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United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

Report to Congressional Committees: 

January 2011: 

Financial Management: 

NOAA Needs to Better Document Its Policies and Procedures for 
Providing Management and Administration Services: 

GAO-11-226: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-11-226, a report to congressional committees. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a bureau 
within the Department of Commerce (Commerce). To help achieve NOAA’s 
program goals, it relies on management and administration (M&A) 
services, such as legal support and information technology. In 
response to the fiscal year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act 
Conference Report, GAO (1) examined how NOAA’s M&A services are 
funded, (2) assessed the extent to which NOAA’s policies and 
procedures for M&A services conform to applicable standards, and (3) 
estimated salaries and expenses for NOAA’s budget for fiscal year 
2009. Among other things, GAO reviewed documents on M&A services and 
data on M&A costs from NOAA officials for its headquarters; line 
offices, which are responsible for executing NOAA’s programs; and a 
subset of financial management centers (FMC) within the line offices, 
which manage specific programs and projects. 

What GAO Found: 

M&A services at NOAA are provided at four levels—-Commerce, NOAA’s 
headquarters, line offices, and FMCs-—and each level funds its 
services in different ways. First, Commerce uses NOAA payments to the 
department’s Working Capital Fund to support M&A services, such as 
legal services, that can be more efficiently provided centrally. It 
also uses payments to its Advances and Reimbursements Account for, 
among other things, payments to external parties for M&A services 
provided to the department as a whole. Commerce uses funds 
appropriated for departmental management to provide leadership 
services for the whole department, including NOAA. Second, NOAA’s 
headquarters funds most of its M&A services using its corporate 
administrative services appropriation. NOAA’s headquarters also uses a 
direct billing process to provide some unplanned services, such as 
issuing new identification cards, as well as pooled and additional 
services requested by line offices. Third, line offices fund the M&A 
services they provide by assessing their programs, projects, and 
activities in various ways. Finally, some FMCs fund M&A services 
through assessments of their subunits, while others do not track or 
separately define their M&A costs. 

NOAA’s headquarters, line offices, and FMCs have documented some of 
their policies and procedures for M&A services, but they have not done 
so to the full extent required by applicable internal control and 
federal cost accounting standards. Taken together, these standards 
require agencies to document in a manual or handbook (1) their 
policies regarding the types of M&A services they provide; (2) the 
procedures they use each year to determine the budgets for their M&A 
services; (3) their policies and procedures for assigning the costs of 
their M&A services to specific programs, activities, or outputs that 
benefit from the services, and the results of that assignment; and (4) 
the justification for why those assignments are appropriate. NOAA’s 
headquarters has documented some of its policies and procedures for 
its M&A services in written yearly operating and spending plans, but 
has not done so in a manual or handbook. In addition, the line offices 
and FMCs have no or limited documentation of their policies and 
procedures for the M&A services they provide. This lack of 
documentation limits the availability of information on M&A services 
for agency officials and congressional decision makers and may hamper 
financial management and management decision making. 

Estimated salaries and expenses for NOAA were about $3.8 billion for 
fiscal year 2009, with approximately $1.38 billion in estimated 
salaries and $2.46 billion in estimated expenses. NOAA does not 
separately report salaries and expenses for each line of its budget. 
Therefore, GAO estimated salaries and expenses based on budget object 
class data. These estimates are approximate because salaries and 
expenses could be higher if they were accounted for in object classes 
that GAO did not include in its estimates. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends that NOAA require its headquarters, line offices, and 
FMCs to document in a manual or handbook their policies and procedures 
for the M&A services they provide in line with federal cost accounting 
and internal control standards. NOAA reviewed a draft of this report 
and concurred with the recommendation. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-226] or key 
components. For more information, contact Anu K. Mittal at (202) 512-
3841 or mittala@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Background: 

M&A Services for NOAA Are Funded in a Variety of Ways: 

NOAA's Documentation of Its Policies and Procedures for M&A Services 
Does Not Always Conform to Applicable Federal Standards: 

Estimated Salaries and Expenses For NOAA Were About $3.8 Billion for 
Fiscal Year 2009: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendation for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Salaries and Expenses Data for NOAA's Budget for Fiscal 
Year 2009: 

Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Commerce: 

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Examples of Two Types of M&A Services Provided at Each 
Organizational Level: 

Table 2: NOAA's Reported Direct Billings by Office, Fiscal Years 2007 
through 2009: 

Table 3: M&A Obligations Data Reported by NOAA Officials for Fiscal 
Years 2007 through 2009: 

Table 4: Estimated Salaries and Expenses by NOAA Activity, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Table 5: NESDIS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal 
Year 2009: 

Table 6: NMFS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal 
Year 2009: 

Table 7: NOS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Table 8: NWS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Table 9: OAR Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Table 10: Program Support Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line 
Item, Fiscal Year 2009: 

Figure: 

Figure 1: Four Organizational Levels Where M&A Services Are Provided 
at NOAA: 

Abbreviations: 

Commerce: Department of Commerce: 

FMC: financial management center: 

IT: information technology: 

M&A: management and administration: 

MARS: Management Analysis and Reporting System: 

NESDIS: National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service: 

NMFS: National Marine Fisheries Service: 

NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: 

NOS: National Ocean Service: 

NWS: National Weather Service: 

OAR: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research: 

ORF: Operations, Research, and Facilities: 

object class: federal budget object classification: 

PAC: Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction: 

PPA: program, project, or activity: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

January 31, 2011: 

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye: 
The Honorable Thad Cochran: 
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Chaka Fattah: 
Ranking Member: 
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: 
Committee on Appropriations: 
House of Representatives: 

Federal agencies rely on a variety of management and administration 
(M&A) services, such as workforce management and information 
technology, to help achieve their mission and program goals. By fully 
documenting their policies and procedures related to M&A services, and 
accounting for their costs, agencies can, among other things, provide 
relevant and reliable information to assist congressional decision 
makers in allocating federal resources and evaluating program 
performance. However, concerns have been raised about the availability 
of such information at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), a bureau within the Department of Commerce 
(Commerce). 

NOAA has a broad mission to understand and predict changes in the 
earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine 
resources to meet the nation's economic, social, and environmental 
needs. To carry out this mission in fiscal year 2010, NOAA received an 
appropriation of about $4.7 billion and relied primarily on five line 
offices to execute its programs: the National Environmental Satellite, 
Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS); National Ocean Service (NOS); National Weather Service 
(NWS); and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). Each 
line office is divided into financial management centers (FMC) to 
perform the mission-related work of the line office, as well as to 
assign and track resources. For example, NMFS has 12 FMCs below the 
line office level that provide M&A services: of these 12 FMCs, 6 are 
regional offices and 6 are regional science centers. 

To help achieve its mission, NOAA relies on a variety of M&A services. 
Major types of M&A services include leadership services,[Footnote 1] 
planning and budgeting, legal support, acquisitions and grants 
administration, workforce management, information technology (IT) 
infrastructure and operations, and facilities support. 

The Conference Report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act 
for fiscal year 2010 directed GAO to report on how NOAA's M&A services 
are financed and to identify salaries and expenses within NOAA's 
budget.[Footnote 2] In this context, we (1) examined how M&A services 
at NOAA are funded; (2) assessed the extent to which NOAA's policies 
and procedures for accounting for M&A services conform to applicable 
standards; and (3) estimated salaries and expenses for NOAA's budget 
for fiscal year 2009. 

To examine how M&A services at NOAA are funded, we reviewed NOAA's 
documentation related to M&A services, including its policy and 
guidance documents. We also analyzed cost data on M&A services NOAA 
provided. We took steps to determine the reliability of that data, 
including reviewing documentation and interviewing knowledgeable 
agency officials, and we found that the data were sufficiently 
reliable for our purposes. To determine the extent to which NOAA's 
policies and procedures for accounting for M&A services conform to 
applicable standards, we compared NOAA's policies and procedures with 
applicable federal standards for managerial cost accounting and 
internal control. To address our first two objectives, we also 
interviewed officials from Commerce, NOAA's headquarters, each line 
office, and a subset of officials at FMCs within each line office. To 
estimate salaries and expenses for NOAA's budget for fiscal year 2009, 
we requested obligations data from NOAA's Budget Office, organized by 
federal budget object classification. We took steps to determine the 
reliability of these data, including reviewing documentation and 
interviewing knowledgeable agency officials, and we found that the 
data in the aggregate were sufficiently reliable for our purposes. It 
was beyond the scope of our engagement to determine the reliability of 
the more detailed salaries and expense data presented in appendix II, 
and we did not do so. See appendix I for a more detailed description 
of our objectives, scope, and methodology. 

We conducted this performance audit from March 2010 to January 2011 in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe 
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

Background: 

The sections below describe (1) NOAA's organizational structure, (2) 
applicable standards for M&A services, and (3) the federal budget 
object classification system. 

NOAA's Organizational Structure: 

NOAA is one of the largest bureaus within Commerce. As mentioned 
earlier, five line offices--NESDIS, NMFS, NOS, NWS, and OAR--are 
primarily responsible for executing the agency's mission. Specifically: 

* NESDIS provides access to global environmental data from satellites 
and other sources; 

* NMFS manages, conserves, and protects living marine resources within 
the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone;[Footnote 3] 

* NOS provides science-based solutions to address issues concerning 
oceans and coasts; 

* NWS provides weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings; and: 

* OAR works with NOAA's other line offices to provide a variety of 
research services in support of the agency's mission. 

Each line office includes a headquarters office and several FMCs below 
the line office level. Line office headquarters units house NOAA's 
assistant administrators and perform a variety of policymaking, 
budgeting, coordination, and oversight activities. FMCs below the line 
office level manage specific programs and projects within the purview 
of each line office and manage their own FMC activities. For example, 
13 FMCs at OAR provide M&A services below the line office level, 
including the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, which uses 
advanced undersea technologies to research and explore the oceans. 

Each of the five line offices[Footnote 4] receives funding from NOAA's 
overall appropriation in two main budget accounts: Operations, 
Research and Facilities (ORF) and Procurement, Acquisition, and 
Construction (PAC). According to NOAA officials, in general, the ORF 
account funds salaries, benefits, utilities, and other programmatic 
services (such as legal services and IT). The PAC account does not 
fund program services, rather it funds capital assets and investments 
of $75 million or greater, such as the purchase of a new satellite. 
The ORF and PAC budget accounts each fund numerous programs, projects, 
or activities (PPA).[Footnote 5] For example, in fiscal year 2010, the 
ORF account funded 285 PPAs. Each FMC receives funding from one or 
more PPAs, and the FMC decides how it will fund its program and M&A 
services. For example, in fiscal year 2010, OAR's National Sea Grant 
College Program received funding from three PPAs: (1) National Sea 
Grant College Program Base, (2) Aquatic Invasive Species Program, and 
(3) Marine Aquaculture Program. Figure 1 illustrates the four 
organizational levels discussed in this report--Commerce, NOAA's 
headquarters, line offices, and FMCs--where M&A services are provided. 

Figure 1: Four Organizational Levels Where M&A Services Are Provided 
at NOAA: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustration] 

Top level: 
Commerce. 

Second level, reporting to Commerce: 
* NOAA’s Headquarters. 

Line offices, reporting to NOAA’s Headquarters: 
* National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 
(NESDIS); 
* National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); 
* National Ocean Service (NOS); 
* National Weather Service (NWS); 
* Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). 

