Analysis of the Antideficiency Act in the Department of the Navy

Abstract

The Department of the Navy budget is expanding from $96.1 billion in 2001 to an expected $108.3 billion in 2003. It is important that in our pursuit of scarce dollars, the people who provide us the money trust that we will be good stewards of the money. Negative public and Congressional perceptions jeopardize Navy funding. As responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must strive to obtain the optimum use of our available resources, within the limits of the law. Congress implemented a series of laws designed to prevent government officials from spending the taxpayer's money in a manner that Congress did not intend. Collectively, these laws are referred to as the Antideficiency Act. Execution of the budget contrary to the Antideficiency Act is a violation of federal law. Each violation damages the public perception that the Navy is a good steward of the taxpayer's dollar, which could influence the amount and the degree of Congressional control and oversight of future funding. Hence, it is imperative that the Navy provides proper training, implements effective internal controls, and raises the level of awareness of Antideficiency Act violations in an effort to reduce the number of future violations. This thesis analyzes data from 62 Antideficiency Act formal investigations for the period 1987 to 1997. The data were analyzed to detect trends in the number of investigations over time, the most frequent legal statutes violated, the causal factors that led to violations, trends in the investigative process, and the equity and effectiveness of the disciplinary action taken with each violation. Based on the conclusions drawn from the data analysis, recommendations on improving training, internal controls and methods to raise awareness were formulated that should reduce the major causal factors of Antideficiency Act violations.