NCJ Number
73528
Date Published
1979
Length
102 pages
Annotation
This report provides indicators of where recent growth in Federal spending has occurred and examines recent growth in the 10 largest appropriation accounts in each of the 12 cabinet-level departments between fiscal years 1975 and 1978.
Abstract
The report was prepared by the General Accounting Office (GAO) in response to a request from the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Small Business. The chairman requested that GAO track the growth in the 10 largest appropriation accounts, research GAO reports and provide examples of waste and inefficiency in as many of the 120 accounts as possible, and provide examples of GAO recommendations on which no action or inadequate action has been taken. GAO concluded that it was impossible to quantify accurately the loss of Federal dollars due to program mismanagement. Neverthless, results showed that one-fifth of the 120 accounts selected had grown more than 50 percent from fiscal year 1975 to fiscal year 1978, when figures are based on constant fiscal year 1975 dollars. Six of these high growth accounts were for new programs in which rapid growth is usually expected. The largest percentage growth in existing programs occurred in the Department of Labor's Temporary Employment Assistance account, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's New Communities Fund account, and the Department of Agriculture's Price Support and Related Programs account. Only three accounts had decreases of at least 50 percent. A list of GAO reports containing recommendations regarding waste elimination which were not fully implemented is included. For each report, the list identifies the agency, account, report title and number, nature of the program, potential savings, actions required, and current status of actions. Extensive appendixes discuss limitations of the data, list examples of waste and inefficiency in many of the accounts, and present data on growth in the 120 accounts. (Author abstract modified)