Fiscal Year 2024 Antideficiency Act Reports Compilation

B-336351

December 20, 2024

The Honorable Kamala Harris
President of the Senate

The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House of Representatives

Subject: Fiscal Year 2024 Antideficiency Act Reports Compilation

The Antideficiency Act prohibits an officer or employee of the federal government from obligating or expending federal funds in advance or in excess of an appropriation or an apportionment, and from accepting voluntary services. 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1342, 1517. Agencies that violate the Antideficiency Act must report the violation to the President and Congress and transmit a copy of the report to the Comptroller General at the same time. Id. §§ 1351, 1517(b). The report must contain all relevant facts and a statement of actions taken.

Since fiscal year (FY) 2005, GAO, in its role as repository for the Antideficiency Act reports that agencies submit, has produced and publicly released an annual compilation of summaries of the reports. We base the summaries on unaudited information we extract from the agency reports. Each summary includes a brief description of the violation, as reported by the agency, and of remedial actions agencies report that they have taken. We also include copies of the agencies’ transmittal letters. We post the summaries and the agency transmittal letters on our public website. In some cases, the agencies also send us additional materials with their transmittal letters. We make these additional materials available to Members and their staffs upon request.

Please find enclosed the compilation of summaries of the nine Antideficiency Act violation reports and agency transmittal letters submitted to GAO in FY 2024. The United States Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Homeland Security, and Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board each submitted two reports, while the Interagency Council on Homelessness submitted one report. One of the reports from the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board was a correction to a report submitted to GAO in 2022.

While GAO has not opined on the agency reports or the remedial actions taken, we do note that some of the reported violations resulted from similar agency actions. For example, three of the reported violations resulted from government officials or employees obligating or expending funds in violation of statutory spending restrictions, while two other violations resulted from government officials or employees obligating or expending funds in excess of an apportionment.

If you have any questions, please contact Shirley A. Jones, Managing Associate General Counsel, at (202) 512-8156, or Kristine Hassinger, Assistant General Counsel for Appropriations Law, at (202) 512-8152.

Edda Emmanuelli Perez
General Counsel

Enclosure

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-01

 

Agency No.: Navy, N21-01	Date Reported to GAO: October 4, 2023
Agency: Department of the Navy (Navy)	Date(s) of Violation(s): Fiscal Years (FYs) 2011-2018
Account(s): Military Personnel, Marine Corps; Operation & Maintenance, Marine Corps; and Reserve Personnel, Marine Corps	Amount Reported: $5,655,891.07

Description: Navy, through the Department of Defense, reported that it violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a), when the Training and Education Command improperly obligated and expended funds to acquire items for and pay personal expenses of student members of the Marine Corps National Defense Cadet Corps (MCNDCC).

According to Navy, the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) program office is responsible for the management of both the MCJROTC program and MCNDCC programs. Navy reported that a key difference between these programs is how they are funded, including what the government may fund in support of MCJROTC programs versus MCNDCC programs, which is limited by 10 U.S.C. § 2034. This provision of law authorizes the military departments to issue "arms, tentage, and equipment" to educational institutions where no MCJROTC program exists, if the school offers the requisite course in military training and meets minimum student body requirements. However, according to Navy, the MCNDCCs were treated almost identically to a standard MCJROTC unit, and units were issued more items for student usage than just arms, tentage, and equipment. The Navy stated that uniforms were acquired for student members, personal costs associated with the uniforms were also paid for with appropriated funds, and other expenses such as food and travel were improperly paid.

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, Navy reported that it now requires the MCJROTC/MCNDCC program office to route all procurement requests (clearly identifying MCJROTC schools or MCNDCC units) through the budget branch to ensure all procurements are authorized by law. Additionally, Navy reported that MCJROTC fund control personnel are required to take fiscal law training and maintain current certifications.

