Independence Day Celebrations: Estimated Costs for Fourth of July Events on the National Mall for 2016 through 2019

Abstract

GAO was asked to review the impacts and estimated costs associated with the Fourth of July events on the National Mall. Specifically, this report describes the following for the Fourth of July events on the National Mall for 2016 through 2019: (1) the total costs federal agencies and state and local jurisdictions are estimated to have incurred and (2) the appropriations that were used to pay for the estimated federal costs; the extent, if any, to which the federal government reimbursed costs incurred by state and local jurisdictions; and the extent, if any, to which federal agencies delayed, deferred, or canceled other programs or activities as a result of resources being used for Fourth of July events. The estimated costs for the events held in 2016, 2017, and 2018 ranged from $6 million to $7 million annually, and included contract costs with private entities asked with producing and executing the concert and fireworks. They also included the costs for overtime and holiday pay for federal employees working at the events. In 2019, with the addition of the Salute to America event, the Department of Defense (DOD) and Executive Office of the President undertook additional efforts. Estimated costs for the 2019 events on the National Mall increased to more than $13 million. This increase was attributable to the cost for DOD to transport several vehicles to the National Mall, the production and execution of the Salute to America event, and the additional security involved because the President attended the event.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1153073

Entities

People

  • Anthony Clark
  • Carl Barden
  • Elizabeth Erdmann
  • Jason D Kelly
  • Jason Kirwan
  • John Ledford
  • Jonathan Meyer
  • Kevin Scott
  • Kristen Kociolek
  • Marcia Carlsen
  • Pat Frey
  • Quang Nguyen
  • Richard Geiger
  • Shahrzad Nikoo

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accountability
  • Air Force
  • Congress
  • Contracts
  • Cost Estimates
  • Costs
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • District Of Columbia
  • Emergency Response
  • Flight Training
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Infantry Fighting Vehicles
  • Law
  • Military Personnel
  • National Governments
  • Personnel Management
  • Security
  • Training
  • Transportation
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • United States Northern Command

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis