Summary of a Report--Revolving Funds

Full Disclosure Needed for Better Congressional Control Gao ID: PAD-77-25(a) August 30, 1977

Because of the way some revolving funds are currently included in the Federal budget, the total amount of Government activities is understated--for example, by an estimated $28 billion in fiscal year 1978. The Federal budget should disclose the magnitude of Federal activity in such a way as to provide a basis for estimating the impact of Government activity on the economy as a whole.

The U.S. budget for fiscal year 1977 lists 185 revolving fund accounts with projected receipts of $70.6 billion and gross outlays of $75 billion. These revolving funds fall into three categories: public enterprise, intragovernmental, and trust revolving. In the past, Congress has established revolving funds where their use did not seem appropriate. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury have classified accounts as revolving funds which in some instances did not meet their criteria. There is no assurance that accounts presently accounted for as revolving funds should or need to be so classified.

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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