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Highway Trust Fund

Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2004
(Reissued June 30, 2005)

— Management's Discussion and Analysis —

Table of Contents | Management's Discussion and Analysis | Financial Section | Appendices

 

Financial Highlights (Reissued June 30, 2005)

The HTF's financial statements, which appear in the Financial Section of this Report, received for the second straight year an unqualified audit opinion issued by the independent accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson, LLP. Preparing these statements is part of the HTF's goal to improve financial management and provide accurate and reliable information that is useful for assessing performance and allocating resources. Management of each modal administration is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the financial information presented in the financial statements.

The financial statements and financial data presented in this report have been prepared from the accounting records of the Highway Trust Fund in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP). GAAP for Federal entities are the standards prescribed by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).

 

Overview of Financial Position

Assets. The Consolidated Balance Sheet shows the HTF had total assets of $14.7 billion at the end of FY 2004. This is a decrease of $3.6 billion (19.7 percent) from the previous year’s total assets of $18.3 billion. The decrease is primarily the result of decreases of $3.7 billion in Investments and a $0.1 billion increase in Fund Balances with Treasury.

The HTF's assets reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheet are summarized in the following table (dollars in thousands):

HTF Assets
Asset
2004 2003
Investments $10,211,852 $13,966,553
Fund Balance with Treasury   4,270,531   4,163,237
Accounts receivable, net      15,483      56,014
Property, plant and Equipment, net      47,021      46,856
Other Assets     186,272
single underline
    117,513
single underline
Total Assets $14,731,159
double underline
$18,350,173
double underline

Investments and Fund Balance with Treasury comprise 98 percent of total assets for FY's 2004 and 2003. Investments consist entirely of non-interest bearing U.S. government securities held in the HTF Corpus Account.

Pie chart showing fiscal year 2004 assets by type.D

 

Liabilities. The HTF had liabilities of $2.6 billion at the end of FY 2004, which is reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheet and summarized in the following table (dollars in thousands):

HTF Liabilities
Liability
2004 2003
Grant Liabilities $2,195,580 $2,443,591
Accounts Payable    147,621     48,363
Other Liabilities    247,385
single underline
    60,463
single underline
Total Liabilities $2,590,586
double underline
$2,552,417
double underline

The grant liabilities represent an accrual for costs incurred by grantees that have not been reimbursed by the modal administrations.

Ending Net Position. The HTF's Net Position at the end of FY 2004 on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Position was $12.1 billion, a decrease of $3.7 billion (23.4 percent) from the previous fiscal year. The lack of authorizing legislation combined with multiple extensions impacted the modes' ability to issue grants and carry out their functions.

Operating Issues in FY 2004. The revenue deposited into the HTF for FY 2004 was increased slightly as a result of legislation passed at the very end of the fiscal year that transferred additional fuel taxes (2.5 cents per gallon of gasohol) to the HTF that previously was deposited into the General Fund.

The charts below show the amount and sources of revenues for FYs 2003 and 2004. Revenues increased from $34.1 billion in FY 2003 to $34.7 billion in FY 2004.

Pie charts showing revenues by source in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.D

As noted on page 4, FRA did not receive any funds in FY 2004. As a result, the following charts do not include any amounts for FRA.

In FY 2004, there was a $5.2 billion increase in obligation authority from FY 2003 (from $37.4 billion to $42.6 billion). The following charts show the authority received by mode.

Pie charts showing the Obligation Authority received by Modal Agency in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.D

In FY 2004, obligations incurred were $38.2 billion, $1.4 billion less than in FY 2003. The lack of authorizing legislation and the incremental funding that occurred in FY 2004 were the primary reasons for the decrease. The following charts show the obligations incurred by mode.

Pie charts showing the Obligation Incurred by Modal Agency in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.D

The amount available for obligation at yearend increased from $6.1 billion in FY 2003 to $7.3 billion in FY 2004. The following charts show the amounts available for obligation by mode for each year.

Pie charts showing the Unobligated Balance by Modal Agency in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.D

The amount of unliquidated obligations at year end decreased from $43.8 billion in FY 2003 to $43.4 in FY 2004, a decrease of $400 million. This was caused in part by the late redistribution of obligation authority to the Department in the last month of FY 2004. The charts below show the unliquidated obligations by mode.

Pie charts showing the Unliquidated Obligations by Modal Agency in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.D

 

Limitation of Financial Statements

Management prepares the accompanying financial statements to report the financial position and results of operations for the Highway Trust Fund pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 31 of the United States Code section 3515(b).

While these statements have been prepared from the books and records of the HTF in accordance with the formats prescribed in OMB Bulletin 01-09, Form and Content of Agency Financial Statements, these statements are in addition to the financial reports used to monitor and control the budgetary resources that are prepared from the same books and records.

These statements should be read with the understanding that they are for a component of the U.S. Government, a sovereign entity. One implication of this is that unfunded liabilities reported in the statements cannot be liquidated without the enactment of an appropriation and ongoing operations are subject to the enactment of appropriations.

 

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