United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee

on Space and Aeronautics, Committee

on Science, House of Representatives

July 1996 NASA BUDGET

Carryover Balances for

Selected Programs

G O A

years

1921 - 1996

GAO/NSIAD-96-206

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

National Security and

International Affairs Division

B-272539 

July 16, 1996

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

Chairman, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

Committee on Science

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Chairman:

In March 1996, you raised concerns in an oversight hearing and a letter to

us about the extent of carryover balances for the Mission to Planet Earth

(MTPE) and other National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

programs. This report discusses MTPE’s carryover, as well as that of other

NASA programs, and describes NASA’s plans to reduce those balances. We

plan to continue reviewing NASA’s carryover, as part of our basic legislative

responsibilities, to fully understand the nature of these balances and how

they should be considered in the budget process.

Background Carryover balances consist of unobligated funds and uncosted obligations.

Each fiscal year, NASA requests obligational authority from the Congress to

meet the costs of running its programs. Once NASA receives this authority,

it can obligate 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

NASA has not obligated. Uncosted obligations represent the portion of its

authority that NASA has obligated for goods and services but for which it

has not yet incurred costs.

Through the annual authorization and appropriations process, the

Congress determines the purposes for which public funds may be used

and sets the amounts and time period for which funds will be available.

Funding provided for NASA’s Human Space Flight and Science,

Aeronautics, and Technology programs is available for obligation over a

2-year period. Authority to obligate any remaining unobligated balances

expires at the end of the 2-year period. Five years later, outstanding

obligations are canceled and the expired account is closed.

Some level of carryover balance is appropriate for government programs.

In particular, NASA’s Human Space Flight and Science, Aeronautics, and

Technology appropriations are available for obligation over a 2-year

period. In such circumstances, some funds are expected to be obligated

Page 1 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

during the second year of availability. Funds must travel through a series

of approvals at headquarters and the field centers before the money is

actually put on contracts so that work can be performed. According to

NASA officials, it can be difficult to obligate funds that are released late in

the year. In addition, the award of contracts and grants may sometimes be

delayed. Once contracts and grants are awarded, costs may not be

incurred or reported for some time thereafter. Expenditures, especially

final payments on contract or grant closeouts, will lag still further behind.

Finally, costs and expenditures for a multiyear contract or grant will be

paced throughout the life of the contract. For these reasons, all NASA

programs have carryover balances. The unobligated balances expire at the

end of their period of availability, and according to NASA officials, uncosted

obligations carried over will eventually be expended to cover contract

costs.

Results in Brief Carryover balances in NASA’s Human Space Flight and Science,

Aeronautics, and Technology programs totaled $3.6 billion by the end of

fiscal year 1995. NASA also refers to carryover balances in terms of the

equivalent months of funding for a fiscal year. In other words, almost 

4 months or one-third of the budget authority provided to these programs

in fiscal year 1995 would be used to cover costs that will accrue in fiscal 

year 1996 or later. Individual programs carried over varying amounts,

ranging from the equivalent of 1 month to 16 months of fiscal year 1995

new budget authority. MTPE carried $695 million, or more than 6 months, of

budget authority into fiscal year 1996. Under NASA’s current budget and

cost plans, these balances will be reduced in fiscal years 1996 and 1997,

but the actual reductions depend on (1) the extent NASA’s projected costs

match the actual costs incurred and (2) the amount of new budget

authority received for fiscal year 1997.

NASA officials are concerned that the current amounts are too high and are

taking actions to reduce these balances. Although there are valid reasons

to have carryover, the issue is how much. A recent NASA study of carryover

balances determined that the equivalent of 3 months of budget authority

should be carried into the next fiscal year and recommended actions to

bring NASA programs within that threshold. The study noted that the

threshold needs to be studied over time to determine if it is appropriate.

Applying the initial 3-month threshold to estimated carryover balances at

the end of fiscal year 1996 shows that 7 of the 11 Human Space Flight and

Science, Aeronautics, and Technology programs have total carryover of

$1.1 billion beyond the threshold. Most of the carryover beyond the

Page 2 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

threshold was in three programs: Space Science with $379 million, MTPE

with $341 million, and Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications

with $228 million.

