Monitoring Federal Outlays 91.1. Purpose. Cabinet departments and certain agencies will submit reports on Federal outlays to assist in the monitoring of spending and to improve Treasury Department forecasts of the Government's daily cash operating balances; borrowing requirements; and debt subject to legal limits, including trust fund investment activity. Realistic estimates, particularly for the immediate six-month period, should enable Treasury to borrow only amounts needed to finance Government activities, thus reducing interest costs and overall cash balances maintained in the Treasury. 91.2. Coverage. Each department or agency listed in Exhibit 91A will prepare a monthly outlay plan for each new fiscal year and will submit periodic reports on and revisions to that plan. Coverage of the reports will be identical to the coverage in the annual budget documents and will include outlay information for all appropriations and funds administered by the department or agency. A forecast of deposit fund activity for specific agencies may be required by OMB and/or Treasury. Affected agencies will be notified of this requirement. 91.3. Reporting requirements. OMB needs reports on Federal outlays to monitor the deficit/surplus and to assess the reliability of each agency's financial management system. Treasury uses these reports to prepare forecasts of daily cash balances, borrowing requirements, and the Federal debt, including daily trust fund investment activity. It is essential that these plans be as accurate as possible--an inability to forecast spending with reasonable accuracy can be a weakness in program and financial management. Problems of this nature need the attention of OMB and the agencies alike. Agencies will base estimates on their best current judgment of the amount to be spent by month in the period(s) covered by the report. These estimates should: (a) be consistent with the President's most recent annual budget, as amended, and with subsequent actions of the Congress, including both completed actions and those that are almost certain to be completed, and (b) reflect recent trends and expected events on a realistic basis. Between submission dates, agencies should contact OMB and Treasury whenever there are significant changes in outlay totals or patterns (such as those that may be associated with an unanticipated increase in claims for an entitlement program). Agencies should cooperate with OMB and Treasury by providing additional details as requested. All agencies are required to submit a brief summary with each outlay report explaining the assumptions used in developing the outlay plan and any unusual or special circumstances affecting the plan. The summary will, for example, enumerate expected Congressional actions that will raise or lower estimates, show the settlement dates of specific asset sale programs, discuss any other events that have caused or are expected to cause significant fluctuations in the normal outlay pattern, and specify whether they have been included or excluded from the plan. Monthly totals should be footnoted, when applicable, to identify large ($50 million or more), cash payments and receipts. The footnote should include the following: description of payment or receipt, amount(s), assumed payment date or deposit date(s), and an agency contact name and telephone number. Examples of agencies and programs for which large transactions should be footnoted are: (a) Agency for International Development: Economic support fund (b) Agriculture: Federal Crop Insurance Corp. Fund--Premium collections Commodity Credit Corp. Price Support and Related Programs--Loan disbursement or repayments Commodity Credit Corp. Export Guarantee Financing Account--Principal collections Forest Service--Payments to States (c) Defense Security Assistance Agency: Foreign military financing program (d) Interior: Bureau of Land Management--Oregon and California Grant Lands Payments in lieu of taxes Territorial and International Affairs-- Compact of Free Association Payments to U.S. Territories (e) Labor: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.--Premium collections Interest received from States on Unemployment trust fund advances (f) Treasury: Presidential Election Campaign Fund disbursements Financial Management Service--Payments to the Resolution Funding Corporation Claims, judgements, and relief acts payments Comptroller of the Currency--Assessment collections Office of Thrift Supervision--Assessment collections (g) U.S. Enrichment Corporation--Revenues 91.4. OMB and Treasury Department responsibilities. Both OMB and Treasury will review the agency outlay plans for reasonableness in the light of experience, consistency with the President's policies and objectives, enacted appropriations and other legislation, and other factors. When circumstances warrant, OMB and/or Treasury may require that revisions be made in the outlay plans. 91.5. Timing of submissions. Agencies will submit the initial report to OMB and simultaneously to the Treasury (Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary) by October 1st of each year in the format of Exhibit 91B. The report will provide monthly outlay estimates for the fiscal year that begins on that date. Updated reports are due throughout the current year, with coverage expanded to include estimates for the budget year as shown below. Estimates should be consistent with the latest published Administration estimates. However, they should reflect the most up-to-date outlay information available to the agency (i.e., congressional action or inaction, etc.) The Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government (MTS), as published, should be used as the source of actual data reported. It is imperative that actual data reflect amounts reported by the agency and recorded in the MTS. The actual data should be followed by updated monthly outlay estimates for the balance of the period(s). Reports are due to OMB (an original and one copy) and to Treasury (one copy) as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly outlay Monthly outlays Reports due by actuals required estimates required for the period for the period ---------------------------------------------------------------------- October 1st (current year). -- October thru September (Explain differences from (current year). latest public estimate.)* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One week following October thru January thru September transmittal of the budget. December (current year). (Explain differences from (current the current year amounts year). contained in the budget.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As specified by OMB. October thru April thru September (Explain differences from March (current (current year) and the current year amounts year). October through December contained in the budget.) (budget year). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As specified by OMB, based October thru June thru September on the timing of the May (current (current year) and Mid-session Review of the year). October thru March budget update (current (budget year). year). (Explain differences from current year amounts contained in the Mid-session Review of the July budget update.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *Normally, the latest public estimate will be that in the most recent Mid-session Review of the President's budget. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agencies will reconcile significant differences between previously reported estimated outlays and revised estimates or actual outlays and explain these changes in the accompanying statements. Additional updated reports may be requested at other times.