Foreign Assistance: Reporting of Defense Articles and Services Provided through Drawdowns Needs to Be Improved
Published: 2002-09-20T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Since 1961, the President has had special statutory authority to order the "drawdown" of defense articles--such as aircraft, vehicles, various weapons, and spare parts--and services or military education and training from Department of Defense (DOD) and military service inventories and transfer them to foreign countries or international organizations. Drawdowns give the President the ability to respond to U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, such as counternarcotics efforts, peacekeeping needs, and unforeseen military and nonmilitary emergencies, by providing military assistance without first seeking additional legislative authority or appropriations from Congress. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency's reports to Congress on the costs and delivery status of drawdowns are inaccurate and incomplete. Two principal problems contribute to the agency's inability to meet the reporting requirements. First, its information system for recording drawdown data is outmoded and difficult to use--service drawdown reports are in different formats, and any conversion errors have to be manually corrected. Second, the services do not regularly provide updates to the agency on drawdown costs and deliveries, and available information sometimes does not get into the system. Drawdowns benefit the United States and foreign recipients primarily by providing the President the flexibility to address foreign policy and national security objectives quickly. Drawdowns also allow the President to provide defense articles and services to improve foreign recipients' capability to conduct military and police missions in support of U.S. foreign policy. Other benefits cited include improved military-to-military relations between the U.S. military services and the foreign recipients and expanded markets for U.S. defense firms. According to U.S. and foreign military officials, the use of drawdowns presents some concerns. Because drawdowns are used to quickly address U.S. national interests and emergencies, the costs associated with a drawdown, such as refurbishment and transportation, are not budgeted for by the services and are not reimbursed.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Since 1961, the President has had special statutory authority to order the  “drawdown” of defense articles—such as aircraft, vehicles, various  weapons, and spare parts—and services or military education and training  from Department of Defense (DOD) and military service inventories and  transfer them to foreign countries or international organizations.  Drawdowns give the President the ability to respond to U.S. foreign policy  and national security objectives, such as counternarcotics efforts,  peacekeeping needs, and unforeseen military and nonmilitary emergencies,  by providing military assistance without first seeking additional legislative  authority or appropriations from the Congress. From fiscal year 1963  through June 2002, the President signed 90 presidential determinations  authorizing the drawdown of over $3.3 billion worth of defense articles and  services.
At the President’s discretion, drawdown proposals are typically developed  in an interagency process that generally includes DOD, the National  Security Council, and the Department of State. When a drawdown is agreed  on, State prepares a justification package, including the presidential  determination for the President’s signature. Once the presidential  determination is approved, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a  component of DOD, executes the drawdown by working with the military  services to determine what specific defense articles and services will be  provided and is charged with tracking and reporting on its status.
Drawdowns have been used with greater frequency in recent years. Since  fiscal year 1990, 70 of the 90 total presidential determinations were  approved, authorizing the transfer of over $2.3 billion of defense articles  and services.  In light of the increased use of drawdowns during the 1990s,  the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 directed that  we examine the use of certain drawdown authorities.  In response, we  determined (1) whether the costs to DOD and the status of drawdowns are  reported to the Congress, as required; (2) how drawdowns benefit the  United States and foreign recipients; and (3) what concerns, if any, are  associated with these drawdowns.
To address these objectives, we analyzed relevant documents and  discussed these matters with cognizant Defense Security Cooperation  Agency, military service, and State officials in Washington, D.C. We also  selected four countries—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Jordan, and  Mexico—as case studies to analyze specific costs, benefits, and concerns  associated with drawdowns. Bosnia and Jordan represent examples of the  use of drawdowns in an emergency situation to help stabilize their  respective regions, and Colombia and Mexico are examples of U.S.  assistance in the national interest for international counternarcotics  efforts. We visited Bosnia and Jordan and met with U.S. embassy and host  country officials, including officials in the host country ministries of  defense and military services.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: The Congress has long recognized the need for the President to have  flexibility in the foreign policy area. This is reflected in sections 506 and  552 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. In addition, the  Congress has occasionally authorized the President to initiate drawdowns  for specific purposes in foreign operations appropriations acts.
