Why the National Park Service's Appropriation Request Process Makes Congressional Oversight Difficult

Gao ID: FGMSD-79-18 March 1, 1979

The use of contingency reserves by the National Park Service as discretionary funds was reviewed.

The Service uses contingency reserves obtained for emergency purposes and unforeseen events to pay for a variety of routine projects not specifically considered by the Congress. In fiscal 1977, for example, the Service obtained $10 million for contingencies from the operations appropriation but used about $7 million for projects that could have been reasonably estimated and justified to the Congress through the normal budget review process. This method of obtaining contingency reserves without adequate disclosure to the Congress is unacceptable and should be discontinued.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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