So far, there's no evidence of illegal activity in D.C. finances.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional auditors of the District of Columbia's finances have so far not uncovered any illegal fiscal activities by the district or its independent auditors, a congressional aide said.

"We have not detected anything like the housing deal," the aide said, referring to recently exposed corruption in the district's public housing program.

Rep. Julian Dixon, D-Calif., who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on the District of Columbia, plans to release preliminary findings of the audit June 15 or June 16, but may release them even later, a subcommittee aide said.

Dixon said at a May 24 hearing before the panel that the ongoing audit by the U.S. General Accounting Office and the Congressional Budget Office shows the city has consistently overspent its budget and could run out of cash within two years if it paid all of its bills on time.

Dixon also plans to mark up the district's fiscal 1994 supplemental budget and fiscal 1995 budget on June 16 or 17, the subcommittee aide said. The fiscal year begins October 1.

The auditing agencies are conducting the review at the request of Dixon and Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who chairs the House Committee on the District of Columbia. Dixon and Stark would release any findings jointly, a Stark committee aide said.

The agencies have not yet submitted a report, the Dixon subcommittee aide said. Another aide said the GAO "doesn't necessarily act in the swiftest manner."

The agencies had been expected to complete a short-term phase of the review by the end of April on various spending and revenue projections, budget practices, and past spending patterns. A second phase could take until next spring.

The review encompasses actions by the district's current and past independent auditors, including Coopers & Lybrand, Bert Smith & Co., and Arthur Andersen & Co.

Stark's committee plans its own hearings on bills sponsored by Stark and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C. Stark's bill would change the formula on which the federal payment to the district is based. Norton's bill would fix the city's huge unfunded pension liability. No dates have been set, but hearings could occur this month, a committee aide said.

The GAO/CBO findings to date will be addressed because "they would be relevant," the aide said. A Stark spokesman said that with pending health care reform and the indictment this week of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., district finances "have been pretty low on our radar scope."

The recently reconvened Rivlin Commission will not release findings of its continuing review of district finances until after the mayoral election this fall, the spokesman said.

The commission originally planned to release on July 15 a "scorecard" of whether and how well the district met 1990 commission recommendations, and to release a more in-depth review after the election. Commission chairman Richard Berendzen recently announced the panel also will defer releasing the scorecard until after the election to avoid getting caught up in politics.

It is possible Stark may similarly defer any action, the Stark spokesman said.

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