According to Navy, the current MCJROTC/MCNDCC Director and Program Support Branch Manager, and three previous MCJROTC/MCNDCC employees were found responsible for the violation. The current MCJROTC Director and Program Support Branch Manager received an oral admonishment. Navy determined that there was no willful or knowing intent to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-02

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: January 9, 2024
Agency: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)	Date(s) of Violation(s): October 19, 2018
Account(s): Economic Research Service (ERS)	Amount Reported: $159,627.51

 

Description: GAO previously concluded that USDA’s ERS violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1341, when USDA transferred an amount appropriated to ERS under a fiscal year (FY) 2019 Continuing Resolution to the Office of the Secretary to satisfy an obligation to a contractor for relocation planning assistance.[1] GAO concluded that the transferred funds were subject to the same notification requirement contained in the FY 2018 appropriations act, yet USDA did not submit a notification to the Appropriations Committees for this amount.[2]

USDA’s report expressed disagreement with GAO’s determination. It asserted that ERS complied with all relevant notice requirements when USDA informed Congress of its relocation plans on August 9, 2018, and that additional notice was not required simply because the transfer in question occurred in the next fiscal year.

Remedial Action Taken: USDA stated that the ERS Associate Administrator and the Budget Officer were responsible for the violation and neither are still with USDA. USDA’s ERS determined there was no knowing or willful intent to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-03

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: March 1, 2024
Agency: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)	Date(s) of Violation(s): March 23 - May 17, 2022
Account(s): Commodity Credit Corporation Fund	Amount Reported: $23,840,132.00

 

Description: USDA reported that it violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1517(a), when the Commodity Credit Corporation exceeded the FY 2022 original apportionment.

According to USDA, it relies on a software system that captures the borrowing and repayment requirements to Treasury. USDA reported that this software system is limited in that it is unable to verify the amount of appropriation remaining for interest expenses and therefore must be monitored manually. USDA stated that following apportionment, interest rates were not closely monitored by USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center, the office responsible for processing payments, and the payments, therefore, exceeded the apportioned amount between March 23 and May 17, 2022.

USDA reported that an FPAC Business Center accountant noticed the deficiency, and FPAC Business Center suspended interest payments in the Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection system. According to USDA, FPAC Business Center then sought an additional apportionment from the Office of Management and Budget for the rest of FY 2022 to cover the rate increase, and the revised apportionment was approved. USDA reported that inadequate controls and tracking at the team level allowed the funding to be deficient and for the deficiency to remain undetected.

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, USDA reported that it instituted additional controls and tracking methods. The approver for daily financing now runs a report daily that validates the current interest apportionment and expense: (1) if the interest apportionment is insufficient for the expense, daily financing will be suspended; (2) once the process for daily financing is complete, the remaining apportionment and expense to date is listed on an email distributed to FPAC leadership to assure visibility across the agency; and (3) FPAC Business Center Financial Management Division (FMD) Payment Team 3 also tracks the amount of interest expense daily and utilizes this to track the burn rate of the current funds throughout the year. USDA reported that this burn rate is reviewed and assessed monthly by team leadership to determine if a request for additional funds should be submitted. According to USDA, the monthly reconciliation for the Commodity Credit Corporation additionally now includes the interest expense to date and the remaining apportionment. According to USDA, its FPAC Business Center FMD Payment Team 3 team lead had no knowledge and willful intent to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-04

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: May 30, 2024
Agency: U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)	Date(s) of Violation(s): FY 2013
Account(s): Operating Expenses	Amount Reported: $23,124.24

 

Description: USICH reported that it violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1517(a), when it incurred obligations above the total amount apportioned and available for obligation for FY 2013. According to USICH, it did not have adequate funds controls in place for accurately tracking expenses at the point of obligation. USICH stated it discovered after the end of the fiscal year when reconciling all of its expenses, including Citibank purchase card invoices received months after the end of the fiscal year, that it did not have sufficient funds to pay for all of its FY 2013 obligations.

USICH reported that extenuating circumstances for the deficiency include the agency’s small staff size, with the Director of Finance and Administration (DFA) serving as the only professional staff member performing financial management, among other unrelated activities. According to USICH, it did not have adequate funds controls in place for accurately tracking expenses at the point of obligation.

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, USICH reported that the Executive Director and DFA reviewed and revised USICH’s internal budget and expenditure tracking and forecasting method to include more detailed projection information.

USICH determined that the violations contained no willful or knowing intent on the part of the responsible parties to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-05

 

Agency No.: DIA 23-01	Date Reported to GAO: June 6, 2024
Agency: Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)	Date(s) of Violation(s): September 27, 2017; August 7, 2018; August 28, 2018
Account(s): Operation and Maintenance, Defense (O&M); Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense (RDT&E)	Amount Reported: $1,441,389.18

 

Description: DIA, through the Department of Defense (DOD), reported that it violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341(a)(1), 1517(a)(1), when it incorrectly funded a contract with O&M funds as opposed to RDT&E funds and sufficient RDT&E funds were not continuously available from the time of an initial service contract award until the time of the correction. According to DIA, the incorrect funding of the contract for the Spearheading Chief Information Office Applied Research and Leading Edge Technologies artificial intelligence project resulted in a violation of the purpose statute, 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a), as RDT&E funds, and not O&M funds, should have been used for the development project.

DIA reported that on the mistaken advice of a budget analyst, the Chief Technological Officer (CTO) rewrote the Statement of Work (SOW) as an operations and maintenance service contract, requesting O&M funding. According to DIA, the budget analyst should have rejected the acquisition request because the scope and objectives sections within the SOW demonstrated that the work included developing and testing recommender engine prototypes and processes, requiring RDT&E funds, not O&M funds.

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, DIA reported that the Deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO) implemented mandatory CFO-wide monthly targeted training. DIA also reported that the DIA Budget Executive Team has implemented a monthly validation of funding obligation activities against the DIA spend- plan details. Finally, DIA reported corrective actions to strengthen internal control deficiencies were implemented to reinforce segregation of duties for a budget analyst performing multiple contract management system roles on a single acquisition. According to DIA, the CTO and the budget analyst were found responsible for the violation, but the CTO has retired, and the budget analyst is no longer employed by DIA or DOD, thus discipline against them was not pursued. DIA also reported that there was no willful or knowing intent on the part of the responsible individuals to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-06

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: August 22, 2024
Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS)	Date(s) of Violation(s): April 26, 2019 – November 26, 2019
Account(s): Operations and Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)	Amount Reported: None Reported

 

Description: DHS reported that it violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1342, when FEMA accepted voluntary services from a former employee during FYs 2019 and 2020. According to DHS, a former employee continued to support FEMA’s partnership with United States Northern Command after retiring in April 2019 and prior to starting employment as a subcontractor in January 2020. DHS reported that during this time, the individual was not a FEMA employee, was not compensated for services provided, and was not party to a gratuitous service agreement with FEMA prior to these voluntary services. According to DHS, the violation occurred due to a lack of awareness of the legal limitations on accepting voluntary services.

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, DHS reported that it has educated personnel on the legal limitations on accepting voluntary services and implemented ADA training for specific grades and job series. DHS reported that FEMA’s Deputy Director of International Affairs Division in the Office of Policy and Program Analysis was responsible for the violation. According to DHS, no disciplinary action for the matter was taken. DHS determined the responsible party had no knowing or willful intent to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-07

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: August 22, 2024
Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS)	Date(s) of Violation(s): December 30, 2020- January 12, 2021
Account(s): Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)	Amount Reported: $8,990,166.00

 

Description: DHS reported that it violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1341, when it incurred obligations prior to the submission of a spend plan required by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2021.[3] According to DHS, the Act restricted obligations of PC&I funds until DHS submitted an expenditure plan. While DHS previously submitted expenditure plans, according to DHS the Act had the effect of restricting further obligation of carry-over funds until CBP submitted a new expenditure plan. DHS reported that partly due to the unusual nature of the restriction and timing of enactment during the winter holidays, personnel responsible for obligating or directing the obligation of funds within their respective program offices either did not receive the email notifications, overlooked the emails, or did not read them in a timely manner.