FMCs, reporting to their respective line office: 

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 
(NESDIS): 
* Center for Satellite Applications and Research; 
* GOES-R; 
* Joint Program Satellite Systems Office; 
* National Climatic Data Center; 
* National Geophysical Data Center; 
* National Oceanographic Data Center; 
* Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution; 
* Office of Satellite Operations; 
* Office of Systems Development. 

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): 
* Alaska Fisheries Science Center; 
* Alaska Region; 
* Northeast Fisheries Science Center; 
* Northeast Region; 
* Northwest Fisheries Science Center; 
* Northwest Region; 
* Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; 
* Pacific Islands Region; 
* Southeast Region; 
* Southeast Fisheries Science Center; 
* Southwest Region; 
* Southwest Fisheries Science Center. 

National Ocean Service (NOS): 
* Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services; 
* Coastal Services Center; 
* National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science; 
* National Geodetic Survey; 
* Office of Coast Survey; 
* Office of National Marine Sanctuaries; 
* Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management; 
* Office of Response and Restoration. 

National Weather Service (NWS): 
* Alaska Region; 
* Central Region; 
* Eastern Region; 
* National Centers for Environmental Prediction; 
* Office of Climate, Weather and Water Services; 
* Office of Hydrologic Development; 
* Office of Operational Systems; 
* Office of Science and Technology; 
* Pacific Region; 
* Southern Region; 
* Western Region. 

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR): 
* Air Resources Laboratory; 
* Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab; 
* Climate Program Office; 
* Earth System Research Laboratory--Chemical Sciences Division; 
* Earth System Research Laboratory--Global Monitoring Division; 
* Earth System Research Laboratory--Global System Division; 
* Earth System Research Laboratory--Physical Science Division; 
* Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory; 
* Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory; 
* National Sea Grant College Program; 
* National Severe Storms Laboratory; 
* Office of Ocean Exploration and Research; 
* Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory 

Source: GAO analysis of NOAA documents. 

[End of figure] 

The same broad types of M&A services, such as leadership and IT, are 
each provided at all four organizational levels, but the nature of 
these services varies depending on the needs of that level. Table 1 
provides examples of how two types of M&A services--leadership and IT 
services--are generally provided at each organizational level. 

Table 1: Examples of Two Types of M&A Services Provided at Each 
Organizational Level: 

Organizational level: Commerce; 
Type of service: Leadership: The Secretary of Commerce provides 
leadership services, including policymaking, management, and oversight 
functions, for the entire department, including NOAA and the other 
bureaus; 
Type of service: IT: Commerce's Office of the Chief Information 
Officer formulates and oversees departmentwide IT security operations. 

Organizational level: NOAA's headquarters; 
Type of service: Leadership: NOAA's Administrator, based in NOAA's 
headquarters, provides leadership services such as determining 
policies and conducting oversight of the agency's line offices; 
Type of service: IT: NOAA's Chief Information Officer manages IT 
services agencywide, such as overseeing NOAA's Messaging Operations 
Center and e-mail services. 

Organizational level: Line offices; 
Type of service: Leadership: Assistant Administrators in each line 
office oversee the work of that office by establishing officewide 
direction including program and performance priorities and 
coordinating, defining, and overseeing FMC operating practices 
consistent with NOAA-wide policies and other regulatory requirements; 
Type of service: IT: Line office Chief Information Officers oversee 
FMC compliance with Federal regulatory and agencywide IT security 
policies, and provide common services to promote consistency and 
operating efficiency, among other things. 

Organizational level: FMCs; 
Type of service: Leadership: FMC officials oversee operations related 
to each FMC's specific programmatic focus; 
Type of service: IT: FMC IT officials oversee activities such as 
procuring and supporting equipment and systems for the FMCs' specific 
needs. 

Source: Commerce and NOAA officials. 

[End of table] 

Applicable Standards for M&A Service: 

Federal cost accounting standards provide guidance to federal agencies 
on assigning the costs they incur to the programs they support, the 
activities within these programs, and the outputs of these activities. 
[Footnote 6],[Footnote 7] In practice, "assigning costs" for M&A 
services means that federal financial managers are to identify and 
document the costs of the M&A services that are provided to specific 
programs, activities, and outputs. For example, they should document 
what portion of the total costs for IT services is attributable to 
specific programs, activities, and outputs that benefit from the service. 
According to the standards, cost accounting helps improve financial 
management and managerial decision making by providing useful 
information to people inside and outside an agency on its budget and 
performance. 

The objectives of the federal cost accounting standards include: 

* providing relevant and reliable information to program managers 
regarding the full costs of programs, their activities, and their 
outputs; 

* providing relevant and reliable information to assist congressional 
and other decision makers in allocating federal resources, authorizing 
and modifying programs, and evaluating program performance; and: 

* ensuring consistency between costs reported in financial reports and 
costs reported to program managers. 

The standards do not impose a specific methodology on federal agencies 
to satisfy these objectives but allow them the flexibility to design 
their own cost accounting systems. However, the standards call for all 
cost accounting activities, processes, and procedures to be documented 
by a manual, handbook, or guidebook. The documentation should (1) 
outline the specific programs, activities, and outputs for which costs 
will be determined; (2) provide instructions for procedures and 
practices to be followed in assigning costs, including M&A costs, to 
those program, activities, and outputs; and (3) contain examples of 
forms and other documents to be used. 

In addition, standards for internal control in the federal government 
call for federal agencies to document their policies and procedures, 
which help managers exercise control over agency activities, including 
activities undertaken to manage and administer programs.[Footnote 8] 
Policies and procedures include the methods federal agencies use to 
assign their M&A costs. The internal control standards also state that 
the documentation should be complete and periodically updated to 
reflect any changes to the policies and procedures. 

To adhere to both internal control and federal cost accounting 
standards, as they relate to M&A services, federal agencies need to 
document their policies and procedures. Specifically, to meet internal 
control standards, agencies need to document: 

* their policies regarding the types of M&A services they provide, and: 

* the procedures they use each year to determine the budget for their 
M&A services. 

Furthermore, to meet both internal control and federal cost accounting 
standards, agencies also need to document: 

* the policies and procedures they use for assigning the costs of 
their M&A services to specific programs, activities, or outputs that 
benefit from the services and the results of the cost assignments, and: 

* the justification for why those assignments are appropriate. 

The Federal Budget Object Classification System: 

The federal budget object classification (object class) system is one 
of several ways to array financial data, such as salaries and 
expenses, in budgetary presentations. Federal agencies are required to 
report object class information in their budgets and track the goods, 
services, or items agencies purchase.[Footnote 9] There are five major 
object classes; by number, they are as follows: (10) personal 
compensation and benefits; (20) contractual services and supplies; 
(30) acquisition of assets; (40) grants and fixed charges; and (90) 
other. These major classes are divided into smaller classes. For 
example, object classes 11, 12, and 13 all fall under major object 
class 10 and include (11) personnel compensation, (12) personnel 
benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

M&A Services for NOAA Are Funded in a Variety of Ways: 

Commerce, NOAA's headquarters, line offices, and FMCs use a variety of 
mechanisms to fund M&A services. These mechanisms include NOAA 
payments, appropriations identified for specific functions, direct 
billings, assessments, and receipts from reimbursable agreements. 

Commerce Charges NOAA to Support Some M&A Services and Uses Its Own 
Funds to Provide Other Services to NOAA: 

According to our analysis of Commerce documents and interviews with 
departmental officials, Commerce charges NOAA for certain M&A services 
it provides, which NOAA pays for through reimbursements to the 
department's Working Capital Fund and its Advances and Reimbursements 
account. The Working Capital Fund finances services that the Secretary 
of Commerce determines can be performed more advantageously or 
efficiently as central services, rather than separately by each of 
Commerce's bureaus. In addition, according to Commerce officials, 
Commerce uses the Advances and Reimbursements account for two things: 
(1) pass-through payments to external organizations for services 
provided to the department as a whole, and (2) payments for short-term 
projects that benefit Commerce's bureaus. The services funded through 
both the Working Capital Fund and the Advances and Reimbursements 
account include services such as mail management, library services, 
and legal counsel. The services funded through the Advances and 
Reimbursements account include services provided by the National 
Finance Center to support processing NOAA's payroll and services 
provided by Commerce's Office of Budget to prepare and finalize the 
department's Performance and Accountability Reports as required by the 
Government Performance and Results Act. The following 12 offices 
within Commerce provide M&A services through these mechanisms: (1) 
Acquisition Management, (2) Administrative Services, (3) Budget, (4) 
the Chief Information Officer, (5) Chief of Staff, (6) Civil Rights, 
(7) Financial Management, (8) the General Counsel, (9) Human Resources 
Management, (10) Management and Organization, (11) Public Affairs, and 
(12) Security. 

NOAA, like other bureaus in Commerce receiving services paid for 
through these mechanisms, pays the Working Capital Fund and the 
Advances and Reimbursements account from its own funding for services 
received. Commerce's documents show that its billings to NOAA for the 
Working Capital Fund were about $34 million in fiscal year 2007, about 
$34.5 million in fiscal year 2008, and about $36 million in fiscal 
year 2009. Commerce's billings to NOAA for the Advances and 
Reimbursements account ranged from about $5.6 million in fiscal year 
2007 to about $8.9 million in fiscal year 2009. In fiscal year 2009, 
according to NOAA documents, NOAA paid for 39 projects through the 
Working Capital Fund, ranging in cost from $6,800 to help pay for the 
upkeep of facilities shared by several Commerce bureaus, to about $5.2 
million to pay for NOAA's share of costs for the Commerce Business 
System, which is the department's financial management system. In that 
same year, Commerce documents show, Commerce billed NOAA for 31 
projects through the Advances and Reimbursements account, ranging in 
cost from about $5,200 to pay for Commerce's grant management support 
for funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment 
Act of 2009 to about $1.8 million for rent to the U.S. General 
Services Administration. 

In contrast, Commerce does not charge NOAA for the M&A services it 
provides through the Salaries and Expenses subaccount of its 
Departmental Management account, according to Commerce officials. This 
account funds the activities of the Secretary of Commerce, Deputy 
Secretary, and support staff. These personnel are responsible for 
developing and implementing the department's policies; coordinating 
bureaus' program activities to accomplish the department's mission; 
and developing and implementing internal policies, procedures, and 
administrative guidelines. Departmental Management funds appropriated 
for these services for all of Commerce were about $47 million in 
fiscal year 2007, about $44 million in fiscal year 2008, and about $53 
million in fiscal year 2009. Commerce officials could not identify the 
cost of services provided specifically to NOAA because, according to 
these officials, the department does not separately allocate the costs 
for the M&A services provided by this appropriation to each bureau. 

NOAA's Headquarters Funds the M&A Services It Provides to the Agency 
through Funds Appropriated for M&A Services and through Direct 
Billings: 

According to NOAA officials, NOAA's appropriation for corporate 
administrative services[Footnote 10] funds the following four types of 
M&A services that NOAA's headquarters provides to the agency: 

* services provided by NOAA's Undersecretary and related staff 
offices, including executive management policy formulation and 
direction;[Footnote 11] 

* NOAA-wide corporate services and agency management, including 
activities such as financial, procurement, and human resource services; 

* information services provided by the Office of the Chief Information 
Officer; and: 

* facilities management services, such as repairs, restoration, 
construction, and environmental compliance and safety for NOAA-owned 
buildings. 

