Department of Energy Status of Carryover Balances in the Energy Conservation Program.
Abstract
The fiscal year 1999 appropriation for the Energy Conservation Program was about $690 million. On the basis of DOE cost estimates for the balance of fiscal year 1999, we project that about $319 million will be carried over at the beginning of fiscal year 2000. Carryover balances represent funding from prior years' budgets and consist of both unobligated balances and uncosted obligations. Each fiscal year, DOE requests obligation authority from the Congress to meet the costs of running its programs. Once DOE receives this authority, it obligates funds by placing orders or awarding contracts for goods and services that will require payment during the same fiscal year or in the future. Unobligated balances represent the portion of its authority that the Department has not obligated. Uncosted obligations represent the portion of its authority that the Department has obligated for goods and services but for which it has not yet spent funds. In some years, the Congress has reduced DOE'S budget request and recommended that the agency use carryover balances in lieu of new funding. It is important to recognize that there is a legitimate rationale for retaining some carryover balances. For example, with grants, the grantees control the expenditure of funds. Consequently, such costs are often slow to be reflected on DOE's accounts because DOE must wait for cost reports from the grantees that lag significantly behind obligation of the funds.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 11, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA360442
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office