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, DHS reported that it implemented systematic controls to restrict the ability of offices to execute PC&I funds prior to submission of an expenditure plan. DHS also reported that it established a working group to address the policies and communications related to budget guidance and training requirements for funds certifying officials and approving officials. DHS reported that program office headquarters budget officers, funds certifying officials, and approving officials were responsible for the violations. According to DHS, due to the nature of the violation, no disciplinary action was taken. DHS determined that the responsible parties had no knowing or willful intent to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-08

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: September 20, 2024
Agency: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)	Date(s) of Violation(s): FY 2014
Account(s): Salaries & Expenses	Amount Reported: $6,528,286.00

 

Description: GAO, following CSB’s request, determined that CSB violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a), when CSB entered into a ten-year real-property lease without sufficient available appropriations at the time of lease execution to cover the full obligation under the ten-year lease.[4] GAO concluded that CSB’s annual appropriation for FY 2014 was not available to cover the office space costs for FYs 2016 through 2025 under the ten-year lease for CSB’s headquarters.[5] At the time it executed the lease, CSB did not yet have appropriations available for FYs 2016 through 2025 and, therefore, GAO determined that CSB violated the ADA.[6]

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, CSB reported that it has been consulting with the General Services Administration about CSB’s office space needs, and the Office of Management and Budget to ensure compliance with federal appropriations laws relevant to this matter. CSB is also taking steps to ensure that relevant agency staff are trained in the requirements of the ADA, including staff in the CSB’s Office of Contracting, Office of Financial Operations, and Office of General Counsel.

According to CSB, no disciplinary action was taken against the former contracting officer, former financial management officials, or other former senior agency leaders who were responsible for this violation. CSB also reported that these responsible parties appear to have had no knowing or willful intent to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

Antideficiency Act Reports – Fiscal Year 2024

GAO No.: GAO-ADA-24-09

 

Agency No.: None Reported	Date Reported to GAO: September 20, 2024
Agency: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)	Date(s) of Violation(s): FY 2020
Account(s): Salaries & Expenses	Amount Reported: $16,761.00

 

Description: CSB reported a violation of the Antideficiency Act (ADA), 31 U.S.C. § 1341, that occurred when CSB incurred obligations and made expenditures without providing advance congressional notification in violation of a statutory prohibition.[7]

According to CSB, in FY 2020, a statutory provision required it to notify Congress in advance of obligating or expending amounts in excess of $5,000 to furnish the office of an agency head. CSB reported that it incurred expenses for new furnishings and an air purifier in an amount that exceeded the statutory limit by $16,761, and that the agency did not provide prior notification to Congress. CSB previously submitted this violation report to GAO in April 2022, and it was included as part of GAO’s FY 2022 Antideficiency Act Reports Compilation, but CSB’s report incorrectly stated the amount of the violation, making the report here a correction rather than a new violation.[8]

Remedial Action Taken: To prevent a recurrence of this type of violation, CSB stated it now has a formal written policy on office furnishings for political appointees to ensure strict adherence to the expenditure limit. CSB reported that this policy was distributed to all agency personnel and was subsequently posted on the CSB intranet site. Additionally, CSB reported that financial operations and contracting personnel have been trained on that new policy. CSB stated it is also in the process of securing approval for its administrative fund control policies with the appropriate office within the Office of Management and Budget.

CSB reported that the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General uncovered no evidence of a knowing or willful intent by CSB staff to violate the ADA.

Source: Unaudited information GAO extracted from agency Antideficiency Act reports.

 

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