Section 506(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act authorizes the President to  “drawdown” defense articles, services, and military education and training  from DOD and the military services’ inventories and provide such articles  and services to foreign countries or international organizations. Before  exercising this authority, the President must report to the Congress that an  unforeseen emergency exists requiring immediate military assistance that  cannot be met under any other law.
Section 506(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act authorizes the President to  drawdown articles and services from the inventory and resources of any  U.S. government agency and provide them to foreign countries or  international organizations in a number of nonemergency situations. As  above, before exercising this authority, the President must first report to  the Congress that any such drawdown is in the national interests of the  United States. This special authority is broad in scope, allowing the  President to use drawdowns to assist with counternarcotics efforts,  provide international disaster assistance and migration and refugee  assistance, aid prisoner-of-war and missing-in-action efforts in Southeast  Asia, supplement peacekeeping missions, and support mid- to long-term  national interests in nonemergency situations.
Section 552 of the Foreign Assistance Act authorizes the President to  provide assistance for peacekeeping operations and other programs  carried out in furtherance of U.S. national security interests. Specifically,  section 552(c)(2) authorizes the President to direct the drawdown of  commodities and services from the inventory and resources from any U.S.  agency if the President determines that an unforeseen emergency requires  the immediate provision of such assistance.
At the discretion of the President, drawdown proposals are typically  developed in an interagency process that generally includes DOD, the  National Security Council, and State but may include other executive  branch agencies. Based on the estimated price and availability of the  defense articles and services, the agencies agree on the parameters of the  drawdown and State prepares a justification package, including the  presidential determination for the President’s signature. Once the  presidential determination is approved, the Defense Security Cooperation  Agency (DSCA), a component of DOD, executes the drawdown by working  with the military services to determine what specific defense articles and  services will be provided and who will provide them. DSCA is also charged  with tracking and reporting on the drawdown status. A drawdown is  typically completed when the emergency or foreign policy goal has been  met or the dollar value of the authority has been reached.
The excess defense articles program, which authorizes the President to  transfer defense articles excess to DOD’s needs to eligible foreign countries  or international organizations, is sometimes used in conjunction with  drawdowns. Defense articles, including excess defense articles, that are  transferred under presidential determinations authorizing drawdowns  must be fully operational on delivery. The drawdown authority may be  used, if necessary, to refurbish defense articles to operational status.
In the 27 years from 1963 through 1989, the President approved 20  determinations authorizing drawdowns valued at a total of about $1 billion.  In the 13 years since 1989, the President approved 70 determinations  authorizing drawdowns valued at about $2.3 billion (see app. I). Of the 90  total drawdowns, 58 totaling about $2.1 billion were authorized under  section 506 of the Foreign Assistance Act; 15 additional drawdowns valued  at about $141.7 million were authorized under section 552. As shown in  figure 1, drawdown authorizations as a percentage of total military  assistance provided by the United States have varied considerably over the  years (see also app. II). But the increased use of drawdowns in the 1990s  represents a larger percentage of total annual military assistance than in  any other period except during the Vietnam War.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, also requires that the  President report to the Congress on military assistance, including  drawdowns, provided to foreign recipients. Specifically,  Section 506(b)(2) requires the President to keep the Congress fully and  currently informed of all military assistance provided under section 506.  This includes detailing all military assistance to a foreign country or  international organization upon delivery of any article or upon  completion of any service or education and training.
Section 655 requires the President to submit an annual report to the  Congress on the aggregate value and quantity of defense articles and  services and military education and training activities both authorized  and actually provided by the United States to each foreign recipient.
The Director of DSCA is primarily responsible for preparing these reports,  as delegated by the President through the Secretary of Defense.
section_title: DSCA Does Not Meet Congressional Reporting Requirements
paragraphs: Overall, DSCA’s reports to the Congress on the status of drawdowns are  inaccurate and incomplete. Its information system for tracking the status of  drawdowns is outmoded, and the military services do not regularly provide  DSCA updated information on the transfers they are implementing. As a  result, the Congress and the executive branch do not have accurate and up- to-date information readily available to oversee and manage the assistance  provided through drawdowns.