Because these services are funded through NOAA's corporate 
administrative services appropriation, they are provided at no charge 
to those receiving services. According to NOAA documentation, 
obligations associated with these services from fiscal years 2007 to 
2009 ranged from $164 million (fiscal year 2009) to $167.5 million 
(fiscal year 2007), or about 85 percent of the total cost for M&A 
services provided by NOAA's headquarters.[Footnote 12] 

NOAA's headquarters funds the remaining 15 percent of M&A services 
through direct billings--that is, NOAA's headquarters internally bills 
those receiving services, who then pay for these services with their 
allocated funds. NOAA officials told us that they use the direct 
billing process to pay for three types of services: 

* Unplanned services. If there are M&A services that NOAA's 
headquarters must provide but did not anticipate during the annual 
budget process, it can use the direct billing process to pay for the 
services. For example, according to NOAA officials, in fiscal years 
2008 and 2009 NOAA was required to issue new identification cards to 
employees and contractors in compliance with a federal security 
directive.[Footnote 13] NOAA had not planned for this expense, and 
NOAA used the direct billing process to pay for that service. Each 
office was billed for the cost of providing the cards to their 
employees and contractors. 

* Pooled services. In some cases, NOAA officials determine that it is 
more appropriate to procure M&A goods or services at NOAA's 
headquarters level. According to NOAA officials, this procurement 
approach is used when it will decrease overall costs and increase 
efficiency. For example, NOAA's headquarters has used its direct 
billing process to procure IT infrastructure and e-mail services for 
all NOAA users, rather than have individual line offices, FMCs, or 
programs procure such services individually. 

* Additional services requested by line offices. When line offices 
request services not provided by NOAA's corporate administrative 
services appropriation, NOAA officials told us that they can request 
and pay for them through the direct billing process. These services 
have included, for example, additional legal services requested by 
NMFS to carry out its regulatory responsibilities or additional 
acquisitions support requested by NESDIS to help complete specialized 
satellite acquisitions. 

Total direct billing charges varied across offices because NOAA bills 
each office the same amount for some services but different amounts 
for other services. NOAA's headquarters bills each office the same 
amount to pay for some services, such as developing NOAA's new 
strategic plan and funding the office that staffs NOAA's Science 
Advisory Board. For fiscal years 2007 through 2009, NMFS had the 
highest direct billing charges of all offices. According to NMFS 
officials, this was in part because NMFS uses the most legal support 
to carry out its regulatory responsibilities. Conversely, OAR, with 
the lowest budget among line offices, had the lowest direct billing 
charges. 

Table 2 provides information on NOAA's reported direct billings by 
office for fiscal years 2007 through 2009. 

Table 2: NOAA's Reported Direct Billings by Office, Fiscal Years 2007 
through 2009: 

Office: NESDIS; 
Fiscal year 2007: $3.2 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $3.0 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $3.2 million. 

Office: NMFS; 
Fiscal year 2007: $9.0 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $10.3 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $11.6 million. 

Office: NOS; 
Fiscal year 2007: $6.1 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $5.2 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $5.5 million. 

Office: NWS; 
Fiscal year 2007: $3.3 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $4.9 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $4.4 million. 

Office: OAR; 
Fiscal year 2007: $2.4 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $2.1 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $2.3 million. 

Office: Staff offices[A]; 
Fiscal year 2007: $3.2 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $2.0 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $3.2 million. 

Office: Total[B]; 
Fiscal year 2007: $27.2 million; 
Fiscal year 2008: $27.5 million; 
Fiscal year 2009: $30.3 million. 

Source: GAO analysis of NOAA documents. 

[A] NOAA staff offices billed include the offices of Acquisition and 
Grants, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer and 
High Performance Computing and Communications, Marine and Aviation 
Operations, Workforce Management, Chief Administrative Officer, Under 
Secretary and Associates Office, Program Analysis and Evaluation, and 
Planning and Programming Integration. 

[B] Totals may not add due to rounding. 

[End of table] 

According to NOAA documents and officials, in fiscal year 2009, the 
direct billing process was used to fund 29 projects, ranging in cost 
from $151,700 to fund a travel management system for NOAA employees in 
the Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring offices, to about $12 million 
for NOAA's Office of General Counsel to provide specified legal 
services to line offices. NOAA documents indicated that total 
obligations for direct bills for fiscal years 2007 through 2009 ranged 
from $27.2 million to $30.3 million. While some billings were added or 
increased in those years, others stayed the same and still others 
decreased or were no longer funded in 2009. For example, according to 
NOAA documentation, billings to support NOAA's creation of its new 
strategic plan and to support computerized legal research contracts 
did not occur in fiscal year 2007, but were added in 2009. 
Furthermore, billings for Office of General Counsel support and for 
NOAA's e-mail services steadily increased from fiscal year 2007 
through fiscal year 2009. For example, NOAA officials told us that 
billings for the Office of General Counsel increased during those 
years owing to increased regulatory responsibilities, largely due to 
NMFS's additional responsibilities related to reauthorization of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Other billing amounts stayed the same in those 
years, such as those for NOAA's Grants Online service or for NOAA's 
Science Advisory Board. Several billings from fiscal year 2007 were no 
longer funded in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, including billings for a 
celebration recognizing 200 years of service by NOAA and its 
predecessor agencies and NOAA's initiative on business process 
reengineering. 

According to officials in NOAA's headquarters, using both the 
corporate administrative services appropriation and the direct billing 
process to fund M&A services provides a good blend of funding 
mechanisms. Specifically, they noted that the corporate administrative 
services appropriation provides for base funding that they can count 
on from year to year, while direct billings provide the flexibility 
that allows M&A services to expand and contract as needed from year to 
year. 

Line Offices Fund the M&A Services They Provide to Their Programs and 
FMCs through Assessments: 

Line offices fund the M&A services they provide to their programs and 
FMCs by assessing their PPAs.[Footnote 14] Because the line offices 
have limited documentation of their assessment methods, the 
information on assessments we present below is based on discussions 
with line office officials. Based on these discussions, we determined 
that the assessment methods each line office used in fiscal year 2009 
varied. 

* NESDIS. According to NESDIS officials, the line office assessed each 
of its PPAs a flat 13.8 percent of the PPA's federal labor costs and a 
supplemental amount.[Footnote 15] NESDIS officials told us that they 
used a supplemental assessment because much of the line office's 
funding is for activities, such as purchasing satellites, where the 
federal labor costs are relatively low, and NESDIS does not want to 
unfairly burden other more labor-heavy PPAs. For example, NESDIS 
documents show that for the Polar Convergence National Polar-orbiting 
Operational Environmental Satellite System PPA, a PPA with relatively 
low federal labor costs, NESDIS assessed 13.8 percent of its federal 
labor costs (about $1.4 million) but added a supplemental assessment 
of about $4.1 million.[Footnote 16] In contrast, NESDIS assessed its 
Satellite Command and Control PPA, a PPA with relatively higher 
federal labor costs, 13.8 percent of its federal labor costs, for an 
assessment of about $2.2 million, but only added a supplemental 
assessment of $50,000. Overall, in fiscal year 2009, about 49 percent 
of NESDIS's total assessment came from the 13.8 percent charge, while 
about 51 percent came from the supplemental assessment. NESDIS 
officials reported that their line office's M&A obligations were about 
$19.4 million in fiscal year 2007, about $19 million in fiscal year 
2008, and about $22 million in fiscal year 2009.[Footnote 17] 

* NMFS. According to NMFS officials, the line office assessed several 
of its PPAs different percentages of their budgets, ranging from 0 to 
10.2 percent for fiscal year 2009.[Footnote 18] For example, NMFS 
assessed its Habitat Conservation PPA a total of about $1.8 million, 
or about 9.8 percent of that PPA's reported obligations of about $18.6 
million. According to NMFS documentation, the line office's M&A 
obligations were about $23 million in fiscal year 2007, about $23 
million in fiscal year 2008, and about $25.9 million in fiscal year 
2009. 

* NOS. According to an NOS official, the line office assessed each of 
its eligible PPAs a flat percentage of about 8.9 percent of their 
budgets for fiscal year 2009. For example, NOS documentation indicated 
that the line office assessed its Ocean Health Initiative PPA $356,843 
or about 8.9 percent of that PPA's $4 million budget. Congress placed 
limits on the amount of M&A costs that certain NOS PPAs could incur in 
certain fiscal years, including fiscal year 2009, and NOS officials 
told us they made assessments in accordance with those 
limits.[Footnote 19] According to NOS documentation, the line office's 
M&A obligations ranged from about $26.7 million in fiscal year 2007 to 
about $28 million in fiscal year 2009. 

* NWS. According to an NWS official, the line office assessed selected 
PPAs different percentages of their budgets, ranging from about 4.2 
percent to 5 percent for fiscal year 2009.[Footnote 20] For example, 
according to NWS documentation, NWS assessed the Local Warnings and 
Forecasts Base PPA 4.9 percent of that PPA's roughly $600 million 
budget, for a total assessment of about $29.5 million. In addition, 
NWS assessed the Central Forecast Guidance PPA about 4.2 percent of 
that PPA's allocation of about $67 million, for a total assessment of 
about $2.8 million. NWS officials reported that the line office's M&A 
obligations were $34 million in fiscal year 2007, $34.6 million in 
fiscal year 2008, and $38.8 million in fiscal year 2009. 

* OAR. According to an OAR official, the line office assessed its PPAs 
rates varying from about 16.5 percent to about 18.4 percent of the 
PPA's federal labor costs. For example, in fiscal year 2009 OAR 
assessed its National Severe Storms Laboratory PPA varying percentages 
over the year including 16.5 percent, 17.6 percent, and 18.4 percent, 
of the federal labor costs of its National Severe Storms Laboratory 
for a total assessment of $777,109. OAR officials reported that the 
line office's M&A obligations ranged from about $10.2 million in 
fiscal year 2007 to about $11 million in fiscal year 2009. 

Table 3 summarizes each line office's M&A obligations for fiscal years 
2007 through 2009, based on data provided by line office officials. As 
the table shows, these obligations ranged from a low of about $10.2 
million at OAR in fiscal year 2007 to about $38.8 million at NWS in 
fiscal year 2009. According to NOAA officials, line offices each 
define and track their M&A services in different ways. As a result, 
the information in the table below is not comparable across line 
offices. 

Table 3: M&A Obligations Data Reported by NOAA Officials for Fiscal 
Years 2007 through 2009: 

Fiscal year: 2007; 
NESDIS: $19.4 million; 
NMFS: $23.0 million; 
NOS: $26.7 million; 
NWS: $34.0 million; 
OAR: $10.2 million. 

Fiscal year: 2008; 
NESDIS: $19.0 million; 
NMFS: $23.0 million; 
NOS: $27.6 million; 
NWS: $34.6 million; 
OAR: $10.2 million. 

Fiscal year: 2009; 
NESDIS: $22.0 million; 
NMFS: $25.9 million; 
NOS: $28.0 million; 
NWS: $38.8 million; 
OAR: $11.0 million. 

Source: GAO analysis of NOAA documents. 

