Herewith is our report on the unauthorized acquisition of passenger vehicles by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior. Our review disclosed that passenger vehicles acquired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs exceeded the number authorized by the Congress by 64 vehicles in fiscal year 1962 and by 124 vehicles in fiscal year 1963. The unauthorized acquisitions consisted of 86 new passenger vehicles purchased and 102 used passenger vehicles obtained from other Government agencies without transfer of funds. In purchasing the 86 new vehicles, the Bureau of Indian Affairs violated the Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. 665) which prohibits an officer or employee from involving the Government in any contract, or other obligation, for the payment of money in advance of appropriations made for such purposes. Our review showed also that the Bureau of Indian Affairs augmented its passenger vehicle fleet by the concurrent use of old vehicles with their replacements, a practice which is inconsistent with the intent of existing legislation. The violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act occurred primarily because the Bureau of Indian Affairs' accounting system did not provide adequate controls to ensure compliance with provisions of the annual appropriation acts. The weakness in the accounting system was caused by a change in vehicle procurement procedures in 1961 discontinuing the requirement that area offices submit vehicle purchase orders through the Central Office. In changing the procedures, the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not establish measures to ensure compliance with statutory limitations. Under the revised procedures, area offices submitted purchase orders directly to the General Services Administration and advised the Central Office of purchases by quarterly reports. We brought these matters to the attention of the Department of the Interior, and, by letters dated August 6, 1965, the Secretary of the Interior reported the facts and circumstances pertaining to the violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act to the President of the United States and to the Congress in accordance with the provisions of that act. B-154282 In addition to purchasing new vehicles without authorization, the Bureau of Indian Affairs augmented its passenger vehicle fleet by acquiring 102 used passenger vehicles during fiscal years 1962 and 1963 from excess property lists of other Government agencies without considering such acquisitions chargeable against appropriation act limitations. The Bureau of Indian Affairs also augmented its passenger vehicle fleet by the concurrent use of old vehicles with their replacements; a number of these replaced vehicles were retained and used for 6 months or more after the replacement vehicles were received. We were advised that the Bureau of Indian Affairs adopted procedures to reestablish Central Office controls over passenger vehicle purchases and that, in the future, the General Services Administration's vehicle-replacement procedures would be used. Also, the Department has instructed responsible officials that passenger vehicles obtained by transfer from other Government agencies must be charged against the purchase authorizations in annual appropriation acts. In our opinion, the actions taken and to be taken appear to be adequate to correct the deficiencies noted during our review. Accordingly, we are making no recommendations at this time. We are issuing this report to the Congress in accordance with the requirement of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921 (31 U.S.C. 53(c)), which provides that the Comptroller General shall report to the Congress every expenditure or contract made by any department in violation of law, and to inform the Congress of the action taken by Department of the Interior officials when we brought these matters to their attention. Copies of this report are being sent to the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Interior. Frank H. Weitzel Acting Comptroller General of the United States - 2 Contents Unauthorized acquisition of passenger vehicles Recorded purchases of new passenger vehicles exceeded statutory limitations Purchases of new passenger vehicles not reported Purchases of new passenger vehicles misclassified Acquisitions of used passenger vehicles in excess Page Principal officials of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs responsible for |