We were  provided access to OSM’s Civil Penalty Accounting Control System  database. You requested that we determine  the primary reason for the low collection rates and significant write- offs of OSM’s CFP debt,  whether adequate processes exist at OSM to collect CFP debt, and  what role, if any, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or the Department of Treasury play in overseeing OSM’s collection of CFP debt. Interviewed OMB and Treasury officials to determine what role, if any, OMB and Treasury play in overseeing and monitoring the government’s collection of civil debts. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Why GAO Did This Study

This report focuses on debt collection processes and procedures used by the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM).

What GAO Found

GAO discusses (1) the primary reasons for the growth in civil monetary penalties owed to OSM; (2) whether OSM's receivables for civil monetary penalties have financial accountability and reporting issues similar to those of its other receivables; (3) whether adequate processes exist to collect this debt; and (4) what roles, if any, the Office of Management and Budget and the Treasury Department play in overseeing and monitoring OSM's collection of civil monetary penalties debt.