[End of table] 

Some FMCs Fund M&A Services through Assessments and Other FMCs Do Not 
Track or Separately Define Their M&A Costs: 

FMCs at two of NOAA's line offices use assessments to fund the M&A 
services they provide, and some or all the FMCs at the other three 
line offices do not track their costs for M&A services. Specifically, 
according to line office officials, FMCs below the line office level 
at NMFS and most FMCs in OAR below the line office level assess 
subunits within their organizations to pay for M&A services using 
methods that are generally similar to the methods their line offices 
use. For example, OAR's Earth Science Research Laboratory's Global 
Monitoring Division assesses each of its PPAs on the basis of its 
federal labor costs, which is the same approach the OAR line office 
uses. In contrast, according to officials in three line offices--NOS, 
NWS, and NESDIS--funding for M&A services at some or all of their FMCs 
is not defined or separately accounted for. Because these FMCs do not 
separately account for their M&A services, they could not provide us 
with information on their costs. 

Commerce, NOAA's Headquarters, Line Offices, and FMCs Use Funds 
Received through Reimbursable Agreements to Provide M&A Services to 
Other Agencies: 

When organizations within NOAA enter into reimbursable agreements with 
other agencies to perform work for those agencies, it is NOAA's policy 
to charge the agencies for the M&A costs NOAA incurs in executing the 
agreements unless the law authorizing the agreement provides 
otherwise.[Footnote 21] These payments are distributed to NOAA's 
headquarters, line offices, or FMCs, depending on which entities 
perform work related to the agreements. The NOAA Budget Office 
reported that M&A reimbursements associated with these agreements were 
about $15.9 million in fiscal year 2007, about $19 million in fiscal 
year 2008, and about $16.7 million in fiscal year 2009. 

NOAA's Documentation of Its Policies and Procedures for M&A Services 
Does Not Always Conform to Applicable Federal Standards: 

NOAA's headquarters, line offices, and FMCs have documented some 
aspects of their policies and procedures for M&A services, but not to 
the full extent called for by applicable federal cost accounting and 
internal control standards. For example, NOAA's headquarters has 
documented some of its policies and procedures for M&A services, but 
it has not done so in a handbook or manual as called for by applicable 
federal standards. In addition, the five line offices and the FMCs 
have no or limited documentation of their policies and procedures for 
the M&A services they provide. 

NOAA's Headquarters' Documentation of Its Policies and Procedures for 
M&A Services Conforms to Some of the Applicable Federal Standards: 

NOAA's headquarters documents some of its policies and procedures 
related to the M&A services funded by its corporate administrative 
services appropriation, but not in a handbook or manual as called for 
by applicable federal standards. Specifically, NOAA's headquarters 
documents its policies on the types of services it plans to provide 
through the appropriation as part of the President's budget request to 
Congress. In addition, it documents the procedures it uses to 
determine the budget for its M&A services as part of the yearly budget 
formulation process. According to NOAA officials, these steps include 
developing yearly written operating and spending plans for each 
program funded by NOAA's corporate administrative services 
appropriation. In addition, NOAA's headquarters documents its 
procedures for assigning its M&A costs to its mission support 
programs. However, this documentation has not been compiled into a 
handbook or manual as called for by applicable federal standards, 
which makes it more difficult for an independent third party, such as 
an auditor, to readily evaluate the appropriateness of the policies 
and procedures and may also hamper oversight. 

In addition, for its corporate administrative services appropriation, 
NOAA's headquarters does not assign its M&A costs to the mission 
programs they ultimately serve, as would be consistent with federal 
cost accounting standards. Specifically, NOAA's strategic plan has 
four broad mission goals (ecosystems; climate; weather and water; and 
commerce and transportation) and one mission-support goal. NOAA has 
numerous programs under each goal designed to achieve that goal. 
Programs under the mission-support goal provide M&A services, such as 
information technology and facilities services, to support NOAA's 
mission goals and programs. While officials told us that NOAA assigns 
costs related to the corporate administrative services appropriation 
to programs under its mission-support goal, it does not assign these 
costs to NOAA's other four goals, which limits information on how much 
the work related to these goals costs. This situation represents a 
change since 2004. Before 2004, NOAA billed each of its line offices 
to pay for its corporate administrative services, but the Senate 
Committee report accompanying NOAA's appropriation in fiscal year 2004 
directed the agency to end this cost assignment. 

NOAA's documentation of its policies and procedures for the direct 
billing process adheres to most but not all of the applicable federal 
cost accounting and internal control standards. Specifically, 
according to NOAA's headquarters officials, they do not document in a 
manual or handbook their policies regarding the types of M&A services 
that may be provided through the direct billing process. This lack of 
documentation makes it difficult to ensure that NOAA managers and line 
office officials have a clear understanding of what types of M&A 
services can be provided through the direct billing process compared 
to the corporate services appropriation, especially when staffing 
changes occur. Officials at NOAA's headquarters acknowledged this lack 
of documentation, and told us that they plan to draft guidance on the 
direct billing process that will include information on the types of 
M&A services they can provide. 

In contrast, NOAA's headquarters has documented the procedures it uses 
each year to determine the budget for M&A services funded by this 
process and its policies and procedures for assigning the costs to the 
offices that will benefit from the services. This documentation has 
included an annual memo to line and staff office officials outlining 
the steps for the direct billing procedure for the upcoming fiscal 
year. The memo has noted that line and staff offices requesting 
directly billed services must submit their proposed requests to NOAA's 
Budget Office prior to a final review by the Chief Financial Officers' 
Council. In addition, the memo requires a template to be completed 
that includes information on what service is being proposed and how 
much the service will cost. The template also documents the assignment 
of the cost of M&A services to the specific offices that will benefit 
from the services funded through the direct billing process, and the 
justification for why those assignments are appropriate. Specifically, 
NOAA's headquarters requires that direct billing proposals include 
documentation of cost assignments to the specific line and staff 
offices that will benefit from the services. For example, in 2009, 
NOAA's Office of the Chief Information Officer submitted a proposal 
outlining a service to integrate the agency's e-mail software with its 
Blackberry devices, to ensure that these devices could be fully used. 
The proposal listed a description and expected cost of the service, 
and explained how the cost for the service would be assigned to each 
line and staff office. According to NOAA officials, NOAA's Chief 
Financial Officers' Council reviews these proposals and determines, 
based on a majority vote, whether line offices should pay for the 
proposed services.[Footnote 22] However, because each directly billed 
service is submitted to a vote by those who will pay it, this 
transparency and the available documentation of the process provides 
evidence that costs have been fairly assigned, according to line 
office officials. 

Line Office Documentation of Policies and Procedures for M&A Services 
Generally Does Not Conform to Applicable Federal Standards: 

The five line offices have no or very limited documentation of their 
policies regarding the types of M&A services they provide to the FMCs, 
which is not consistent with applicable federal cost accounting and 
internal control standards. Specifically, NESDIS, NOS, NWS, and OAR 
have not documented their policies regarding the types of the M&A 
services they provide in a manual or handbook. Only one office--NMFS-- 
has limited documentation on the types of M&A services it provides. 
The documentation consists of a set of internal guidelines the line 
office issued in 1999; however, the guidelines include only general 
information and have not been updated. We believe the lack of 
documentation of the line offices' policies regarding the types of M&A 
services they provide decreases FMC officials' understanding of what 
their assessments may fund. For example, officials from the majority 
of OAR's FMCs that provide M&A services told us they do not receive 
information from the line office on the M&A services the line office 
provides, and that they are not sure what services they receive for 
the assessments they pay. In addition, an NWS FMC official told us 
that the FMC had to pay $150,000 for a technology licensing fee, which 
the official thought was already covered by the assessment that the 
FMC paid to the line office. 

The line offices also do not document the procedures they use to 
determine the budget for the M&A services they provide. Nonetheless, 
officials from each line office told us that they use specific 
procedures to determine their budgets. Officials from NOS told us they 
develop their budgets using current and projected funding needs, while 
NMFS officials stated they use historical practices. In contrast, 
according to NESDIS and NWS officials, they perform a yearly needs 
assessment to develop their budget estimates. OAR officials told us 
that to determine their M&A budget, they develop specific operating 
plans. In addition, according to line office officials, OAR's Chief 
Financial Officer chairs a committee that reviews the budget. However, 
none of the five line offices could provide us with documentation that 
clearly showed the procedures they followed to ensure consistent 
implementation from year to year and continuity of the process if 
staffing changes occurred. 

Furthermore, the line offices have no or limited documentation of 
their policies and procedures for assigning M&A costs and 
justifications for those assignments. Specifically, NESDIS, NOS, NWS, 
or OAR do not document the assignment of their M&A costs to the 
specific programs, activities, or outputs that benefit from M&A 
services, and they do not justify why the assignments are appropriate. 
NMFS has limited documentation--in the form of an e-mail--that 
instructs FMCs to draw their assessments from six specific PPAs. 
However, we believe that this documentation is not detailed enough to 
provide a full understanding of NMFS's assessment process or its 
justification. The line offices' lack of documentation of their 
policies and procedures limits their ability to explain their 
assignments to those paying the assessments as well as those 
overseeing the process, including NOAA's headquarters' officials and 
congressional decision makers. Furthermore, a lack of documentation 
limits line office officials' ability to demonstrate that they have 
chosen the most appropriate method for assigning M&A costs. For 
example, NOS assesses all of its PPAs equally to fund its Office of 
Special Projects.[Footnote 23] However, according to NOS officials, 
program managers have expressed concern that the activities of the 
Office of Special Projects do not equally benefit all of the PPAs 
being assessed. NOS officials acknowledge that there may be more 
equitable methods for funding some of the costs within the Office of 
Special Projects to more accurately align assessments with benefits. 
NOS officials told us that they are considering changes to the way NOS 
funds projects in the Office of Special Projects. 

Finally, none of the line offices have compiled a handbook or manual 
detailing their policies and procedures for their M&A services as 
called for by applicable federal standards. Without documentation in a 
manual or handbook that has been reviewed and approved by NOAA's 
headquarters and line office management, it is difficult for an 
independent third party to readily evaluate the major assumptions and 
methods used to develop annual cost estimates for M&A services and the 
justifications for why those assignments are appropriate. Officials in 
the NOAA Budget Office acknowledged that line offices have no or 
limited documentation of their policies and procedures for their M&A 
services. NOAA's headquarters and line office officials also told us 
that NOAA plans to begin working with the line offices to develop 
documentation of their M&A services by spring 2011. 

FMCs' Documentation of Their Policies and Procedures for M&A Services 
Generally Do Not Adhere to Applicable Federal Standards: 

According to line office officials at NESDIS, NOS and NWS, FMCs within 
their line offices do not document (1) their policies regarding the 
types of M&A services they provide; (2) the procedures they use each 
year to determine the budget for their M&A services; (3) their 
policies and procedures for assigning the costs of their M&A services 
to specific programs, activities, or outputs that benefit from the 
services and the results of that cost assignment; and (4) the 
justification for why those assignments are appropriate. According to 
line office officials, these FMCs consider all costs to be program 
costs and therefore do not formally identify their M&A services and 
costs. As a result, there is a general lack of clarity on how FMC 
officials are to assign costs related to M&A services. In addition, 
because these FMCs do not separately identify program and M&A costs, 
decision makers have an incomplete understanding of the FMCs' budgets, 
which may limit their ability to provide oversight. 