DSCA uses its “1000 System” as a central repository for drawdown data.  The 1000 System was designed in the late 1960s to track defense articles  and services granted under the Military Assistance Program, which was  discontinued in 1982. Although the Army, Air Force, and Navy compile data  on the cost, type, quantity, and delivery status of defense articles and  services supplied as drawdowns; each service uses a different automated  system—any updates submitted to DSCA have to be converted to the 1000  System, and any coding or conversion errors have to be manually  corrected.
In addition, the services do not regularly report this information to DSCA.  DSCA officials stated that it might take a few months to several years for  the military services to report drawdown data. A March 2002 Navy memo  regarding DSCA’s request for an update stated that the 1000 System was an  impediment to drawdown processing. A DSCA official told us that the Navy  had not provided updated information for several years. Further, although  officials at the Army Security Assistance Command said that the Army was  sending updates of drawdown data to DSCA on a monthly basis, agency  officials told us that they were not aware of the updates.
In response to specific inquiries, DSCA usually relies on its country desk  officers to work with the military services to determine the defense articles  and services provided and the associated costs to DOD and the services.  Nevertheless, we found that this information, as well as other information  that the DSCA desk officers maintain, is often not entered into the 1000  System.
Our analysis of updates provided by the services and of more detailed  information from our four case studies revealed numerous inaccuracies in  the 1000 System and DSCA’s reports to the Congress.
Four presidential determinations authorizing drawdowns totaling $17 million were not on DSCA’s list, and three presidential  determinations were incorrectly identified in the 1000 System.
For a 1993 drawdown to Israel, DSCA’s 1000 System reports that nothing  has been delivered. In information provided to us, the Army reported  that Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and services worth $272 million  were provided to Israel, but indicated that its records are not clear  whether the helicopters were provided as part of the 1993 drawdown.  However, an Army security assistance officer in Israel during 1993 told  us that the helicopter deliveries were part of the 1993 drawdown.
DSCA was required to report every 60 days on the delivery and  disposition of defense articles and services to Bosnia. In June 2001, in  its last 60-day report to the Congress, DSCA reported that $98.3 million  in defense articles and services had been provided to Bosnia. Records  provided to us by the military services indicate that DSCA did not use  actual costs in these reports.
For the 1996 drawdown to Jordan, the President authorized the transfer  of 88 M60 tanks. DSCA stated in its 1996 annual report to the Congress  that 50 tanks were authorized, but did it not report whether these tanks  were delivered or at what cost. In subsequent annual reports to the  Congress, DSCA provided no further updates on the Jordan drawdown.
According to U.S. embassy officials and the DSCA Jordan desk officer,  50 tanks were delivered in December 1996, and the remaining 38 tanks  were delivered in December 1998. As recently as July 2002, the 1000  System indicated that only 5 tanks had been delivered to Jordan at a  cost of $10.6 million. The Army reported that $15.5 million was the value  of all 88 tanks, but this figure did not include costs for refurbishment,  spare parts, and transportation.
Under a 1997 drawdown to Mexico, the President authorized the  transfer of 53 UH-1H helicopters, which was reported to the Congress.  As with Jordan, in subsequent annual reports to the Congress, DSCA  provided no further updates to the Mexico drawdown. In February 2001,  DSCA closed the drawdown, with concurrence from the services  involved, 3 years after the drawdown was completed and nearly 18  months after the helicopters had been returned to the United States.  DSCA reported the total costs as $16.1 million including $8 million for  the 53 helicopters. However, as of July 2002, the 1000 System had not  recorded the transfer, much less noted the return of the helicopters.
Appendix III presents the dollar value of deliveries reported in DSCA’s 1000  System compared with the dollar value shown in the military services’  reports for the 51 drawdowns authorized during fiscal years 1993–2001.  Overall, the 1000 System reported the delivery of about $300 million in  defense articles and services, while the military services reported $724.2 million. DSCA and the military services’ data agreed for 16  drawdowns—reporting no deliveries for 12—and differed by less than $1 million for 12 others. Of the 23 drawdowns with differences greater than  $1 million, the military services generally reported significantly higher  amounts.