NASA’s Comptroller also intends to carefully scrutinize carryover amounts

as part of the fiscal year 1998 budget development process. The

Comptroller formally requested program managers to justify carryover

balances that exceed amounts necessary to fund program costs for 

8 weeks of the next fiscal year. The 8 weeks was not a threshold for the

appropriate level of carryover, but rather a criteria for identifying balances

for review. At the end of fiscal year 1996, nine programs would need to

justify $1.5 billion beyond the Comptroller’s 8-week criteria. The three

programs with the largest estimated balances requiring justification are

Space Science with $558 million, MTPE with $435 million, and Life and

Microgravity Sciences and Applications with $257 million.

Program Carryover

Balances Vary

Significantly

Carryover balances at the end of fiscal year 1995 for Human Space Flight

and Science, Aeronautics, and Technology programs totaled $3.6 billion.

Of this amount, $2.7 billion was obligated but not costed and $0.9 billion

was unobligated. Table 1 shows the carryover balances by program. The

balance carried over from fiscal year 1995 plus the new budget authority in

fiscal year 1996 provides a program’s total budget authority. The total

budget authority less the planned costs results in the estimated balance at

the end of fiscal year 1996. Table 2 starts with the carryover from fiscal

year 1996 and ends with the balance that NASA estimates will carry over

from fiscal year 1997 into 1998. The cost plans shown in the tables reflect

the amount of costs estimated to be accrued during the fiscal year. The

carryover balances will change if actual cost and budget amounts differ

from projections. NASA program officials are in the process of updating

their 1996 cost plan estimates. Officials in some programs now expect the

actual costs to be less than planned, resulting in higher carryover balances

at the end of 1996 than those shown in the tables.

Page 3 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

Table 1: Estimated Carryover Balances in Human Space Flight and Science, Aeronautics, and Technology Programs at the

End of Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996

Dollars in millions

Actual carryover

balance (9/30/95)

Fiscal year 1996

new budget

authority

Estimated total

budget authority

Fiscal year 1996

cost plan

Estimated

carryover balance

(9/30/96)

Human Space Flight

Space Station $368.4 $1,863.6 $2,232.0 $2,162.4 $69.6

U.S.-Russian Cooperative

Program

133.0 129.2 262.2 218.1 44.1

Space Shuttle 332.9 3,148.8 3,481.7 3,329.8 151.9

Payload Utilization and

Operations

114.5 315.0 429.5 339.8 89.7

Total $948.8 $5,456.6 $6,405.4 $6,050.1 $355.3

Science, Aeronautics, and Technology

Space Science $769.2 $2,007.6 $2,776.8 $1,895.9 $880.9

Life and Microgravity

Sciences and Applications

323.3 488.5 811.8 461.6 350.2

MTPE 694.9 1,250.1 1,945.0 1,291.2 653.8

Aeronautical Research and

Technology

212.4 877.3 1,089.7 871.8 217.9

Space Access and

Technology

254.1 678.9 933.0 762.0 171.0

Academic Programs 138.1 102.2 240.3 135.0 105.3

Mission Communication

Services

128.2 441.3 569.5 490.6 78.9

Total $2,676.4a $5,845.9 $8,522.3a $6,064.3a $2,458.0

Total $3,625.2 $11,302.5 $14,927.7 $12,114.4 $2,813.3

aIncludes $156.2 million for launch services in fiscal year 1995. After fiscal year 1995, NASA’s

budget does not include a separate line for launch services.

Page 4 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

Table 2: Estimated Carryover Balances in Human Space Flight and Science, Aeronautics, and Technology Programs at the

End of Fiscal Years 1996 and 1997

Dollars in millions

Estimated

carryover balance

(9/30/96)

Fiscal year 1997

budget request

Estimated total

budget authority

Fiscal year 1997

cost plan

Estimated

carryover balance

(9/30/97)