According to line office officials in NMFS and OAR, FMCs within their 
line offices have M&A services and they assign costs by assessing 
their subunits to pay for them. However, according to several FMC 
officials we spoke to, they have limited or no documentation of their 
policies and procedures in this area. Specifically: 

* NMFS. Line office officials told us that FMCs within NMFS use the 
same documentation the line office uses to describe the types of M&A 
services they provide. However, we found that this documentation does 
not specifically discuss the differences between the services provided 
by the line office and those provided by the FMCs. Furthermore, it 
does not outline the procedures the FMCs take to determine the budgets 
for their M&A services each year, and it does not include enough 
detail to provide a full understanding of the FMCs' cost assignments 
or the justification for those assignments. Consequently, we believe 
that it may be difficult for the FMCs to ensure that the process used 
to determine their budget and costs for M&A services is applied 
consistently from year to year. 

* OAR. Most officials in the OAR FMCs that provide M&A services told 
us they have M&A services, but they do not have documentation 
outlining (1) their policies regarding the types of M&A services they 
provide; (2) the procedures they use each year to determine the budget 
for their M&A services; (3) their policies and procedures for 
assigning the costs of their M&A services to specific programs, 
activities, or outputs that benefit from the services, and the results 
of that cost assignment; and (4) the justification for why those 
assignments are appropriate. Some OAR FMC officials we spoke with 
acknowledged that this lack of documentation presents challenges to 
managing the FMC, especially when there are personnel changes. An 
official in one FMC told us he has started to prepare documentation of 
his office's processes to manage the FMC's budget, including 
procedures related to M&A services and costs. 

In addition to the lack of documentation regarding their policies and 
procedures for their M&A services, none of NMFS's and OAR's FMCs that 
we spoke to has compiled a policies and procedures handbook or manual 
for their M&A services as called for by applicable federal standards. 
Overall, we believe that the lack of consistent documentation at 
NMFS's and OAR's FMCs decreases transparency about the types of M&A 
services they provide, how the costs of those services are determined 
and assigned, and the reasonableness of those assignments. Line office 
officials in the NOAA Budget Office acknowledged that FMCs lack 
documentation on their policies and procedures for M&A services and 
said that they plan to develop such documentation in the future. 

Estimated Salaries and Expenses For NOAA Were About $3.8 Billion for 
Fiscal Year 2009: 

Using object class data provided by NOAA officials, we estimated that 
NOAA's salaries and expenses were about $3.8 billion for fiscal year 
2009. These estimates are approximate because salaries and expenses 
could be higher if they were accounted for in object classes that we 
did not include in our estimate. See appendix I for a detailed 
description of the methodology we used to create our estimates of 
salaries and expenses and the limitations associated with these data. 
The amount of obligations related to estimated salaries and expenses 
varied across NOAA's budget activities, as shown in table 4.[Footnote 
24] Because some funds were not included in the data provided by NOAA 
for some budget activities, the information in table 4 is not 
comparable across budget activities. 

Table 4: Estimated Salaries and Expenses by NOAA Activity, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Budget activity: NESDIS; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $90,625,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $1,035,775,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $1,126,400,000. 

Budget activity: NMFS[C]; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $294,640,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $215,381,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $510,021,000. 

Budget activity: NOS; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $137,660,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $211,683,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $349,343,000. 

Budget activity: NWS; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $564,084,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $344,765,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $908,849,000. 

Budget activity: OAR; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $74,672,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $186,707,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $261,378,000. 

Budget activity: Program Support[D]; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $213,870,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $464,405,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $678,275,000. 

Budget activity: NOAA total; 
Estimated salaries[A]: $1,375,552,000; 
Estimated expenses[B]: $2,458,716,000; 
Total estimated salaries and expenses: $3,834,267,000. 

Source: GAO analysis of NOAA obligations data. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Reimbursable 
funds were not included in NOAA obligations data provided to GAO. 

[A] Estimated salaries include budget object classes (11) personnel 
compensation, (12) personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former 
personnel. 

[B] Estimated expenses include budget object classes (21) travel and 
transportation of persons, (22) transportation of things, (23) rent, 
communication, and utilities, (24) printing and reproduction, (25) 
other contractual services, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Obligations data provided by NMFS did not include data from their 
category "Other Funds", with the exception of data on the Pacific 
Coastal Salmon Recovery fund. 

[D] Obligations data provided by Program Support did not include some 
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds. 

[End of table] 

Conclusions: 

Well-defined and fully documented policies and procedures for M&A 
services are critical to NOAA's ability to exercise effective control 
over its activities and fully account for its program costs. Such 
documentation can also assist NOAA in providing reliable information 
to congressional decision makers who oversee the agency's activities 
and expenditures. NOAA's headquarters documents some of its policies 
and procedures for the M&A services it provides. However, at the line 
offices and FMCs, documentation is either very limited or absent on 
(1) their policies regarding the types of M&A services they provide; 
(2) the procedures they use each year to determine the costs of their 
M&A services; (3) their policies and procedures for assigning the 
costs of their M&A services to specific programs, activities, or 
outputs that benefit from the services and the results of that cost 
assignment; and (4) justification for why those assignments are 
appropriate. Without complete documentation of its policies and 
procedures for its M&A services, compiled in a manual or handbook, 
NOAA is not meeting internal control and federal cost accounting 
standards. Also, it is difficult (1) for NOAA's staff to have a clear 
understanding of the agency's policies and procedures for M&A 
services, especially for new staff, (2) for agency managers to 
consistently and equitably account for M&A services during each budget 
cycle, and (3) for an independent third party to readily evaluate the 
appropriateness of NOAA's M&A policies and procedures. 

Recommendation for Executive Action: 

To improve the management and oversight of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's management and administration services 
and related costs, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce direct 
the Administrator of NOAA to require that NOAA's headquarters, line 
offices, and FMCs document in a manual or handbook their policies and 
procedures for the M&A services they provide in line with internal 
control and federal cost accounting standards. Such documentation 
should include, at a minimum, (1) their policies regarding the types 
of M&A services they provide; (2) the procedures they use each year to 
determine the costs of their M&A services; (3) their policies and 
procedures for assigning the costs of their M&A services to specific 
programs, activities, or outputs that benefit from the services and 
the results of that cost assignment; and (4) the justification for why 
those assignments are appropriate. 

Agency Comments: 

We provided a copy of our draft report to the Department of Commerce 
for review and comment. The department provided us NOAA's comments on 
the draft report, in which NOAA said it generally agreed with the 
draft report and concurred with our recommendation. In response to the 
recommendation, NOAA said it had already convened an Administrative 
Cost Working Group to identify the approach the bureau should take to 
standardize and document its M&A services. In its comments, NOAA also 
noted that the draft report did not explain how the ORF and PAC budget 
accounts are used by NOAA to fund its M&A services. In response to 
this comment, we incorporated information on these accounts into the 
report. NOAA also provided technical comments that we incorporated 
into the report as appropriate. NOAA's comments are presented in 
appendix III. 

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional 
committees, the Secretary of Commerce, and other interested parties. 
In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web 
site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, 
please contact me at (202) 512-3841 or mittala@gao.gov. Contact points 
for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be 
found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report 
are listed in appendix IV. 

Signed by: 

Anu K. Mittal: 
Director, Natural Resources and Environment: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

This report (1) examined how management and administration (M&A) 
services at the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are funded, (2) assessed the 
extent to which NOAA's policies and procedures for accounting for M&A 
services conform to applicable standards, and (3) estimated salaries 
and expenses for NOAA's budget for fiscal year 2009. 

To examine how M&A services at NOAA are funded, we reviewed policy and 
guidance documents that explained NOAA's mechanisms for funding M&A 
services, such as excerpts from the NOAA Budget Handbook and 
Commerce's Working Capital Fund Advances & Reimbursements Handbook. We 
also reviewed written documentation on, among other things, NOAA's 
funding of M&A services at the line office and FMC level; NOAA's 
budget data and management information systems; and NOAA's Planning, 
Programming, Budgeting, and Execution System. We interviewed officials 
and gathered and reviewed cost data on M&A services from NOAA at each 
of four levels--Commerce, NOAA's headquarters, line offices, and a 
subset of FMCs. Specifically, for services provided by Commerce, we 
gathered and reviewed data on Commerce's billings to NOAA for its 
Working Capital Fund and Advances and Reimbursements accounts for 
fiscal years 2007 through 2009. For services provided by NOAA's 
headquarters, we obtained data from NOAA's Budget Office on its (1) 
obligations from its appropriation for corporate administrative 
services and (2) direct billings for M&A services to line and staff 
offices. For services provided by line offices, we collected 
obligations data from each line office. For M&A reimbursements 
associated with reimbursable agreements with other agencies, we 
collected reimbursement data for all NOAA organizations from the NOAA 
Budget Office. To determine the reliability of all of these data, we 
reviewed documentation, including yearly audit reports on Commerce's 
and NOAA's financial statements, and reports outlining findings and 
corrective actions from internal reviews of NOAA's information 
technology systems. In addition, we interviewed knowledgeable 
officials, including NOAA's Budget Director and the Director of 
Finance, about data quality, inputs, and extraction. Based on our 
document review and information obtained from our interviews, we 
determined that the data are sufficiently reliable for the purposes of 
this report. We attempted to gather obligations data from all of the 
FMCs within each line office on the M&A services they provide. 
However, because we could not verify the reliability of the data 
across all organizations at the FMC level, we did not present these 
data in this report. 

To assess the extent to which NOAA's policies and procedures for 
accounting for M&A services conform to applicable federal standards, 
we reviewed applicable federal cost accounting and internal control 
standards, including Standards for Internal Controls in the Federal 
Government, and the Statement of Federal Financial Accounting 
Standards No. 4.[Footnote 25] We reviewed Commerce and NOAA internal 
documents related to policies and procedures on M&A services and cost 
assignments, including Commerce's Working Capital Fund Advances & 
Reimbursements Handbook, NOAA's headquarters direct billing templates, 
and briefing slides and other guidance from line offices on the types 
of M&A services provided and their assessment processes. We obtained 
information on NOAA's adherence to the applicable federal standards 
through interviews with knowledgeable officials at Commerce, NOAA's 
headquarters, line offices, and selected FMCs. At Commerce, we 
interviewed officials at the Office of Financial Management. At NOAA's 
headquarters, we spoke with officials in the Budget Office and Finance 
Office. We also interviewed budget or finance officials from each of 
the five line offices--National Environmental Satellite and Data 
Information Service (NESDIS), National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Weather Service (NWS), 
and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). In addition, we 
interviewed two or more FMCs from each line office. Specifically, we 
spoke with NESDIS's Office of Systems Development and National 
Climatic Data Center; NMFS's Northeast Fisheries Science Center and 
Alaska Regional Office; NOS's Center for Operational Oceanographic 
Products and Services, Office of Coast Survey, and Office of Ocean and 
Coastal Resource Management; and NWS's Office of Hydrologic 
Development and Eastern Regional Office. In addition, we spoke with 
officials in each of OAR's FMCs that provide M&A services. 

To estimate salaries and expenses for NOAA's budget for fiscal year 
2009, we requested obligations data from NOAA's Budget Office, 
organized by federal budget object classification (object class). We 
used object class data to estimate NOAA's salaries and expenses 
because NOAA does not separately report salaries and expenses. 
However, 6 of the 11 budgets submitted under Commerce do separately 
report salaries and expenses.[Footnote 26] Using the 10 object classes 
common to the separately reported salaries and expenses in these six 
budgets, we were able to estimate NOAA's spending related to salaries 
and expenses. The 10 object classes common across Commerce bureaus 
that separately account for salaries and expenses are object classes 
(11) personnel compensation; (12) personnel benefits; (13) benefits 
for former personnel; (21) travel and transportation of persons; (22) 
transportation of things; (23) rent, communications and utilities; 
(24) printing and reproduction; (25) other contractual services; (26) 
supplies and materials; and (31) equipment. We included object classes 
11, 12, and 13 in the estimation of salaries, and object classes 21, 
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 31 in the estimation of expenses. The NOAA 
object class data we used were extracted by NOAA officials from the 
agency's Management Analysis and Reporting System (MARS). At our 
request, the lowest level of detail in the data provided by NOAA 
officials was at the program, project, or activity level (PPA). 