section_title: Drawdowns Benefit the United States and Foreign Recipients
paragraphs: Drawdowns are an additional tool for the President to address U.S. foreign  policy and national security objectives. They allow the President to provide  military assistance to foreign recipients quickly because the defense  articles and services are not provided through regular acquisition channels.  Drawdowns also allow the United States to provide additional or improved  military capability to foreign recipients. Officials from both the U.S. and  recipient governments stated that the transfer of defense articles and  services through drawdowns helps promote military-to-military relations.  Also, DOD and State officials told us that the transfer of defense articles  under drawdowns can help expand markets for U.S. defense firms.
subsections: section_title: Drawdowns Promote U.S. Foreign Policy Goals and Help Foreign Recipients
paragraphs: According to State officials, drawdowns allow the United States to provide  assistance to foreign recipients in an emergency using DOD resources. In  particular, drawdown authority has been useful in providing humanitarian  assistance in the wake of natural disasters. For example, in response to a  1998 hurricane that struck Central America, the President determined that  a strong U.S. response to save lives and assist in reestablishing basic  infrastructure was needed. The drawdown authority allowed DOD to use  existing inventory and resources for its relief efforts.
The importance of the President’s ability to supply defense articles or  services quickly to address a regional crisis was evidenced by a 1996  drawdown to Bosnia. The United States provided defense articles and  services to the Bosnian Federation within 6 months of a July 1996  presidential determination. According to DOD and State officials, the  drawdown allowed assistance to be provided more quickly and at less cost  than other security assistance programs would have. The United States  provided 116 fully operational 155mm howitzers as excess defense articles  to help ensure the Bosnian Federation Army’s capacity to return indirect  fire if attacked, which they lacked during the conflict with the Bosnian  Serbs. The United States also provided 45 M60 tanks, 80 armored personnel  carriers, 15 UH-1H helicopters, and light arms including 46,100 M16 rifles.  These articles and related services met the force requirements for military  stabilization that were approved in the Dayton Peace Agreement and  enumerated in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe  Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control. According to DOD and State  officials, the defense articles and services provided under the drawdown  helped promote the peace and military stability of Bosnia.
The drawdown authority is also useful for providing logistical assistance to  regional operations, as illustrated in the following examples.
In a 1999 drawdown to Kosovo, the United States supplied airlift and  related services for the United Nations High Commissioner for  Refugees.
In a 1999 drawdown to East Timor, the United States provided  transportation for peacekeepers as part of a regional multilateral  operation headed by Australia.
Similarly, in a 2000 drawdown for disaster assistance in southern Africa,  the United States provided the logistical support for a South African-led  regional multilateral disaster response force.
Drawdowns are also used to support international counternarcotics  operations. During fiscal years 1996–99, the United States provided defense  articles and services through drawdowns to the Colombian and Mexican  military and national police to increase their ability to interdict the flow of  illicit narcotics to the United States. The United States provided the  Colombian Army and National Police with fully operational defense articles  including 7 C-26 aircraft, 12 UH-1H helicopters, and 9 patrol boats.  Similarly, the United States provided Mexico with 53 UH-1H helicopters  and 4 C-26 aircraft. According to State officials, although Colombia and  Mexico experienced difficulty in using these articles (Mexico eventually  returned the helicopters to the United States), the drawdown helped  improve their capability to conduct counternarcotics operations. In the  case of Colombia, the drawdown, which was implemented by State, was a  way to provide arms, ammunition, and other lethal assistance to the  Colombian National Police.
In 1996, 1998, and 1999, three separate drawdowns were intended to help  Jordan promote regional security of the Middle East. The drawdowns were  initiated after Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1995 and as a  result of Jordan’s subsequent role in the Wye River Peace Conference. The  United States provided Jordan with 88 M60 tanks, 18 UH-1H helicopters, 38  antitank armored personnel carriers, a C-130 aircraft, a rescue boat and 2  personnel boats, 18 8-inch howitzers, and 302 air-to-air missiles. According  to DOD and State officials, the defense articles that were transferred  helped Jordan secure its borders.
section_title: Drawdowns Benefit the United States in Other Ways
paragraphs: Drawdowns can help foster better military-to-military relations between  the United States and foreign recipients. According to DOD and State  officials, the current U.S. military-to-military relationship with Jordan is  excellent, in part because of the transfer of articles and services through  drawdowns. U.S. officials cited as evidence Jordan’s participation in  peacekeeping operations in East Timor, Haiti, and Sierra Leone. More  recently in Afghanistan, the Jordanian Armed Forces participated in  demining operations and set up a field hospital that has treated over 30,000  patients, including U.S. soldiers. DOD officials also noted that U.S.– Jordanian training exercises resulted in the U.S. Marine Corps being better  prepared to operate in Afghanistan.
