE REPORTS, TO FUND THE PROJECTS FOR 6 MONTHS. HOWEVER, EVEN ASSUMING THAT THERE WERE SOME OTHER INDICATION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT AS TO THE AMOUNT TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUAL STATES, THE AGENCY WOULD NOT BE BOUND TO A PARTICULAR DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR THE PROGRAM. AS NOTED ABOVE, THE URBAN HEALTH PROGRAM IS FUNDED FROM A LUMP SUM APPROPRIATION WHICH DOES NOT SPECIFY AN AMOUNT TO BE USED FOR THAT PROGRAM. AS A RESULT, THE AGENCY WAS AUTHORIZED TO DISTRIBUTE THE FUNDS AMONG INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AS IT DETERMINED APPROPRIATE. SEE LTV AEROSPACE CO., 55 COMP.GEN. 307, 319 (1975).

FN1 THE CONTRACT YEARS DID NOT NECESSARILY RUN CONCURRENTLY WITH THE FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR. FOR EXAMPLE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE CALIFORNIA PROJECTS' CONTRACT YEAR GENERALLY RAN FROM APRIL 1 THROUGH MARCH 30.

FN2 THE 1982 INTERIOR APPROPRIATION ACT, PUB.L. NO. 97-100, 95 STAT. 1391, 1410, PROVIDES THAT THESE FUNDS " ... MAY BE USED FOR ONE-YEAR CONTRACTS AND GRANTS WHICH ARE TO BE PERFORMED IN TWO FISCAL YEARS, SO LONG AS THE TOTAL OBLIGATION IS RECORDED IN THE YEAR FOR WHICH THE FUNDS ARE APPROPRIATED ...." ACCORDINGLY, THESE FUNDS WERE AVAILABLE FOR CONTRACTS EXTENDING BEYOND THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 1982.