In the letter portion of this report, we provided information and 
estimates related to NOAA's salaries and expenses at a summary level. 
To do so, we aggregated multiple object classes to estimate both 
salaries and expenses. In addition, we aggregated object class 
spending data to make estimates by activity, for example, the total 
estimated salaries and expenses for NMFS. We determined that the 
object class data were sufficiently reliable to report in the 
aggregate. We based this conclusion on interviews with NOAA officials, 
who stated they adhere to internal controls and consistently use the 
Office of Management and Budget's object class standards and object 
class definitions throughout NOAA. In addition, we reviewed 
documentation including yearly audit reports on Commerce's and NOAA's 
financial statements and reports outlining findings and corrective 
actions from internal reviews of NOAA's information technology 
systems. Nonetheless, the apparent precision of object class data can 
be misleading because similar types of spending can be assigned to 
different object classes even though they are for the same type of 
service. For example, for personal services contracts with federal 
employees, basic pay and compensation above the basic pay would be 
classified in object class 11, personnel compensation. On the other 
hand, payments for personal services contracts for operation and 
maintenance of facilities would be classified under object class 25, 
other contractual services. In this example, even though both 
instances of spending were for labor, they were assigned to different 
object classes. In addition, the data may lack precision if NOAA did 
not include a salary or expense spending amount in 1 of the 10 object 
classes we used to estimate salaries and expenses. In that case, the 
expense would not be included in our estimate. For example, NOAA line 
office officials also told us that object class 77 is used by some 
line offices to record obligations that may include salaries and 
expenses. 

More detailed estimates of NOAA's salaries and expenses for fiscal 
year 2009, on the basis of obligations data reported by NOAA for 
selected object classes, are listed in appendix II. We organized the 
information by NOAA's six budget activities: NESDIS, NMFS, NOS, NWS, 
OAR, and Program Support. The data are presented at the line item 
level of detail. We did not determine the reliability of the data at 
the line item level presented in appendix II. Specifically, we were 
unable to determine whether the amounts reported for a given line item 
and object class were accurate because validating these data would 
involve reviewing and validating millions of transactions provided 
through hundreds of data systems and would consequently involve a 
significant investment of time and resources. Such work was beyond the 
scope of this engagement. 

We conducted this performance audit from March 2010 through January 
2011 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit 
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable 
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for 
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Salaries and Expenses Data for NOAA's Budget for Fiscal 
Year 2009: 

We based our estimates of salaries presented in this appendix on data 
for object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) personnel 
benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. We based our 
estimates of expenses not including contractual services on data for 
object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, (22) 
transportation of things, (23) rent, communications and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. Finally, we based our estimates of expenses for contractual 
services on data for object class (25) other contractual services. The 
obligations data by object class used to estimate salaries and 
expenses were extracted by NOAA officials from NOAA's MARS. Our 
estimates are approximate because salaries and expenses could be 
higher if they were accounted for in object classes that we did not 
include in our estimate. See appendix I for a more detailed 
description of the methodology we used to create our estimates of 
salaries and expenses and the limitations associated with these data. 
NOAA provided the data we used to estimate salaries and expenses at 
the PPA level. However, NOAA did not include reimbursable funds in the 
data provided. Also, there may be multiple PPAs within each line item. 
The data presented in this appendix have been subtotaled at the line 
item level. We did not combine or delete any line items, even those 
with all amounts listed as zeros. We did not determine the reliability 
of the data at the line item level reported in this appendix. 

Table 5: NESDIS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal 
Year 2009: 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Polar Orbiting System; 
Salaries[A]: $24,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $24,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Geostationary System; 
Salaries[A]: $258,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $258,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Environmental Observing Services; 
Salaries[A]: $53,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $53,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Satellite Command and Control; 
Salaries[A]: $20,175,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $5,099,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $11,183,000; 
Total expenses: $16,281,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $36,456,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Product Processing and Distribution; 
Salaries[A]: $11,600,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,104,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $16,880,000; 
Total expenses: $17,984,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $29,584,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Commercial Remote Sensing Licensing and Enforcement; 
Salaries[A]: $666,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $97,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $332,000; 
Total expenses: $429,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,095,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: NOAA Spacecraft Operations Facility Operations; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $4,370,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,117,000; 
Total expenses: $7,487,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $7,487,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Product Development, Readiness and Application; 
Salaries[A]: $1,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $247,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,366,000; 
Total expenses: $1,613,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,614,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Joint Center/Accelerate Use of Satellites; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $38,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,833,000; 
Total expenses: $1,871,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,871,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Office of Space Commercialization; 
Salaries[A]: $345,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $146,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $99,000; 
Total expenses: $245,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $590,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Group on Earth Observations; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $83,000; 
Total expenses: $83,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $83,000. 

Subactivity: NOAA Data Centers and Information Services; 
Line item: Archive, Access and Assessment; 
Salaries[A]: $19,926,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $5,872,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $23,109,000; 
Total expenses: $28,982,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $48,907,000. 

Subactivity: NOAA Data Centers and Information Services; 
Line item: Data and Climate Centers; 
Salaries[A]: $3,632,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $2,014,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $11,935,000; 
Total expenses: $13,949,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $17,581,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Polar Orbiting System; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Environmental Observing Services; 
Salaries[A]: $22,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $47,559,000; 
Total expenses: $47,559,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $47,581,000. 

Subactivity: Environmental Satellite Observing Systems; 
Line item: Environmental Observing Services; 
Salaries[A]: $10,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $25,761,000; 
Total expenses: $25,761,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $25,771,000. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: NESDIS Systems Acquisition and Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $20,794,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $69,925,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $796,290,000; 
Total expenses: $866,214,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $887,008,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: NESDIS Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $2,226,000; 
Total expenses: $2,226,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $2,226,000. 

Subactivity: Total; 
Salaries[A]: $90,625,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $90,234,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $945,541,000; 
Total expenses: $1,035,775,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,126,400,000. 

Source: NOAA data extracted from MARS system. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Although some 
line items may have the same names, each line item represents a 
subtotal of the different PPAs under that line item. 

[A] Includes object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) 
personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

[B] Includes object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, 
(22) transportation of things, (23) rent, communication and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Includes object class (25) other contractual services. 

[End of table] 

Table 6: NMFS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal 
Year 2009: 

Subactivity: Information Collection and Analysis; 
Line item: Resource Information; 
Salaries[A]: $5,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $16,000; 
Total expenses: $17,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $22,000. 

Subactivity: Conservation and Management Operations; 
Line item: Fisheries Management Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $4,000; 
Total expenses: $4,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $4,000. 

Subactivity: Conservation and Management Operations; 
Line item: Protected Species Management; 
Salaries[A]: $10,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $10,000; 
Total expenses: $10,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $20,000. 

Subactivity: Conservation and Management Operations; 
Line item: Enforcement and Surveillance; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $30,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $30,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $30,000. 

Subactivity: State and Industry Assist Program; 
Line item: Fisheries Development Program; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $5,000; 
Total expenses: $5,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $5,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Services; 
Line item: FRMS--Science and Technology; 
Salaries[A]: $63,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $14,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $33,000; 
Total expenses: $46,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $109,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Services; 
Line item: FRMS--Conservation and Management; 
Salaries[A]: $62,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: -$6,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $41,000; 
Total expenses: $34,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $97,000. 

Subactivity: Protected Resources Research and Management Services 
(PRRMS); 
Line item: PRRMS--Science and Technology; 
Salaries[A]: $9,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,000; 
Total expenses: $6,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $16,000. 

Subactivity: PRRMS; 
Line item: PRRMS--Conservation and Management Services; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $: $0. 

Subactivity: Habitat Conservation; 
Line item: Sustainable Habitat Management; 
Salaries[A]: $18,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,000; 
Total expenses: $1,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $19,000. 

Subactivity: Habitat Conservation; 
Line item: Fisheries Restoration; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,000; 
Total expenses: $3,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $3,000. 

Subactivity: Enforcement and Surveillance; 
Line item: Enforcement; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,000; 
Total expenses: $1,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Bottlenose Dolphins; 
Salaries[A]: $2,377,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $359,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $781,000; 
Total expenses: $1,139,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $3,516,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Mammals; 
Salaries[A]: $5,159,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $902,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,784,000; 
Total expenses: $2,686,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $7,846,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Protected Species Research Management; 
Salaries[A]: $14,358,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $3,047,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $7,483,000; 
Total expenses: $10,530,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $24,888,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Whales; 
Salaries[A]: $4,595,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $742,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,804,000; 
Total expenses: $4,546,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $9,141,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Sea Turtles and Other Protected Species; 
Salaries[A]: $9,309,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $2,403,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $7,505,000; 
Total expenses: $9,909,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $19,218,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Seals and Sea Lions; 
Salaries[A]: $5,558,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,598,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,589,000; 
Total expenses: $5,187,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $10,745,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals, Turtles and Marine Protected Species; 
Line item: Pacific Salmon; 
Salaries[A]: $38,125,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $4,929,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $8,264,000; 
Total expenses: 13,194,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $51,319,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles; 
Line item: Southeast Seiners Capacity Reduction Program Alaska; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Expand Stock Assessments--Improve Data Collection; 
Salaries[A]: $14,679,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,752,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $10,196,000; 
Total expenses: $16,948,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $31,628,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Core Fisheries Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $38,177,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $7,900,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $13,377,000; 
Total expenses: $21,276,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $59,453,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Fisheries Management Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $33,520,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $8,938,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $11,896,000; 
Total expenses: $20,834,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $54,354,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Core Fisheries Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $24,083,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $4,933,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $7,697,000; 
Total expenses: $12,630,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $36,713,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Regional Councils and Fisheries Commissions; 
Salaries[A]: $514,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $227,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $283,000; 
Total expenses: $510,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,024,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Salmon Management Activities; 
Salaries[A]: $1,529,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $152,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,699,000; 
Total expenses: $3,852,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $5,381,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Salmon; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Salmon Management Activities; 
Salaries[A]: $213,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $85,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $14,000; 
Total expenses: $98,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $312,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Fish Information Networks; 
Salaries[A]: $1,598,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $431,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $4,484,000; 
Total expenses: $4,915,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $6,513,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Survey and Monitoring Projects; 
Salaries[A]: $14,001,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,878,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $631,000; 
Total expenses: $2,509,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $16,510,000. 

Subactivity: Fisheries Research and Management Programs; 
Line item: Other Fisheries--Related Projects; 
Salaries[A]: $911,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,432,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $4,116,000; 
Total expenses: $5,548,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $6,459,000. 

Subactivity: Enforcement and Observers; 
Line item: Enforcement and Surveillance; 
Salaries[A]: $29,052,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $4,587,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $19,879,000; 
Total expenses: $24,466,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $53,518,000. 

Subactivity: Enforcement and Observers; 
Line item: Observers/Training; 
Salaries[A]: $10,071,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $2,657,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $13,014,000; 
Total expenses: $15,671,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $25,742,000. 