According to State officials, the transfer of defense articles under  drawdowns and excess defense articles help to expand markets for U.S.  defense firms. For example, the Jordanian Army signed a $38 million  contract with a U.S. defense firm to refit Jordan’s M60 tanks, including the  88 tanks transferred under a 1996 drawdown, with a new 120mm gun.  Jordan plans to develop its defense industrial base around this capability  and make this service available to other countries in the Middle East.
section_title: Drawdowns Present Some Concerns for the United States and Foreign Recipients
paragraphs: We found two major concerns in the current use of drawdowns that may  limit the benefits of the program. The U.S. military services are not being  reimbursed for the costs associated with a drawdown, and the countries  that receive defense articles through drawdowns often do not have the  resources to maintain and operate them.
subsections: section_title: Military Services Are Not Being Reimbursed for Costs Associated with Drawdowns
paragraphs: According to DOD and military service officials, the services are not  reimbursed for the defense articles provided or the associated costs of  drawdowns, and the articles are usually not replaced. Section 506(d) of the  Foreign Assistance Act authorizes the appropriation of funds to the  President to reimburse the services for the costs associated with executing  drawdowns. However, since 1979, the President has not requested such  reimbursements.
The military services can incur six types of costs when executing a  drawdown—(1) the value of the defense articles provided including  aircraft, vehicles, weapons and ammunition, or other major end items; (2)  the repair or refurbishment of these items; (3) spare parts and tools; (4)  training; (5) packing, crating, handling, and transportation; and (6)  administrative costs. The cost of defense articles charged against a  drawdown is a depreciated value and not necessarily the replacement cost.  The other costs of a drawdown are typically paid out of a service’s  operations and maintenance account and are not budgeted or planned for  in advance. In effect, this means that the services have less operations and  maintenance funding for other items in their inventories.
Information provided by the services shows that unreimbursed costs  associated with drawdowns have totaled about $724.2 million since 1993.  The Army reported about $557 million in unreimbursed costs, and the Air  Force and Navy reported $69.4 million and $97.8 million, respectively. Case  by case, unreimbursed costs ranged from less than $100 to approximately  $87.2 million. A large proportion of these costs were for refurbishing the  defense articles, providing spare parts and support equipment, and  transporting the articles. For example, the Army reported that it spent  approximately $31.4 million from its operations and maintenance account  to refurbish and deliver $55.8 million worth of articles for the 1996  drawdown to Bosnia. Similarly, the Army spent $23.8 million for spare parts  and transportation from its operations and maintenance account on  $51.5 million worth of articles for the 1996 drawdown to Jordan. However,  this figure did not include refurbishment.
Numerous DOD and service officials stated that the unreimbursed costs  associated with a drawdown negatively affect the readiness of the U.S.  military services. However, these officials could not provide any examples  of programs forgone or specific deficiencies in unit readiness. In 1996, we  reported that Army operations and maintenance costs exceeded funding  for contingency operations as a result, in part, of Army expenditures on the  1996 drawdown to Bosnia. In addition,   A July 1996 memorandum from the Chief of Staff of the Army to the  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that drawdowns affect the  Army’s ability to respond to contingencies. It also stated that defense  articles for future drawdowns would have to be taken from war reserve  stocks or from reserve components.
In other documents since 1996, the Army characterized the unbudgeted  expenditures from operations and maintenance accounts in support of  drawdowns as a drain on its readiness, training, transformation  activities, and quality-of-life funds and as a long-term risk to the stability  of Army investments.