Human Space Flight

Space Station $69.6 $1,802.0 $1,871.6 $1,803.0 $68.6

U.S./Russian Cooperative

Program

44.1 138.2 182.3 164.0 18.3

Space Shuttle 151.9 3,150.9 3,302.8 3,164.0 138.8

Payload Utilization and

Operations

89.7 271.8 361.5 292.0 69.5

Total $355.3 $5,362.9 $5,718.2 $5,423.0 $295.2

Science, Aeronautics, and Technology

Space Science $880.9 $1,857.3 $2,738.2 $2,099.0 $639.2

Life and Microgravity

Sciences and Applications

350.2 498.5 848.7 609.0 239.7

MTPE 653.8 1,402.1 2,055.9 1,425.0 630.9

Aeronautical Research and

Technology

217.9 857.8 1,075.7 947.0 128.7

Space Access and

Technology

171.0 725.0 896.0 741.0 155.0

Academic Programs 105.3 100.8 206.1 106.0 100.1

Mission Communication

Services

78.9 420.6 499.5 440.0 59.5

Total $2,458.0 $5,862.1 $8,320.1 $6,367.0 $1,953.1

Total $2,813.3 $11,225.0 $14,038.3 $11,790.0 $2,248.3

NASA often discusses and analyzes carryover balances in terms of

equivalent months of a fiscal year’s budget authority that will be carried

into the next fiscal year. For example, the Aeronautical Research and

Technology carryover balance of $217.9 million at the end of fiscal year

1996 is equivalent to 3 months of the $877.3 million new budget authority,

based on an average monthly rate of $73.1 million. Table 3 shows each

program’s carryover in equivalent months of budget authority.

Page 5 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

Table 3: Months of Carryover at the

End of Fiscal Years 1995, 1996, and

1997

Total months of carryover

Fiscal year

1995 actual

Fiscal year

1996

estimated

Fiscal year

1997

estimated

Human Space Flight

Space Station 2.3 0.4 0.5

U.S.-Russian Cooperative Program 10.6 4.1 1.6

Space Shuttle 1.3 0.6 0.5

Payload Utilization and Operations 4.3 3.4 3.1

Science, Aeronautics, and Technology

Space Science 5.2 5.3 4.1

Life and Microgravity Sciences and

Applications

8.3 8.6 5.8

MTPE 6.6 6.3 5.4

Aeronautical Research and Technology 2.9 3.0 1.8

Space Access and Technology 5.0 3.0 2.6

Academic Programs 16.2 12.4 11.9

Mission Communications Services 3.2 2.1 1.7

The carryover balances at the end of fiscal year 1995 ranged from the

equivalent of 1 month for the Space Shuttle to 16 months for Academic

Programs. NASA officials gave several overall reasons for the large relative

differences in carryover amounts. One major reason was that programs

such as the Space Station and the Space Shuttle, which have fewer months

of carryover, prepare budgets based on the amount of work estimated to

be costed in a fiscal year. Other programs, such as MTPE and Space

Science, have based their budgets on the phasing of obligations over a

number of fiscal years. Another major reason given was that some

programs fund a substantial number of grants, which are typically funded

for a 12-month period regardless of what point in the fiscal year they are

awarded. This practice, coupled with slow reporting and processing of

grant costs, contributes to higher carryover balances. Science programs

such as MTPE, Space Science, and Life and Microgravity Sciences and

Applications, fund grants to a much greater extent than the Space Station

and the Space Shuttle. NASA officials also said the size of contractors

affects carryover balances, with larger contractors requiring less funding

into next year than smaller contractors.

Page 6 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

MTPE’s Large Carryover

Caused by Program

Redirection and Grants

NASA officials gave two major reasons for MTPE’s carryover balance at the

end of fiscal year 1995. First, the MTPE program has undergone several

major restructurings since its inception in 1991. During the periods when

the content of the program was being changed, selected program activities

were restrained until the new baseline program was established. Since

several contract start dates were delayed, the carryover balance grew.

MTPE officials emphasized that all work for which funding was provided

would be performed in accordance with the approved baseline and that, in

most cases, the new baseline included the same end dates for major

missions and ground systems. Officials expect the balances to decrease as

delayed work is accomplished. The second reason given for the large

carryover balance at the end of fiscal year 1995 is the large number of

grants funded in the MTPE program. As discussed earlier, the process for

awarding grants and delays in reporting costs on grants contributes to

carryover balances.

