Summary: The Department of Education is the lead agency responsible for overseeing the $75 billion annual federal investment in support of education programs. The Department is also responsible for collecting about $175 billion owed by students. More than 8.1 million students received more than $53 billion in federal student financial aid through programs run by Education. Education's stewardship of these assets, however, has been under question because of the agency's persistent financial management problems. Beginning with its first agencywide financial audit effort in fiscal year 1995, Education's auditors have reported the same serious internal control weaknesses each year, which have undermined the agency's ability to provide reliable financial information to decisionmakers both inside and outside the agency. This testimony discusses (1) Education's fiscal year 1999 financial audit results; (2) the relationship between the audit findings and the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse; and (3) the results of GAO's review of Education's grantback account.
