Summary

Combating Terrorism: FBI's Use of Federal Funds for Counterterrorism-Related Activities (FYs 1995-1998)

GGD-99-7  November 20, 1998

Full Report (PDF, 48 pages)   

The amount of funds allocated and obligated by the FBI for counterterrorism-related activities more than doubled from fiscal years 1995 through 1998--from $256 million to $581 million. During this period, Congress directed or provided guidance to the FBI on the use of about one quarter of these funds, and the FBI has generally followed this direction in obligating the money. Although neither GAO nor the FBI could precisely determine the amount of overall funds allocated and obligated by the FBI to carry out its counterterrorism mission, the FBI and the Justice Department have several efforts under way to better identify resources used by the FBI for counterterrorism-related activities. These include efforts to (1) specifically track certain counterterrorism funds; (2) calculate the overall amount of funds associated with counterterrorism-related activities, including shared costs; and (3) link the allocation of budget resources to annual and strategic plans, including specific counterterrorism-related performance measures. In addition, the FBI and the Justice Department plan to develop a methodology for reporting the full cost of program activities in compliance with established managerial cost-accounting standards.

Subject Terms

Accounting standards
Agency missions
Combating terrorism
Allocation (Government accounting)
Budget administration
Counterterrorism
Crime prevention
Federal intelligence agencies
Homeland security
Interagency relations
National defense operations
Terrorism
DOJ Attorney General Counterterrorism Fund
New York (NY)
Oklahoma City (OK)
Saudi Arabia