NCJ Number
158919
Date Published
1990
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This report examines the evolution of the process used to formulate Federal drug budgets for fiscal years 1989-92 and describes how the executive branch tracks and monitors the obligation and expenditure of Federal drug program funds.
Abstract
The analysis revealed that for fiscal years 1981 through 1990, Congress did not legislatively require the preparation of an annual drug budget. However, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided the executive branch and Congress a summary of agency drug budgets. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 mandated that the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) prepare an annual Federal budget and outlined a formulated a process coordinated with the preparation of the President's annual budget require. In January 1990, ONDCP released the first legislatively mandated comprehensive Federal drug budget. The legislatively mandated drug budget process has increased the information available for monitoring and tracking drug program funding, but the data still have limitations. Agency, ONDCP, and OMB officials raised concerns about loss of flexibility and resources required in establishing a separate appropriation account to improve the quality of drug funding information. They preferred to put more attention into program evaluation. However, both objectives are important. Options that will provide better for evaluating effectiveness of drug program expenditures should be explored. Footnotes and appended figure and table