United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2004-05-20 monographic deposited born digital 22 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-752 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752 P0b002ee18039cb99 f:d04752 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752 GAO-04-752 Budget administration Budget outlays Future budget projections Rent subsidies Rental housing Rural housing programs Unexpended budget balances RHS Section 521 Rental Assistance Program Other Written Product A10171 The Rural Housing Service's (RHS) Section 521 Rental Assistance Program provides rental subsidies to about 250,000 rural tenants through 5-year contracts with project owners; 20-year contracts were also issued from 1978 through 1982. In early 2003, RHS reported hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpended balances, primarily tied to 5- and 20-year contracts issued from 1978 through 1982. Since contracts remain active until all funds are expired, some of these contracts will likely last as long as 38 years. GAO was asked to assess (1) the activity level of rental assistance contracts issued from 1978 through 1997 that have unexpended balances and the possibility of deobligating these balances, and (2) the activity level of rental assistance contracts issued from 1998 through 2002 and the accuracy of RHS's estimates of the rate at which these funds would be used. The Department of Agriculture commented on our responses to these questions. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752.pdf GAO-04-752 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-752 Other Written Product GAO-04-752; Rural Housing Service: Agency Has Overestimated Its Rental Assistance Budget Needs over the Life of the Program; Budget administration Budget outlays Future budget projections Rent subsidies Rental housing Rural housing programs Unexpended budget balances RHS Section 521 Rental Assistance Program