Aeronautical Research and

Technology Program

Closely Manages Carryover

Balance

Officials from the Aeronautical Research and Technology program

attributed their relatively low level of carryover to aggressively managing

carryover balances. Officials have studied their carryover balances in

detail and have greatly reduced their levels. In 1989, the program had a

carryover balance of 43 percent, equivalent to 5 months of funding.

Program financial managers analyzed their carryover and determined that

it could be reduced substantially. By 1992, the carryover balance was

about 25 percent, or 3 months, of new budget authority, and it is estimated

to remain at that level through fiscal year 1996. In fiscal year 1997,

program managers hope to achieve a 15-percent, or 2-month, carryover

level. Officials attributed their improved performance to thoroughly

understanding their carryover balances, emphasizing work to be

accomplished and costed in preparing budgets, and carefully tracking

projects’ performance. They believe that some of their methods and

systems for managing carryover balances could be applied to other NASA

programs.

NASA Is Taking

Actions to Analyze

and Reduce Carryover

Balances

Although carryover naturally occurs in the federal budget process, NASA

officials became concerned that the balances were too high. NASA is taking

actions to analyze and reduce these balances. NASA’s Chief Financial

Officer directed a study that recommended changes to reduce carryover

balances. NASA’s Comptroller will review justifications for carryover

balances as part of the fiscal year 1998 budget development process.

Page 7 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

NASA Recently Studied

Carryover Balances

A NASA steering group was tasked by NASA’s Chief Financial Officer to

review carryover balances as part of a study1

 to address NASA’s increasing

level of unliquidated budget authority.2

 The study identified a number of

reasons for the current balances, including NASA’s current method of

obligations-based budgeting, reserves held for major programs, delays in

awarding contractual instruments, late receipt of funding issued to the

centers, and grant reporting delays. The study recommended a number of

actions to reduce carryover balances through improved budgeting,

procurement, and financial management practices, including

implementing cost-based budgeting throughout the agency and

establishing thresholds for carryover balances.

According to the study, cost-based budgeting takes into account the

estimated level of cost to be incurred in a given fiscal year as well as

unused obligation authority from prior years when developing a budget.

The organization then goes forward with its budget based on new

obligation authority and a level of proposed funding that is integrally tied

to the amount of work that can be done realistically over the course of the

fiscal year. However, the study cautioned that a cost-based budgeting

strategy should recognize that cost plans are rarely implemented without

changes. Therefore, program managers should have the ability to deal with

contingencies by having some financial reserves.

The study recommended that NASA implement thresholds for the amount of

funds to be carried over from one fiscal year to the next. NASA had 

about 4 months of carryover at the end of fiscal year 1995, according to the

study. It recommended that NASA implement a threshold of 3 months for

total carryover: 2 months of uncosted obligations for forward funding on

contracts and 1 month of unobligated balance for reserves. The study

noted that carryover balances should be reviewed over the next several

years to determine if this threshold is realistic. NASA’s Chief Financial

Officer said the next logical step is to analyze balances in individual

programs in more depth. We agree that the appropriateness of the

threshold should be examined over time and that further study is needed

to more fully understand carryover balances in individual programs.

1

The Management and Liquidation of Budget Authority: Issues and Recommendations Associated With

Recent Growth in Unliquidated Budget Authority, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(June 5, 1996).

2

In addition to unobligated funds and uncosted obligations, total unliquidated budget authority

includes accounts payable where work has been performed and costed, but not yet paid for.

Page 8 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

We also believe that individual programs must be measured against an

appropriate standard. One problem with looking at carryover balances in

the aggregate is that programs substantially under the threshold in effect

mask large carryover balances in other programs. For example, at the end

of fiscal year 1996, the total amount of carryover in excess of 3 months for

seven programs is estimated to be $1.05 billion. However, the carryover

balance for the Space Shuttle and the Space Station programs in the same

year is estimated to be $1.03 billion under the threshold, which almost

completely offsets the excess amount. We compared the balances of

individual Human Space Flight and Science, Aeronautics, and Technology

programs to this 3-month threshold and found that at the end of fiscal year

1995, nine programs exceeded the threshold by a total of $1.3 billion. By

the end of fiscal year 1997, only four programs are expected to

significantly exceed the threshold by a total of $0.6 billion. Table 4

compares individual program carryover amounts with the 3-month

threshold at the end of fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997. As mentioned

earlier, the estimates are based on projected costs for fiscal year 1996 and

projected budgets and costs for fiscal year 1997. If actual costs and

budgets are different, the amount of carryover exceeding the threshold

will change.

