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AFMD-81-37 1 (1981-03-06)

handle is hein.gao/gaobabbtq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: RESTRICTED - ., . ,a , • era Acen,-tyn V- approval by tho r COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON D.C. 20548 2RELEASED MARCH 6, 1981 B-196862 The Honorable Edward R. RoybalII IIIlB111II Chairman, Subcommittee on Treasury- Postal Service-General Government Committee on Appropriations 1 114872 House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: Subject: LReview of White House and Executive Agency Expenditures for Selected Travel, Entertain- ment, and Personnel Costs(AFMD-81-37) On October 16, 1980, the Honorable Tom Steed, former Sub- committee Chairman, requested that we provide a report on our re- view of the possible misuse of appropriated funds to advance the political candidacy of the incumbent President preceding the 1980 election. Because the request was made in his capacity as Chair- man, we are providing the report to you. The review was conducted in response to a September 22, 1980, request from 11 members of the United States Senate. An interim report issued on October 20, 1980, provided information on (1) the policies for handling political travel and entertainment by White House and executive agency officials and (2) the funding used for specific entertainment events. This, our final report, addresses certain travel expenses of the President, Vice President, and other administration officials; procedures used to prevent misuse of appropriations; and the White House use of other agencies' personnel. The overriding question raised in our review was whether travel, speechmaking, and public appearances by senior-level offi- cials (including the President and the Vice President), and other personnel actions that may take place during a Presidential cam- paign and may directly or indirectly benefit the campaign, consti- tute an improper use of appropriated funds. This question has been raised by members of both major political parties on various occa- sions incident to a Presidential campaign. The question poses the very difficult problem of distinguishing between permissible offi- cial activities for which appropriated funds are available and other activities that are similar in nature but are for purely political or partisan purposes. The problem becomes particularly troublesome when those activities tend to increase during the late (905029)