GAO LIKELY TO SHOW CERTS MORE COSTLY THAN CASH

  A study on grain certificates due out
  shortly from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) could show
  that certificates cost the government 10 to 15 pct more than
  cash outlays, administration and industry sources said.
      Analysis that the GAO has obtained from the Agriculture
  Department and the Office of Management and Budget suggests
  that certificates cost more than cash payments, a GAO official
  told Reuters.
      GAO is preparing the certificate study at the specific
  request of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), former chairman of the
  senate agriculture committee.
      The report, which will focus on the cost of certificates
  compared to cash, is scheduled to be released in mid March.
      The cost of certificates, said the GAO source, depends on
  the program's impact on the USDA loan program.
      If GAO determines that certificates encourage more loan
  entries or cause more loan forfeitures, then the net cost of
  the program would go up. However, if it is determined that
  certificates have caused the government grain stockpile to
  decrease, the cost effect of certificates would be less.
      GAO will not likely suggest whether the certificates
  program should be slowed or expanded, the GAO official said.
      But a negative report on certificates "will fuel the fire
  against certificates and weigh heavily on at least an increase
  in the certificate program," an agricultural consultant said.
      The OMB is said to be against any expansion of the program,
  while USDA remains firmly committed to it.
  

