Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain activities of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), specifically: (1) how it budgeted its appropriations for fiscal years (FY) 1983 through 1986; and (2) whether it complied with the reprogramming provisions of its FY 1985 and 1986 appropriations acts before purchasing 260 microcomputer systems.

GAO found that: (1) LSC did not comply with the reprogramming provisions of its FY 1985 and FY 1986 appropriation acts to procure 260 microcomputer systems; (2) although LSC was not required to follow federal procurement regulations, its policies for procuring services and equipment were similar and generally required competitive bidding; (3) since LSC used training and technical assistance funds for the microcomputer procurement, it was required to notify Congress of the reprogramming action, but it failed to do so; and (4) as of January 1987, LSC had expended about $3 million of its FY 1984, 1985, and 1986 program development funds for the implementation of supplemental service delivery research projects.