Forest Service Accountability in Administering Its Trust Funds (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
March 8, 2000 |
| Report Number |
RS20486 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Ross W. Gorte, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The USDA Forest Service has numerous permanently appropriated trust funds and special funds
that
provide substantial funding independent of the annual appropriations process. Critics have alleged
abuse of the funds and have sought greater congressional oversight, and the General Accounting
Office has testified on the agency's management of some of these accounts. While the Administration
has offered few responses to the criticisms of these funds, it has, in its FY2001 budget request,
proposed creating two new trust funds and combining several existing funds into a new fund with
expanded purposes. This report provides an overview of the permanently appropriated Forest
Service accounts and concerns over their use and proposed alternative structures that could provide
greater public and congressional oversight and control over permanently appropriated funds. This
report will be updated if events warrant.
