ONDCP Required to Certify Agency Drug Budgets

In developing the consolidated national drug control budget, the 1988 Act prescribes a budget review and certification process whereby ONDCP (1) receives annual drug budget submissions from each program manager, agency head, and department head with drug control responsibilities and (2) certifies in writing that these budget submissions are adequate to implement the objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy for the budget request year. Finally, DOD’s fall budget was not certified because DOD did not address ONDCP’s recommended program increases. 3. Following this review, ONDCP notified each department or agency of its final certification decision. After the President’s proposed budget was submitted to Congress in February 1998, ONDCP continued to monitor the status of the drug budget during the congressional appropriations process. ONDCP’s PME System

To better evaluate the effectiveness of federal drug control efforts, in February 1998 ONDCP established its PME system—a system of goals, objectives, and targets designed to implement the National Strategy and measure the effectiveness of the nation’s drug control efforts. Each objective further consists of two to four performance targets, the measurement of which is to determine whether the objectives have been achieved. As a result, they are primarily focused on responding to the concerns of their departments and congressional oversight and appropriations committees, with respect to the Results Act. Further, ONDCP is specifically required to design the system so that it (1) monitors consistency between the goals and objectives of drug control agencies and (2) ensures that their goals and budgets support and are fully consistent with the National Drug Control Strategy. Conclusions

ONDCP’s fiscal year 1999 budget certification process appears consistent with the requirements of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The former Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice asked us to examine the role of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in shaping the national drug control budget. In discussions with the Subcommittee staff, we specifically agreed to assess whether the process ONDCP followed to certify federal agencies’ drug control budgets for fiscal year 1999 was consistent with statutory requirements and describe the system ONDCP has developed to assess the extent to which drug control agencies and programs achieve intended results. To describe the system ONDCP has developed to assess the extent to which drug control agencies and programs achieve intended results, we interviewed officials from ONDCP and the other federal drug control agencies noted above and reviewed relevant documents provided by these agencies.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the role of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in shaping the national drug control budget that the President ultimately proposes to Congress to implement the National Drug Control Strategy, focusing on: (1) whether the process ONDCP followed to certify federal agencies' drug control budgets for fiscal year (FY) 1999 was consistent with statutory requirements; and (2) the system ONDCP has developed to assess the extent to which drug control agencies and programs achieve intended results.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the process ONDCP used to certify FY 1999 drug budgets was generally consistent with the requirements of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988; (2) ONDCP provided budget guidance to agencies and reviewed some agencies' preliminary budgets in the summer and others in the fall; (3) based on its budget reviews, ONDCP notified agencies of recommended changes to incorporate into their final budgets that were submitted to the President for approval; (4) ONDCP reviewed budgets of 14 drug control agencies specifically for certification to determine whether they were adequate to support the goals and objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy; (5) ONDCP certified all but the Department of Defense (DOD) budget; (6) DOD was not certified because DOD and ONDCP could not agree on funding levels for certain drug program initiatives; (7) later, however, DOD's budget was significantly increased following ONDCP's appeals to the Office of Management and Budget and the President; (8) ONDCP continued to monitor development of the national drug control budget during the remaining budget and congressional appropriations process; (9) to assess the extent to which agencies and programs achieve intended results, ONDCP has initiated a system known as Performance Measures of Effectiveness--a long-term effort designed to assess the effectiveness of the nation's drug control efforts; (10) although this system represents a blueprint for the first accountability in the area of drug policy, some questions remain about: (a) the availability of adequate data to measure performance; (b) how the system is to interface with the drug budget process; and (c) how agencies will link the performance expected of them by the National Strategy with the performance goals they prepare in response to the Government Performance and Results Act; and (11) ONDCP plans to continually monitor the system's operation to ensure that it is fully functional and achieving its designed purpose.