Page 9 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

Table 4: Carryover in Excess of 3

Months at the End of Fiscal Years

1995, 1996 and 1997 Carryover in excess of 3 months

Dollars in millions

Fiscal year

1995 actual

Fiscal year

1996

estimated

Fiscal year

1997

estimated

Human Space Flight

Space Station a a a

U.S.-Russian Cooperative Program $95.5 $11.8 a

Space Shuttle a a a

Payload Utilization and Operations 34.5 11.0 $1.6

Total $130.0 $22.8 $1.6

Science, Aeronautics, and Technology

Space Science $325.0 $379.0 $174.9

Life and Microgravity Sciences and

Applications

206.5 228.1 115.1

MTPE 379.6 341.3 280.4

Aeronautical Research and Technology a a a

Space Access and Technology 102.8 1.3 a

Academic Programs 112.6 79.8 74.9

Mission Communications Services 7.9 a a

Total $1,206.9b $1,029.4 $645.2

Total $1,336.8 $1,052.1 $646.8

aIndicates that a program’s carryover balance was less than the 3-month threshold.

bIncludes $72.7 million for launch services in fiscal year 1995. After fiscal year 1995, NASA’s

budget does not include a separate line for launch services.

NASA’s Comptroller Will

Review Justifications for

Carryover Balances

The NASA Comptroller is planning to review carryover balances in each

program. According to the Comptroller and program financial managers,

carryover balances have always been considered a part of the budget

formulation process, but factoring them into the process is difficult since

budget submissions must be prepared well before the actual carryover

balances are known. For example, NASA’s fiscal year 1997 budget request

was prepared in the summer of 1995 and submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget in the fall. At that point, NASA’s appropriations for

fiscal year 1996 were not final and costs for 1996 could only be estimated.

Until now, appropriate levels of carryover and justifications for carryover

have not been reviewed in depth. The NASA Comptroller included the

Page 10 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

following guidance on carryover balances in his April 1996 letter to

program associate administrators on preparation of the fiscal year 1998

budget:

Estimates of budget authority, obligations, and accrued costs of program activities will be

specifically scrutinized to ensure that the timing of the budget authority to accrued costs is

consistent with minimal, carefully justified balances of uncosted budget authorities at

fiscal year end. Carryover of uncosted balances in excess of eight weeks of cost into the

next fiscal year will have to be specifically justified.

The carryover referred to by the Comptroller is the equivalent of 8 weeks,

or 15 percent, of the next fiscal year’s cost. For example, the fiscal 

year 1996 budget, factoring in carryover from the prior years, should

include enough budget authority to cover all costs in 1996 plus 8 weeks of

costs in fiscal year 1997. The Comptroller stressed that he was not

attempting to set a threshold for the appropriate level of carryover, but

instead was setting a criteria beyond which there should be a strong

justification for carryover. The Comptroller also told us that although the

guidance specifically addressed preparation of the fiscal year 1998 budget,

he has asked programs to justify carryover balances in excess of 8 weeks

starting with the end of fiscal year 1996.

Table 5 compares program carryover balances at the end of fiscal 

years 1995, 1996, and 1997 to the 8-week criteria. NASA was not able to

provide cost plan data for fiscal year 1998. To approximate the 1997

carryover balances in excess of 8 weeks, we used the fiscal year 1997 cost

plan. If a program cost plan for 1998 is higher than 1997, the 8-week

criteria would also be higher and the carryover in excess of 8 weeks would

be lower. On the other hand, a lower cost plan in 1998 would result in a

higher balance in excess of 8 weeks. As shown in table 5, significant

amounts of carryover funding would have to be justified. In fiscal year

1995, $1.9 billion would have had to be justified. In fiscal years 1996 and

1997, the amounts requiring justification are estimated at $1.5 billion and

$1 billion, respectively.