Furthermore, in 2000, the military services reported to DSCA on the effect  on readiness of drawdowns for counternarcotics efforts. Generally, the  services characterized the effect as dollars spent on unplanned  contingencies and, therefore, not available to support other requirements.  In their responses to DSCA,  The Army stated that it expected readiness to be adversely affected by  the diversion of $8 million worth of Blackhawk helicopter spare parts  for Colombia, but it did not say whether any specific helicopter unit  would be affected. Subsequently, the Joint Staff directed the Army to  provide the parts to Colombia under a 1999 drawdown.
The Air Force noted that it would need to replace several utility vehicles  transferred under drawdown authority, but it did not specify when or at  what cost these vehicles would be replaced or the effect on readiness of  no longer having the vehicles.
In 1985, we reported that even if DOD and the military services were  reimbursed for the costs associated with drawdowns, full replacement was  unlikely, if not impossible. This is because, among other reasons, the  replacement cost of an article may have increased more than the  depreciated value charged against the drawdown or been replaced by a  newer (and more expensive) item.
section_title: Foreign Recipients Have Difficulty Maintaining Defense Articles
paragraphs: According to DOD officials, drawdowns are successful over the long term  only if the foreign recipient has the ability to support the defense articles or  if the United States provides additional funding for maintenance.  Drawdowns typically provide for 1 or 2 years of essential spare parts for  aircraft, vehicles, and weapons, but many recipients do not have the  resources to support the defense articles after that. In addition, because  defense articles delivered under drawdowns are often older articles, the  spare parts and tools needed to maintain them may not be readily available.  Consequently, the recipients’ ability to conduct military or police missions  in support of U.S. foreign policy diminishes as vehicles and weapons break  down and as parts for these older defense articles become more difficult to  obtain. Each of our case studies provided examples of problems with the  long-term sustainability of the defense articles provided through  drawdowns.
Bosnia. According to officials from the Bosnian Federation Ministry of  Defense and DOD, the Bosnian Federation Army does not have enough of  its own funds, and does not receive enough assistance from the United  States, to maintain the vehicles and weapons it received in the 1996  drawdown. Bosnia has received less than $6 million per year in financing  since 1996 to support the defense articles. However, Bosnian Federation  Ministry of Defense officials stated that they need approximately  $10 million per year just for spare parts and fuel. These officials noted that,  as of May 2002, the readiness of the Federation units had significantly  deteriorated and that the operational rates were below 35 percent for the  helicopters and below 60 percent for the tanks.
Colombia. In 1998, we reported that a 1996 counternarcotics drawdown to  Colombia was hastily developed and did not consider sufficient  information on specific Colombian requirements—including Colombia’s  ability to operate and maintain the articles. For example, 2 months after  Colombia received 12 UH-1H helicopters, the Colombian National Police  reported that only 2 were operational. The U.S. embassy estimated the cost  of the repairs at about $1.2 million. As part of the same drawdown, the  United States transferred 5 C-26 aircraft to conduct counternarcotics  surveillance missions. According to U.S. embassy officials, the United  States spent at least an additional $3 million to modify each aircraft to  perform the surveillance missions, and it costs at least $1 million annually  to operate and maintain each aircraft.
Mexico. In 1996 and 1997, the United States provided the Mexican military  with 73 UH-1H helicopters—20 from a 1996 excess defense articles transfer  and 53 from a 1997 drawdown—and 2 years of spare parts to assist Mexico  in its counternarcotics efforts. As we reported in 1998, the usefulness of the  U.S.-provided helicopters was limited because the helicopters were  inappropriate for some counternarcotics missions and lacked adequate logistical support. At the time, U.S. embassy officials were concerned that  once the U.S.-provided support had been used, the Mexican military would  not provide the additional support—estimated at $25 million per year for  the UH-1H fleet—because of budgetary constraints. In March 1999, 72 UH-1H helicopters (one crashed) were grounded because of overuse and  airworthiness concerns. Shortly thereafter, Mexico transferred the 72  helicopters back to the United States for repair and ended its involvement  in the helicopter program.