Subactivity: Habitat Conservation and Restoration; 
Line item: Fisheries Habitat Restoration; 
Salaries[A]: $6,510,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,347,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $4,406,000; 
Total expenses: $5,753,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $12,263,000. 

Subactivity: Habitat Conservation and Restoration; 
Line item: Sustainable Habitat Management; 
Salaries[A]: $10,465,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,845,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,487,000; 
Total expenses: $5,332,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $15,797,000. 

Subactivity: Other Activities Support Fisheries; 
Line item: Cooperative Research; 
Salaries[A]: $2,742,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,071,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $2,627,000; 
Total expenses: $3,697,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $6,439v. 

Subactivity: Other Activities Support Fisheries; 
Line item: Other Projects; 
Salaries[A]: $26,593,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $9,457,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $13,221,000; 
Total expenses: $22,678,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $49,271,000. 

Subactivity: Overhead; 
Line item: Salaries and Expenses; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $8,000; 
Total expenses: $9,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $9,000. 

Subactivity: Alaska Composite Research; 
Line item: Alaska Composite Research and Development Program; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: NMFS Systems; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $68,000; 
Total expenses: $68,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $68,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: NMFS Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $60,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $523,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $349,000; 
Total expenses: $872,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $932,000. 

Subactivity: NMFS Fleet Replacement; 
Line item: NMFS Fleet Replacement; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,000; 
Total expenses: $1,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,000. 

Subactivity: Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles; 
Line item: Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery (PCSR); 
Salaries[A]: $272,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $3,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $360,000; 
Total expenses: $363,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $635v. 

Subactivity: Total; 
Salaries[A]: $294,640,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $68,242,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $147,139,000; 
Total expenses: $215,381,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $510,021,000. 

Source: NOAA data extracted from MARS system. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Although some 
line items may have the same names, each line item represents a 
subtotal of the different PPAs under that line item. In addition, 
obligations data provided by NMFS did not include data from their 
category "Other Funds", with the exception of data on the Pacific 
Coastal Salmon Recovery fund. 

[A] Includes object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) 
personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

[B] Includes object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, 
(22) transportation of things, (23) rent, communication and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Includes object class (25) other contractual services. 

[End of table] 

Table 7: NOS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: Ocean Assessment Program; 
Salaries[A]: $14,870,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,329,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $26,045,000; 
Total expenses: $32,374,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $47,243,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: Coastal Ocean Science; 
Salaries[A]: $81,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $81,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: Ocean and Coastal Research; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: Response and Restoration; 
Salaries[A]: $12,652,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,940,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $5,097,000; 
Total expenses: $7,037,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $19,689,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science; 
Salaries[A]: $20,174,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $4,964,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $10,086,000; 
Total expenses: $15,050,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $35,224,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean and Coastal Management; 
Line item: Ocean Management; 
Salaries[A]: $20,788,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,029,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $17,825,000; 
Total expenses: $23,854,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $44,642,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean and Coastal Management; 
Line item: Coastal Management; 
Salaries[A]: $5,211,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,357,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $2,418,000; 
Total expenses: $3,775,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $8,986,000. 

Subactivity: Navigation Services; 
Line item: Mapping and Charting; 
Salaries[A]: $30,569,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $9,213,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $76,376,000; 
Total expenses: $85,589,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $116,158,000. 

Subactivity: Navigation Services; 
Line item: Geodesy; 
Salaries[A]: $15,837,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $3,548,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $5,507,000; 
Total expenses: $9,054,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $24,891,000. 

Subactivity: Navigation Services; 
Line item: Tide and Current Data; 
Salaries[A]: $12,750,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,436,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $11,491,000; 
Total expenses: $17,927,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $30,677,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $347,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $199,000; 
Total expenses: $547,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $547,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: Estuarine Land Acquisition and Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $46,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $150,000; 
Total expenses: $197,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $197,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: Marine Sanctuaries Construction/Acquisition; 
Salaries[A]: $1,019,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $392,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $3,640,000; 
Total expenses: $4,032,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $5,051,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: Other NOS Construction/Acquisition; 
Salaries[A]: $321,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $58,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $5,445,000; 
Total expenses: $5,502,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $5,824,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean and Coastal Management; 
Line item: Ocean Management; 
Salaries[A]: $1,397,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $190,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $588,000; 
Total expenses: $778,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $2,175,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: Damage Assessment Center; 
Salaries[A]: $1,961,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $642,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $5,318,000; 
Total expenses: $5,960,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $7,921,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment; 
Line item: Ocean Assessment Program; 
Salaries[A]: $30,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $23,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: -$16,000; 
Total expenses: $7,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $36,000. 

Subactivity: Total; 
Salaries[A]: $137,660,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $41,513,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $170,170,000; 
Total expenses: $211,683,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $349,343,000. 

Source: NOAA data extracted from MARS system. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Although some 
line items may have the same names, each line item represents a 
subtotal of the different PPAs under that line item. 

[A] Includes object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) 
personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

[B] Includes object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, 
(22) transportation of things, (23) rent, communication and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Includes object class (25) other contractual services. 

[End of table] 

Table 8: NWS Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Subactivity: Systems Operations and Maintenance; 
Line item: Public Warning and Forecast Systems (Procurement, 
Acquisition and Construction); 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: NWS Systems Acquisition; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $13,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $13,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $13,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: NWS Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $128,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $3,754,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $10,602,000; 
Total expenses: $14,357,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $14,485,000. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: NWS Systems Acquisition; 
Salaries[A]: $3,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $13,000; 
Total expenses: $13,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $16,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $602,000; 
Total expenses: $602,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $602,000. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: NWS Systems Acquisition; 
Salaries[A]: $5,029,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $17,372,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $57,530,000; 
Total expenses: $74,903,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $79,932,000. 

Subactivity: Systems Operations and Maintenance; 
Line item: Systems Operations and Maintenance; 
Salaries[A]: $24,409,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $26,864,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $45,886,000; 
Total expenses: $72,750,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $97,160,000. 

Subactivity: Operations and Research; 
Line item: Local Warnings and Forecasts; 
Salaries[A]: $494,404,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $66,638,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $74,677,000; 
Total expenses: $141,315,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $635,719,000. 

Subactivity: Operations and Research; 
Line item: Operations and Research; 
Salaries[A]: $40,111,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $13,875,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $26,938,000; 
Total expenses: $40,812,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $80,924,000. 

Subactivity: Total; 
Salaries[A]: $564,084,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $128,516,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $216,249,000; 
Total expenses: $344,765,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $908,849,000. 

Source: NOAA data extracted from MARS system. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Although some 
line items may have the same names, each line item represents a 
subtotal of the different PPAs under that line item. 

[A] Includes object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) 
personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

[B] Includes object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, 
(22) transportation of things, (23) rent, communication and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Includes object class (25) other contractual services. 

[End of table] 

Table 9: OAR Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line Item, Fiscal Year 
2009: 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Climate and Global Change Program; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $4,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $8,000; 
Total expenses: $12,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $12,000. 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Global Change; 
Salaries[A]: $125,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $125,000. 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Climate Observations and Services; 
Salaries[A]: $15,047,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $13,840,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $24,865,000; 
Total expenses: $38,705,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $53,752,000. 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Laboratories and Joint Institutes; 
Salaries[A]: $18,922,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,105,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $8,045,000; 
Total expenses: $14,150,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $33,072,000. 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Climate Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $21,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $13,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $188,000; 
Total expenses: $201,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $222,000. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Salaries[A]: $2,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $2,000. 

Subactivity: Atmospheric Programs; 
Line item: Laboratories and Joint Institutes; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Salaries[A]: $5,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: -$4,000; 
Total expenses: -$4,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,000. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: U.S. Weather Research Program; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Weather and Air Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Weather and Air Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Weather and Air Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Weather and Air Quality Research; 
Line item: Weather and Air Quality Research Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $24,511,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $8,785,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $2,726,000; 
Total expenses: $11,511,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $36,023,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: National Sea Grant College Program; 
Salaries[A]: $1,261,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $630,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,401,000; 
Total expenses: $2,032,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $3,293,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: National Undersea Research Program; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Laboratories and Joint Institutes; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $46,000; 
Total expenses: $46,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $46,000. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Laboratories and Joint Institutes; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,000; 
Total expenses: $1,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean Exploration; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $35,000; 
Total expenses: $35,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $35,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean and Coastal Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean and Coastal Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Ocean and Coastal Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean and Coastal Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Ocean and Coastal Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Oceanic and Great Lakes Programs; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Exploration and Undersea Research; 
Salaries[A]: $12,415,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,050,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $11,860,000; 
Total expenses: $17,909,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $30,324,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Invasive Species Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $272,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $135,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $674,000; 
Total expenses: $809,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,080,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Aquaculture; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $5,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $173,000; 
Total expenses: $178,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $178,000. 

Subactivity: Information Technology Research and Development and 
Science Education; 
Line item: Information Technology Research and Development and Science 
Education; 
Salaries[A]: $1,865,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,204,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $9,311,000; 
Total expenses: $10,516,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $12,380,000. 

Subactivity: Integrated Ocean Observing System; 
Line item: Integrated Ocean Observing System; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: High Performance Computing Initiatives; 
Line item: High Performance Computing Initiatives; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Climate Research; 
Line item: Other Partnership Programs; 
Salaries[A]: $227,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $923,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $79,313,000; 
Total expenses: $80,237,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $80,463,000. 

Subactivity: Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Research; 
Line item: Exploration and Undersea Research; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: OAR Systems; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Systems Acquisition; 
Line item: OAR Systems Acquisition; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $571,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $9,798,000; 
Total expenses: $10,369; 
Total salaries and expenses: $10,369,000. 

Subactivity: Construction; 
Line item: OAR Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $0; 
Total salaries and expenses: $0. 

Subactivity: Total; 
Line item: [Empty]; 
Salaries[A]: $74,672; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $38,265; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $148,442; 
Total expenses: $186,707; 
Total salaries and expenses: $261,378,000. 

Source: NOAA data extracted from MARS system. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Although some 
line items may have the same names, each line item represents a 
subtotal of the different PPAs under that line item. 

[A] Includes object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) 
personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

[B] Includes object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, 
(22) transportation of things, (23) rent, communication and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Includes object class (25) other contractual services. 

[End of table] 

Table 10: Program Support Estimated Salaries and Expenses by Line 
Item, Fiscal Year 2009: 

Subactivity: Executive Direction and Administration; 
Line item: Corporate Services; 
Salaries[A]: $20,118,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $5,165,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,892,000; 
Total expenses: $7,057,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $27,175,000. 

Subactivity: Corporate Services; 
Line item: Corporate Services; 
Salaries[A]: $80,928,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $19,802,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $74,907,000; 
Total expenses: $94,710,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $175,638,000. 

Subactivity: Education Program; 
Line item: Corporate Services; 
Salaries[A]: $2,765,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $1,025,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $4,615,000; 
Total expenses: $5,640,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $8,406,000. 

Subactivity: Facilities--Construction (Operations, Research and 
Facilities); 
Line item: Facilities; 
Salaries[A]: $5,607,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $5,225,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $10,139,000; 
Total expenses: $15,363,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $20,970,000. 

Subactivity: Program Support--Construction; 
Line item: Construction; 
Salaries[A]: $979,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $646,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $228,329,000; 
Total expenses: $228,976,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $229,955,000. 