Page 11 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

Table 5: Carryover in Excess of 8

Weeks at the End of Fiscal Years 1995,

1996, and 1997 Carryover in excess of 8 weeks

Dollars in millions

Fiscal year

1995 actual

Fiscal year

1996

estimated

Fiscal year

1997

estimated

Human Space Flight

Space Station $35.7 a a

U.S.-Russian Cooperative Program 99.4 $18.9 a

Space Shuttle a a a

Payload Utilization and Operations 62.2 44.8 $24.6

Total $197.4 $63.6 $24.6

Science, Aeronautics, and Technology

Space Science $477.5 $558.0 $316.3

Life and Microgravity Sciences and

Applications

252.3 256.5 146.0

MTPE 496.3 434.6 411.7

Aeronautical Research and Technology 78.3 72.2 a

Space Access and Technology 136.9 57.0 41.0

Academic Programs 117.3 89.0 83.8

Mission Communications Services 52.7 11.2 a

Total $1,743.4b $1,478.5 $998.7

Total $1,940.8 $1,542.1 $1,023.3

aIndicates that a program’s carryover balance was less than the 8-week criteria.

bIncludes $132.2 million for launch services in fiscal year 1995. After fiscal year 1995, NASA’s

budget does not include a separate line for launch services.

Agency Comments We discussed a draft of this report with NASA officials and have

incorporated their comments where appropriate.

Scope and

Methodology

We reviewed carryover balances for programs in the Human Space Flight

and Science, Aeronautics, and Technology appropriations as of 

September 30, 1995, and estimated balances as of September 30, 1996, and

1997. We relied on data from NASA’s financial management systems for our

analyses and calculations and did not independently verify the accuracy of

NASA’s data. We reviewed budget and cost plans and discussed carryover

balances with NASA’s Chief Financial Officer; NASA’s Comptroller and his

staff; and with financial management staff for the MTPE, Space Science,

Page 12 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
B-272539 

Space Station, Space Shuttle, and Aeronautics programs. We also reviewed

NASA’s internal study of carryover balances and discussed the study with

the NASA staff responsible for preparing it. We performed our work at NASA

headquarters, the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory, the Johnson Space Center, and the Marshall Space Flight

Center. We conducted our work between April 1996 and July 1996 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce this report’s

contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of the report until 10 days

after its issue date. We will then send copies to the Administrator of NASA;

the Director, Office of Management and Budget; and other congressional

committees responsible for NASA authorizations, appropriations, and

general oversight. We will also provide copies to others on request.

Please contact me at (202) 512-4841 if you or your staff have any questions

concerning this report. Major contributors to this report are listed in

appendix I.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas J. Schulz

Associate Director

Defense Acquisitions Issues

Page 13 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
Appendix I 

Major Contributors to This Report

National Security and

International Affairs

Division, Washington,

D.C.

Frank Degnan

Vijay Barnabas

James Beard

Richard Eiserman

Monica Kelly

Thomas Mills

(707170) Page 14 GAO/NSIAD-96-206 NASA Budget
Ordering Information

The first copy of each GAO report and testimony is free.

Additional copies are $2 each. Orders should be sent to the

following address, accompanied by a check or money order

made out to the Superintendent of Documents, when

necessary. VISA and MasterCard credit cards are accepted, also.

Orders for 100 or more copies to be mailed to a single address

are discounted 25 percent.

Orders by mail:

U.S. General Accounting Office

P.O. Box 6015

Gaithersburg, MD 20884-6015

or visit:

Room 1100

700 4th St. NW (corner of 4th and G Sts. NW)

U.S. General Accounting Office

Washington, DC

Orders may also be placed by calling (202) 512-6000 

or by using fax number (301) 258-4066, or TDD (301) 413-0006.

Each day, GAO issues a list of newly available reports and

testimony. To receive facsimile copies of the daily list or any

list from the past 30 days, please call (202) 512-6000 using a

touchtone phone. A recorded menu will provide information on

how to obtain these lists.

For information on how to access GAO reports on the INTERNET,

send an e-mail message with "info" in the body to:

info@www.gao.gov

or visit GAO’s World Wide Web Home Page at:

http://www.gao.gov

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548-0001

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

Address Correction Requested

Bulk Rate

Postage & Fees Paid

GAO

Permit No. G100