Jordan. Although Jordan has allocated $16 million of U.S. aid per year for  sustainment and modernization since 2000, it cannot fully use all of the  defense articles it has received through drawdowns. For example, the  Jordanian Air Force cannot get all the necessary spare parts from DOD’s  logistics system for its UH-1H’s helicopters; as of May 2002, only 20 of 36  helicopters were operational. In addition, Jordan does not have funds to  purchase additional munitions for some of the weapons it received from  the drawdowns. As a result, the Jordanian Army and Air Force have never  test fired the air-to-air missiles or the antitank missiles it received.  Furthermore, according to U.S. military officials in Jordan, the shelf life of  some of the other munitions and light weapons ammunition used for  training purposes may be expiring, and Jordan does not have the funds to  replace them.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: Drawdowns give the President the ability to provide defense articles,  training, and services to foreign countries and international organizations  without first seeking specific appropriations from the Congress. In making  this accommodation, the Congress has required that the President regularly  report on the use of these special authorities. However, DSCA’s system for  collecting information on the status of drawdowns is outmoded and does  not readily permit DSCA to meet the reporting requirements to the  Congress. While DSCA can respond to ad hoc inquiries about specific  drawdowns, a way to systematically track and accurately report on the  status of drawdowns does not currently exist. As a result, neither the  Congress nor the executive branch has complete and accurate information  about the status of defense articles and services provided to foreign  recipients through drawdowns. In light of the increased use of drawdowns  since 1990, the need for such information has increased accordingly.
section_title: Recommendation for Executive Action
paragraphs: To help ensure that the Congress has accurate and complete information  on the use of drawdowns, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense, in  consultation with the Director of DSCA and the Secretaries of the military  services, develop a system that will enable DSCA to report to the Congress  on the cost, type, quantity, and delivery status of defense articles and  services transferred to foreign recipients through drawdowns, as required.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: DOD provided written comments on a draft of this report (see app. IV). The  Department of State had no comments.
DOD concurred with our recommendation, but stated that DSCA is  dependent on the military services for specific drawdown cost and delivery  information and is not funded to support this administrative reporting  requirement. We note that the Secretary of Defense has the authority to  require regular and timely reporting by the services and believe that DOD  should provide DSCA the necessary resources to fully implement our  recommendation. DSCA also provided certain technical clarifications that  we have incorporated as appropriate.
section_title: Scope and Methodology
paragraphs: Overall, to examine the use of drawdown authorities, we focused on the  special authorities granting the President the ability to provide military  assistance in emergency situations and in the U.S. national interests for the  purposes of international counternarcotics control. We selected four  countries—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Jordan, and Mexico—as case  studies to analyze specific costs, benefits, and problems associated with  the drawdowns. Bosnia and Jordan represent examples of the use of  drawdowns in an emergency situation to help stabilize their respective  regions, and Colombia and Mexico represent examples of U.S. assistance in  the national interest for counternarcotics efforts.
To determine whether the costs to DOD and the status of drawdowns are  reported to the Congress, as required, we analyzed relevant DSCA and  military services’ reports and documentation and addressed this issue with  cognizant DSCA, military services, and State officials. Specifically, we   compared DSCA’s list of presidential determinations authorizing  drawdowns to presidential determinations published in the Federal  Register and drawdown reports from the military services;   analyzed DSCA’s cost and delivery data for the drawdowns from fiscal  years 1993–2001 by comparing it with data collected from the military  services; and   compared information that we obtained from the DSCA country desk  officers with information from U.S. embassy officials in the case study  countries to determine the status of specific drawdowns, including  deliveries and costs.
We also reviewed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, to  determine the relevant reporting requirements.
To determine how the drawdowns benefit the United States and foreign  recipients and what concerns, if any, are associated with the programs, we  focused primarily on the four case study countries. We analyzed relevant  DSCA, military services, and State documentation. We visited Bosnia and  Jordan and met with U.S. embassy and host country officials, including  officials in the host country ministries of defense and military services, and  reviewed relevant documentation. We met with the cognizant officials of  the unified military commands for Bosnia, Colombia, and Jordan. In  Washington, D.C., we met with DSCA country desk officers and officials  from DSCA’s Comptroller’s Office and General Counsel’s Office; the U.S.  military service’s respective security assistance offices; and the Office of  the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy. We also  met with cognizant officials in the Department of State’s Bureau for  Political and Military Affairs and the Bureau for International Narcotics and  Law Enforcement Affairs.
