B-307382, Department of Homeland Security--Use of Management Directorate Appropriations to Pay Costs of Component Agencies, September 5, 2006

B-307382 Sep 05, 2006 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Where one can reasonably construe two appropriations as available for an expenditure not specifically mentioned under either appropriation, we will not question an administrative determination as to which appropriation to charge. Either Department of Homeland Security's Management Directorate appropriations or the various "management and administration" appropriations for DHS subcomponents, may be reasonably construed as available to pay the costs of mail operations, parking for official agency vehicles, and executive sedan services incurred by component agencies. Having elected to use the Management Directorate appropriations to pay such costs, DHS must now continue to use that same appropriation to the exclusion of the management and administration appropriations of the various components. View Decision B-307382, Department of Homeland Security--Use of Management Directorate Appropriations to Pay Costs of Component Agencies, September 5, 2006 B-307382 September 5, 2006 The Honorable Harold Rogers, Chairman Subcommittee on Homeland Security Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives The Honorable Martin Sabo, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Homeland Security Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives Subject: Department of Homeland Security—Use of Management Directorate Appropriations to Pay Costs of Component Agencies This responds to your letter of February 1, 2006, in which you requested our legal opinion regarding the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) use of its Management Directorate appropriations to pay for certain costs of several DHS component agencies. In considering a reprogramming request submitted by DHS, the Committee on Appropriations learned that in fiscal year 2005 the department had charged the costs of mail operations, employee transit benefit subsidies, parking, and executive sedan services for various DHS component agencies[1] to the department's Management Directorate appropriations, rather than charging those costs to specific appropriations which those components receive directly for –management and administration— expenses. As we explain below, either DHS's Management Directorate appropriations or the various –management and administration— appropriations for the subcomponents may be reasonably construed as available to pay the costs of administrative activities such as mail operations, parking, and executive sedan services incurred by component agencies. Having elected to use the Management Directorate appropriations to pay the costs of mail operations, parking, and executive sedan services for SLGCP, IAIP, and S&T ab initio, DHS should continue to use that same appropriation to the exclusion of any other for the same purpose unless DHS, at the beginning of the fiscal year, informs Congress of its intent to change for the next fiscal year. In fiscal year 2005, DHS charged the costs of employee transit benefit subsidies to both the Management Directorate appropriations and the –management and administration— appropriations for the three component agencies, SLGCP, IAIP and S&T. As stated above, while both appropriations may be reasonably construed to be available for the cost of employee transit benefits, an agency must elect one and use it to the exclusion of the other. Continued use of the same appropriation to the exclusion of any other for the same purpose is required to provide for consistency, regularity, and predictability in the execution of the appropriations provided by Congress. DHS should elect to charge the costs of transit benefit subsidies incurred by those three component agencies to either the Management Directorate appropriations or the –management and administration— appropriations for the respective DHS subcomponent and adjust its fiscal year 2005 accounts accordingly. Consistent with our customary practice when rendering opinions, upon receipt of your request, we wrote a letter to DHS's General Counsel to establish a record on the matter you put before us. Letter from Susan A. Poling, Managing Associate General Counsel, GAO, to Philip J. Perry, General Counsel, DHS, March 3, 2006. We requested factual information and posed a series of questions to the General Counsel designed to permit us to assess DHS's legal justification for charging such costs to the appropriations accounts in question. We received a response from DHS on April 24, 2006. Letter from Eugene Schied, Acting Chief Financial Officer, DHS, to Susan A.