Census Monitoring Board: Review of Congressional Side Shutdown	 
Activities (01-FEB-02, GAO-02-367R).				 
								 
Because the activities of the Congressional side of the Census	 
Monitoring Board (CMBC) ceased to exist on September 30, 2001,	 
CMBC entered into an interagency agreement with the Government	 
Printing Office (GPO) to pay CMBC bills and to provide		 
administrative support services. GAO examined CMBC documents to  
determine financial cutoff procedures and conducted other audits 
as necessary. GAO found four CMBC personnel were present at	 
CMBC's former office on October 1, 2001, but performed no	 
substantive government action. Over $14,000 was obligated and	 
paid for telephone, cable, Internet, computer, copier, and water 
services to be provided after CMBC's statutory termination date. 
These prepayments were not proper and should not have been	 
certified and paid. GPO was requesting reimbursement from vendors
for services that were not properly provided. GPO acquired CMBC  
property and supplies after September 30, 2001. A November 2001  
GPO inventory found that some CMBC property had not been	 
returned, was reported stolen, or was missing. The use of	 
government owned property after CMBC termination was not proper, 
and GPO is seeking the return of some property. GPO was arranging
for CMBC records disposal. CMBC internal controls existed to	 
protect Title 13 census data. GPO had not certified and paid	 
about $4,000 in CMBC invoices received after September 30, 2001, 
primarily for phone service. GPO is reviewing the invoices for	 
valid services provided prior to the CMBC shutdown. Census and	 
House security badges issued to CMBC personnel expired at	 
midnight on October 1, 2001. Some badges were collected, some	 
were not.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-02-367R					        
    ACCNO:   A02727						        
  TITLE:     Census Monitoring Board: Review of Congressional Side    
Shutdown Activities						 
     DATE:   02/01/2002 
  SUBJECT:   Advance payments					 
	     Billing procedures 				 
	     Financial statement audits 			 
	     Federal agency reorganization			 
	     Identification cards				 
	     Interagency relations				 
	     Inventory control					 

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GAO-02-367R
     

United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548

February 1, 2002

The Honorable William Lacy Clay The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney House of
Representatives

Subject: Census Monitoring Board: Review of Congressional Side Shutdown
Activities 
In an October 1, 2001, letter, you expressed concerns about certain shutdown
activities of the Congressional side of the Census Monitoring Board (CMBC),
which under statute ceased to exist on September 30, 2001. As agreed with
your offices, we reviewed eight areas of CMBC shutdown activities. We were
not requested to nor did we review similar shutdown activities of the
Presidential side of the Census Monitoring Board (CMBP).

We visited the site of the former CMBC offices on October 1, 2001, to
ascertain if former personnel were present and to observe shutdown
activities being conducted by the Government Printing Office (GPO). CMBC had
entered into an interagency agreement with GPO to pay CMBC bills and to
provide administrative support services. We obtained CMBC financial and
other information from GPO and interviewed GPO officials who were directly
involved with CMBC shutdown activities. We examined CMBC documents to
determine financial cutoff procedures and conducted other audit tests as
necessary. Our work was conducted from October through December 2001 in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards.

On January 14, 2002, we briefed your staff on the results of our review.
This letter transmits the material from that briefing, which disclosed that:

* Four CMBC personnel were present at CMBC's former office on October 1,
2001, but performed no substantive government action.

* Over $14,000 was obligated and paid for telephone, cable, internet,
computer, copier, and water services to be provided after CMBC's statutory
termination date. These prepayments were not proper and should not have been
certified and paid. GPO was requesting reimbursement from vendors for
services that were not properly provided.

* GPO acquired CMBC property and supplies after September 30, 2001. A
November 2001 GPO inventory found that some CMBC property had not been
returned, was reported stolen, or was missing. The use of government owned

               GAO-02-367R Review of CMBC Shutdown Activities

property after CMBC termination was not proper, and GPO is seeking the
return

of some property. * GPO was arranging for CMBC records disposal.

* CMBC internal controls existed to protect Title 13 census data.

* GPO had not certified and paid about $4,000 in CMBC invoices received
after September 30, 2001, primarily for phone service. GPO is reviewing the
invoices for valid services provided prior to the CMBC shutdown.

* Census and House security badges issued to CMBC personnel expired at
midnight on October 1, 2001. Some badges were collected, some were not.

We provided GPO with a draft of the slides and incorporated its comments as
appropriate. As agreed with your offices, this concludes our work on the
Census Monitoring Board.

                                * * * * * *

Copies of this letter are available to other interested parties. This letter
will also be
available on GAO's home page at http://www.gao.gov.

If you have any questions, please contact me at (202) 512-9095 or by e-mail
at
[email protected] or Roger R. Stoltz, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-9408, or
by
e-mail at [email protected]. Key contributors to this letter were Cindy Barnes
and
Peggy Smith.

Gregory D. Kutz
Director
Financial Management and Assurance

Enclosure

           Page 2 GAO-02-367R Review of CMBC Shutdown Activities

January 14, 2002, Briefing on the Review of CMBC Shutdown Activities 

(192053) Page 18
*** End of document. ***