We conducted our work between November 2001 and August 2002 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
We will send copies of this report to the interested congressional  committees and the Secretaries of Defense and State. We will also make  copies available to others upon request. In addition, this report will be  available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please call  me at (202) 512-4268 or contact me at FordJ@gao.gov. An additional GAO  contact and staff acknowledgments are listed in appendix V.
section_title: Drawdown Authorizations, Fiscal Year 1961— June 30, 2002
paragraphs: Table 1 lists the 90 presidential determinations that have authorized $3.3 billion in drawdowns since fiscal year 1963. The first drawdown  authorized military assistance for India; the most recent authorized  counterterrorism assistance for the Philippines in June 2002. Over the  years, over 55 countries and other organizations such as the United Nations  have been authorized U.S. military assistance through drawdowns.
Israel was authorized to receive the most military assistance with nine  drawdowns totaling approximately $923 million during the early and mid- 1990s. South Vietnam was second with drawdown authority totaling $375 million under two presidential determinations in 1965 and 1966.  Cambodia was third with drawdown authority totaling $325 million under  presidential determinations in 1974 and 1975.
The frequency of presidential determinations has increased since 1990.  During fiscal years 1961–89, 20 presidential determinations authorized a  total of about $1 billion in drawdowns. Since 1990, 70 presidential  determinations authorized $2.3 billion in drawdowns.
As shown in table 2, 58 drawdowns totaling approximately $2.1 billion were  authorized under section 506 of the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows  the President to authorize assistance for unforeseen military emergencies,  counternarcotics, counterterrorism, and disaster relief. Of the remaining 32  drawdowns, 16 drawdowns totaling approximately $1.1 billion were  authorized under various foreign operations acts to support activities in the  national interest, including efforts to locate servicemen listed as prisoners  of war and missing in action in Southeast Asia; 15 drawdowns totaling  $141.7 million were authorized specifically for peacekeeping-related  operations (section 552 of the Foreign Assistance Act); and 1 drawdown  totaling $5 million was authorized under the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 for  training Iraqi opposition organizations.
section_title: Drawdown Authorizations as a Percentage of Total U.S. Military Assistance, Fiscal Years 1961–2001
paragraphs: Table 3 illustrates that drawdown authorizations have been used more  frequently in the 1990s, as shown in appendix I. It also shows that the  military assistance authorized by presidential determinations has more  than tripled as a percentage of overall U.S. military assistance, averaging  over 4.6 percent a year during fiscal years 1990–2001 compared with 1.3  percent for the previous 29 years (fiscal years 1961–89). At least one  drawdown has been authorized every year since fiscal year 1986, with 10  each in fiscal years 1996 and 1999. In 2002, five drawdowns had been  authorized through June—primarily for counterterrorism purposes.
section_title: Comparison of DSCA and Military Services’ Data on Drawdown Transfers, Fiscal Years 1993–2001
paragraphs: We analyzed cost and delivery data from DSCA’s 1000 System and  compared it with similar information provided by the services for the 51  drawdowns authorized during fiscal years 1993–2001. Table 4 illustrates the  differences in the reported value of defense articles and services delivered.
Overall, the 1000 System reported about $300 million in drawdown  transfers while the military services reported $724.2 million. Of the 51  drawdowns, DSCA and the military services’ data agreed for 16, including  12 with no reported deliveries, and differed by less than $1 million for 12  others. Of the 23 drawdowns with differences greater than $1 million, the  military services generally reported significantly higher amounts. We did  not attempt to determine the reasons for the differences in reporting. For  example,  DSCA reported no costs for a drawdown to Israel (93-17) while the  Army reported $272 million. However, Army officials noted that they  were not certain if the transfers it reported were specifically for the  drawdown.
DSCA reported costs of $5.8 million for a drawdown to Mexico (97-09)  while the services reported $19.5 million.
DSCA reported costs of $16.5 million for a drawdown to Jordan (98-19)  while the services reported $33 million.
section_title: Comments from the Department of Defense
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the above named individual, Allen Fleener, Ronald Hughes,  James Strus, and Jason Venner made key contributions to this report. Lynn  Cothern, Ernie Jackson, and Reid Lowe provided technical assistance.
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