Tracking the Funds: Specific Fiscal Year 2022 Provisions for National Archives and Records Administration
Fast Facts
As part of FY22 appropriations, Members of Congress could request to designate a certain amount of federal funding for specific projects in their communities.
While agencies often have discretion over how they award funds, Congress has directed them to distribute these funds to designated recipients. We're tracking the funds to help ensure transparency.
National Archives and Records Administration's FY22 appropriations included $36.8 million for 13 of these projects.
We looked at when NARA plans to distribute the funds and how it plans to ensure they're spent properly.
We're also tracking these funds across government and at 17 other agencies.
National Archives and Records Administration: Where did the FY 2022 funding go?
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 appropriated $36.8 million to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for 13 projects at the request of Members of Congress. The act includes specific provisions that designate an amount of funding for a particular recipient to use for a specific project. These provisions are called "Congressionally Directed Spending" in the U.S. Senate and "Community Project Funding" in the House of Representatives.
GAO described, among other things, information about the intended uses for these funds, the recipients to whom they were designated, and when NARA expects recipients will have access to the funds:
The intended uses of these funds are to support efforts to preserve historical records and improve Presidential libraries. Examples of projects include facility improvements and records digitization.
The designated recipients of these funds include historical societies, libraries, museums, and universities in 11 states. Presidential libraries received the largest amount of support, while projects for other recipients received an average of $500,000.
NARA expects timeframes to vary for when recipients will have access to the funds depending on the type of project. NARA did not have an estimate for when funds would be available to Presidential libraries, but officials expected other recipients would have access to the funds by the end of September 2022. NARA officials estimated projects would take between 2 and 5 years to complete.
Why GAO Did This Study
The joint explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 includes a provision for GAO to review agencies' implementation of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending.
For more information, contact Marisol Cruz Cain at (202) 512-5017 or cruzcainm@gao.gov.