Capitol Concerts

Since 1981, the National Park Service has sponsored an annual series of concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) on the Capitol grounds. The concerts, which are paid for with federal and private money, have grown significantly in terms of their size, scope, popularity, and cost. The Park Service provided NSO with federal funding to support three concerts in 1999. The funding was transferred to the Park Service from an appropriation to the Army. NSO contracted with Capital Concerts, Inc. on a reimbursable basis to handle the production and television broadcasts of the Memorial Day and July 4th concerts. Of the $3.9 million in funding, $2.5 million came from federal sources and $1.4 million came from public broadcasting fees and grants and private donations. The Park Service, NSO, and Capitol Concerts received and retained most of the concert-related funding to support the concerts.

GAO noted that: (1) through the application of GAO's procedures at National Park Service, National Symphony Orchestra, and Capital Concerts Incorporated, GAO verified all the receipt and use information separately identified and tracked in each organization's system of records; (2) with the exception of certain administrative and oversight costs of NSO, which are described further below, the receipts and uses GAO verified represented all the known receipts and uses of funding specifically designated for support of the 1999 concerts; (3) of the total $3.9 million in funding designated for support of the 1999 concert series, $2.5 million (or 64 persent) was provided by federal sources; (4) the remaining $1.4 million (or 36 percent) was provided by public brouadcasting fees and grants, private donations, and other income; (5) of the amount NPS received, it retained $100,000 in concert-related funding and used that full amount plus an additional $7,010 from appropriations available to support the general operations of the NPS' National Capitol Region for a total of $107,010 on concert-related funding; (6) of the amount NSO received, it retained $681,900 in concert-related funding and used $680,564 to support the 1999 concert series; (7) the $1,336 in remaining concert-related receipts was available to NSO to offset other operating costs; (8) GAO was unable to verify NSO's costs related to administering concert-related grants and contracts and overseeing NSO rehearsal and concert activities on the Capitol grounds; (9) NSO officials advised GAO that their operating practices do not require that NSO separately track and prepare supporting documentation for the salary and related benefit costs for staffing involved in administering grants and contracts and in overseeing NSO's activities on the Capitol grounds; (10) without cost information that has been tracked and supported with adequate documentation, GAO could not apply its verification procedures, and the actual amount of these costs isunknown; (11) CCI received and retained $3,155,437 in concert-related funding and used $2,846,727 to support the 199 Memorial Day and July 4th concerts; (12) the $308,710 in remaining concert-related receipts for 1999 represented an increase in CCI's net assets; and (13) the increase in net assets for 1999, along with CCI's $733,084 in unrestricted net assets that existed at the start of 1999, remains available to fund future activities of CCI, including but not limited to the production and broadcast of future Memorial Day and July 4th concerts.