Subactivity: NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations (NMAO)--Aviation 
Operations; 
Line item: Aviation Operations; 
Salaries[A]: $12,631,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $7,792,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $9,999,000; 
Total expenses: $17,791,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $30,422,000. 

Subactivity: NMAO--Marine Operations and Maintenance; 
Line item: Marine Services; 
Salaries[A]: $69,822,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $24,667,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $18,334,000; 
Total expenses: $43,001,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $112,823,000. 

Subactivity: NMAO--Marine Operations and Maintenance; 
Line item: NMAO Fleet Planning and Maintenance; 
Salaries[A]: $144,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $11,633,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $24,912,000; 
Total expenses: $36,544,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $36,689,000. 

Subactivity: NMAO; 
Line item: Integrated Ocean Observing System; 
Salaries[A]: $341,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $6,010,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $5,137,000; 
Total expenses: $11,147,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $11,489,000. 

Subactivity: NMAO; 
Line item: Fleet Replacement; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $2,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $0; 
Total expenses: $2,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $2,000. 

Subactivity: Corporate Services; 
Line item: Retired Pay Commissioned Officers; 
Salaries[A]: $20,534,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $2,500,000; 
Total expenses: $2,500,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $23,034,000. 

Subactivity: Program Support; 
Line item: Future Healthcare Benefits Current Officers; 
Salaries[A]: $0; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $0; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $1,674,000; 
Total expenses: $1,674,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $1,674,000. 

Subactivity: Total; 
Salaries[A]: $213,870,000; 
Expenses (not including contractual services)[B]: $81,968,000; 
Expenses related to contractual services[C]: $382,437,000; 
Total expenses: $464,405,000; 
Total salaries and expenses: $678,275,000. 

Source: NOAA data extracted from MARS system. 

Note: Amounts may not add to totals due to rounding. Although, some 
line items may have the same names, each line item represents a 
subtotal of the different PPAs under that line item. In addition, 
obligations data provided by Program Support did not include some 
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds. 

[A] Includes object classes (11) personnel compensation, (12) 
personnel benefits, and (13) benefits for former personnel. 

[B] Includes object classes (21) travel and transportation of persons, 
(22) transportation of things, (23) rent, communication and utilities, 
(24) printing and reproduction, (26) supplies and materials, and (31) 
equipment. 

[C] Includes object class (25) other contractual services. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Commerce: 

United States Department Of Commerce: 
Office of the Secretary: 
Washington, D.C. 20230: 
	
January 10, 2011: 

Ms. Anu Mittal: 
Director: 
Natural Resources and Environment: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street, NW: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

Dear Ms. Mittal: 

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the Government 
Accountability Office's draft report entitled, "Financial Management: 
NOAA Needs to Better Document Its Policies and Procedures for 
Providing Management and Administration Services" (GAO-11-226). On 
behalf of the Department of Commerce, I have enclosed the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's programmatic comments on the 
draft report. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Gary Locke: 

Enclosure: 

[End of letter] 

Department of Commerce: 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: 

Comments on the Draft GAO Report Entitled: "Financial Management: NOAA 
Needs to Better Document Its Policies and Procedures for Providing 
Management and Administration Services" (GAO-11-226/January 2011): 

General Comments: 

The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) appreciates the opportunity to review the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) draft report on NOAA's 
management and administration services. NOAA generally agrees with the 
draft report; however, the report treats all of NOAA money as the 
same. It does not acknowledge, for instance, the differences between 
Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF) and Procurement, Acquisition 
and Construction (PAC) funds that impact how management and 
administration (M&A) services are applied. 

NOAA's response to the report findings and the one recommendation are 
provided below. 

NOAA Response to GAO Recommendation: 

Recommendation 1: "To improve the management and oversight of NOAA's 
M&A services and related costs, we recommend that the Secretary of 
Commerce direct the Administrator of NOAA to require that NOAA's 
headquarters, line offices, and FMCs document in a manual or handbook 
their policies and procedures for the M&A services they provide in 
line with internal control and federal cost accounting standards. Such 
documentation should include, at a minimum (1) their policies 
regarding the types of M&A services they provide; (2) the procedures 
they use each year to determine the costs of their M&A services; (3) 
their policies and procedures for assigning the costs of their M&A 
services to specific programs, activities, or outputs that benefit 
from the services and the results of that cost assignment; and (4) the 
justification for why those assignments are appropriate." 

NOAA Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation and has already 
convened an Administrative Cost Working Group, which is in the process 
of identifying the scope and approach NOAA should take to standardize 
and reduce its administrative costs and appropriately document them. 
The working group is chaired by one of the line office Chief Financial 
Officers (CFO). The Bureau of Industry and Security CFO and the 
Department of Commerce Deputy Director of Financial Management are 
participating in the working group to help scope the study to support 
broader administrative cost standardization across the Department in 
future years. 

[End of section] 

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Anu K. Mittal, (202) 512-3841 or mittala@gao.gov: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the individual named above, Stephen D. Secrist, 
Assistant Director; Mark A. Braza; Antoinette Capaccio; Candace 
Carpenter; Heather Dowey; Emily Eischen; Jacqueline M. Nowicki, 
Christopher Ramig; Carol Herrnstadt Shulman; Jack Warner; and Rebecca 
Yurman made key contributions to this report. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] For purposes of this report, "leadership services" refers to 
management, policymaking, and oversight functions by bureau officials. 

[2] H.R. Rep. No. 111-366, at 647 (2009) (Conf. Rep.) accompanying 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 
3034. 

[3] The 1982 Convention on the Laws of the Seas granted coastal 
countries, such as the United States, exclusive economic zones that 
extend to a distance of 200 nautical miles out from a country's coast 
line. A country has special rights over the exploration and use of 
marine resources within its zone. 

[4] The five line offices that receive funds are also called budget 
activities. In addition to these five budget activities, NOAA has a 
sixth budget activity, Program Support, which funds, among other 
things, facility construction, acquisition management, and information 
security technology. The Program Support budget activity also funds 
the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, whose mission includes 
operating NOAA ships and aircraft. According to a NOAA official, the 
agency allocates its appropriation as recommended in the conference 
report or explanatory statement that generally accompanies Commerce's 
annual appropriation. 

[5] PPAs are defined as elements within budget accounts. See GAO, A 
Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-734SP] (Washington, D.C.: September 
2005). PPAs are intended to provide a meaningful representation of the 
operations financed by a specific budget account. 

[6] Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards No. 4, 
Managerial Cost Accounting Standards and Concepts. 

[7] In this context, programs are the structures that agencies use to 
organize groups of their activities to produce desired outputs. 
Activities are those actions taken by a program to produce its 
outputs. Outputs are the goods, services, or other products that a 
program ultimately delivers to the customers that it serves. 

[8] GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1] 
(Washington, D.C.: November 1999). 

[9] See 31 U.S.C. § 1104(b) (2006); Office of Management and Budget, 
Circular A-11, § 83 (2010). 

[10] In fiscal years 2007 through 2009, NOAA's appropriation included 
a cap on the amount that could be expended on corporate services 
administrative support costs. Throughout this report we refer to this 
cap as NOAA's corporate administrative services appropriation. 

[11] Staff offices include the offices of the Deputy Under Secretary 
and Legislative Affairs; Public, Constituent, and Intergovernmental 
Affairs; International Affairs; Education and Sustainable Development; 
the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology; and the General Counsel. 

[12] These amounts do not include NOAA's payments to Commerce's 
Working Capital Fund, which are part of NOAA's budget for corporate 
administrative services, because those payment amounts were described 
earlier. 

[13] Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 required the 
establishment of a mandatory, governmentwide standard for secure and 
reliable forms of identification issued by the federal government to 
its employees and contractors to gain access to secure facilities 
where there is a potential for terrorist attacks. 

[14] NOAA's headquarters officials told us that they did not assess 
PPAs that were earmarks. 

[15] According to NOAA officials, federal labor includes the full time 
equivalent employees employed by the line office. Costs for federal 
labor include both salaries and benefits for those employees. Federal 
labor does not include contractors. 

[16] The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite 
System is a planned system of low earth orbiting environmental 
satellites. NOAA anticipates that the system will monitor 
environmental conditions; collect, disseminate, and process data about 
the earth's weather, atmosphere, oceans, land, and near-space 
environment; and that it will provide data for long-range weather and 
climate forecasts. 

[17] The M&A obligation amounts cited for each of the line offices do 
not include amounts paid to NOAA's headquarters as a result of direct 
billings. 

[18] According to NMFS officials, those PPAs and percentages included 
(1) Alaska seals and sea lions (1.3 percent); (2) Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission (0.6 percent); (3) cooperative agreements 
with states (0 percent); (4) Endangered Species Act--Atlantic salmon 
(5.1 percent); (5) enforcement and surveillance (2.6 percent); (6) 
habitat conservation (9.8 percent); (7) fisheries management programs 
(8.9 percent); (8) marine mammals, sea turtles and other species (10.2 
percent); (9) other protected species (4.9 percent); (10) Pacific 
salmon ESA recovery and research (4.5 percent); (11) product quality 
and safety/seafood inspection (1.2 percent); (12) stock assessments 
(0.7 percent); and (13) vessel monitoring system (0.6 percent). 
According to a NMFS official, PPAs it assessed and the percentages 
NMFS used to assess them are based on NMFS's understanding of 
congressional intent from the fiscal year 2005 appropriation and its 
legislative history and on a one-time adjustment in fiscal year 2009 
to provide additional funds to cover M&A costs. 

[19] For example, these limitations include (1) the explanatory 
statement accompanying the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub. L. 
No. 111-8, 123 Stat. 524 (2009), which directs NOS to spend no more 
than $6.5 million of the total $26.5 million provided for Integrated 
Ocean Observing System funding on administration; and (2) Section 
12502 of the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-11, 123 
Stat. 991 (2009), which provides that no more than 5 percent of funds 
provided for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program may 
be used for planning or administration. 

[20] NOS did not assess the Weather and Climate Supercomputing PPA, 
because, according to NWS officials, all funding for that PPA was 
needed to pay a lease to a contractor and there was no additional 
funding available in the PPA to pay for M&A services. 

[21] NOAA can only accept reimbursable work if the necessary legal 
authority exists for performing the work. Examples of such authorities 
include 15 U.S.C. § 1525, which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce 
to, among other things, make special studies on matters within the 
authority of the Department of Commerce upon the request of agencies 
and other entities; 31 U.S.C. § 1535, which authorizes general 
interagency transactions within the federal government in certain 
circumstances; and 31 U.S.C. § 6505, which authorizes agencies to 
provide certain services prescribed by the President to state and 
local governments in certain circumstances. 

[22] The Chief Financial Officers' Council is composed of NOAA's Chief 
Financial Officer and the Chief Financial Officers from each line 
office, as well as other members such as a representative from the 
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. 

[23] NOS's Office of Special Projects provides information, 
assessments, and tools in support of the collaborative coastal 
stewardship mission of the line office and its partners. 

[24] For each of its two main budget accounts (ORF and PAC), NOAA 
allocated funding to six main budget activities. These budget 
activities are the five line offices performing mission-related work 
and a sixth budget activity, Program Support. 

[25] GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1] 
(Washington, D.C.: November 1999) and Statement of Federal Financial 
Accounting Standards No. 4, Managerial Cost Accounting Standards and 
Concepts. 

[26] The six budgets are Departmental Management, Economic Development 
Administration, Economics and Statistics Administration, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, the U.S. Census 
Bureau, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 

[End of section] 

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