Summary: GAO reviewed whether the President's order making reductions for fiscal year (FY) 1986 complied with all the legal requirements contained in section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
GAO found that: (1) the President's ordered reductions for FY 1986 complied with the requirements of the act at the account level; (2) the sequestrable base and the amounts sequestrated for each account were consistent with the amounts identified in the Comptroller General's 1986 report; (3) although program, project, and activity definitions varied from agency to agency and account to account, most agencies had little difficulty identifying the information sources needed to determine what programs and projects existed within a given account; (4) many agencies found it difficult to determine exactly which items should be included within a given program; (5) when agencies did not define programs and activities in accordance with the required definitions, it was impossible to verify the sequestrable base for individual programs; and (6) although there were minor variations in the percentage of reductions applied to individual programs, most agencies made concerted efforts to make reductions at the required levels or work out other arrangements with appropriation subcommittees. GAO also found that, despite the fact that reductions at the program level were not always made in strict conformance with the definitions and requirements of the act, the goals of the requirements were substantially fulfilled.
