Section 8 Tenant-Based Housing Assistance: Opportunities to Improve HUD's Financial Management
RCED-98-47
Published: Feb 20, 1998. Publicly Released: Feb 20, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request and a legislative requirement, GAO: (1) reviewed the accuracy of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) estimate of unexpended budget authority in the Section 8 tenant-based program; and (2) assessed HUD's budget formulation process for this program.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | To improve HUD's fiscal responsibility to the Section 8 program and to ensure that Congress is adequately informed about the amount of excess unexpended budget authority at HUD in the future, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should direct the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to modify the agency's consolidated financial statements so that they: (1) identify the portions of the unexpended appropriations for the Section 8 program that accrued during the year and are attributable to the tenant-based and project-based programs, respectively; and (2) disclose the amounts of budget authority in each program that are excess to current needs and therefore available for other uses. |
HUD has modified its consolidated financial statements in accordance with the recommendation.
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| Department of Housing and Urban Development | To improve HUD's fiscal responsibility to the Section 8 program and to ensure that Congress is adequately informed about the amount of excess unexpended budget authority at HUD in the future, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should include in HUD's annual budget justification documents the amount of unexpended budget authority in the Section 8 assisted housing program that is in excess of current obligations and recapture amounts that accumulate above what is prudently needed to address contingent costs. |
In accordance with the recommendation, HUD now includes in its annual budget justification documents the amount of unexpended budget authority in the Section 8 assisted housing program.
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Budget authorityBudgetary reservesFederal agency accounting systemsFederal aid for housingFinancial statementsFuture budget projectionsHousing programsLow income housingRental housingUnexpended budget balances