Use of Conservation Operations Appropriation to Fund Technical Assistance for Conservation Programs Enumerated inSection 2701 of the 2002 Farm Bill, B-300325, December 13, 2002

B-300325 Dec 13, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights We found that the Department of Agriculture's (Agriculture) conservation operation (CO) appropriation was not available to fund technical assistance for section 2701 conservation programs. Because the CO appropriation was not available for that purpose. Which prohibits the use of appropriations for purposes other than those for which they were appropriated. We will not repeat them here. We found that Agriculture's CO appropriation was not available to provide technical assistance to section 2701 conservation programs /1/ because the CO appropriation. The section 2701 conservation programs were not among them. The CO appropriation was not available for that purpose. /2/ In the opinion. We stated that: "To the extent that Agriculture might have used the CO appropriation for WRP [Wetlands Reserve Program]. View Decision Use of Conservation Operations Appropriation to Fund Technical Assistance for Conservation Programs Enumerated in Section 2701 of the 2002 Farm Bill, B-300325, December 13, 2002 The Honorable Herb Kohl Chairman The Honorable Thad Cochran Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations United States Senate This responds to your letter of October 9, 2002, requesting our legal opinion on issues related to the funding of technical assistance for the conservation programs enumerated in section 2701 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill). In B-291241, October 8, 2002, we found that the Department of Agriculture's (Agriculture) conservation operation (CO) appropriation was not available to fund technical assistance for section 2701 conservation programs. You asked us to: (1) ascertain whether Agriculture had used the CO appropriation in the last quarter of fiscal year 2002 for technical assistance for section 2701 programs and, if so, the total amount of CO funds expended for that purpose; and (2) describe the actions that Agriculture must take to ensure proper accountability of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and CO funds. We found that Agriculture improperly obligated approximately $20.8 million of the CO appropriation to pay for technical assistance for section 2701 conservation programs in the last quarter of fiscal year 2002. Because the CO appropriation was not available for that purpose, Agriculture's obligation of the CO appropriation violated 31 U.S.C. Sec. 1301(a), which prohibits the use of appropriations for purposes other than those for which they were appropriated. To ensure proper accounting of the CO and CCC appropriations, Agriculture must adjust both appropriation accounts, deobligating the $20.8 million improperly charged to the CO appropriation and charging that amount to the CCC account. Agriculture, however, has not requested an apportionment from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of CCC funds to cover the $20.8 million of section 2701 technical assistance obligations. Thus, Agriculture has violated the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. Sec. 1341(a), which prohibits making or authorizing an expenditure or obligation that exceeds available budget authority. BACKGROUND Because your questions arise from many of the same facts that we addressed in our opinion, B-291241, October 8, 2002, we will not repeat them here. In that opinion, we found that Agriculture's CO appropriation was not available to provide technical assistance to section 2701 conservation programs /1/ because the CO appropriation, by its own terms, did not finance the section 2701 conservation programs. The appropriation specifically identified a number of programs, but the section 2701 conservation programs were not among them. We pointed out that even if one could reasonably read that appropriation to fund these conservation programs, the Congress, with enactment of section 2701 of the 2002 Farm Bill on May 13, 2002, required that the Secretary of Agriculture "shall use the funds" of the CCC to carry out the seven conservation programs enumerated therein, including the provision of technical assistance. Since section 2701 specifically states that funding for its conservation programs "shall" come from CCC funds, the CO appropriation was not available for that purpose. /2/ In the opinion, we stated that: "To the extent that Agriculture might have used the CO appropriation for WRP [Wetlands Reserve Program], Agriculture would need to adjust its accounts accordingly, deobligating amounts it had charged to the CO appropriation and charging those amounts to the CCC funds.