This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-04-915 
entitled 'Military Operations: Fiscal Year 2004 Costs for the Global 
War on Terrorism Will Exceed Supplemental, Requiring DOD to Shift Funds 
from Other Uses' which was released on July 21, 2004.

This text file was formatted by the U.S. Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as part 
of a longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. Every 
attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data integrity of 
the original printed product. Accessibility features, such as text 
descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes placed at the 
end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, are provided 
but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format of the printed 
version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an exact electronic 
replica of the printed version. We welcome your feedback. Please E-mail 
your comments regarding the contents or accessibility features of this 
document to Webmaster@gao.gov.

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright 
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed 
in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work 
may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the 
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this 
material separately.

Report to Congressional Committees: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

GAO: 

July 2004: 

Military Operations: 

Fiscal Year 2004 Costs for the Global War on Terrorism Will Exceed 
Supplemental, Requiring DOD to Shift Funds from Other Uses: 

GAO-04-915: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-04-915, a report to congressional committees 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

To support the Global War on Terrorism in fiscal year 2004, the 
Congress appropriated $65 billion to the Department of Defense (DOD) in 
an emergency supplemental appropriations act. To assist the Congress in 
its oversight role, GAO reviewed (1) the adequacy of current funding 
for fiscal year 2004 war-related activities and (2) actions DOD is 
undertaking to cover anticipated shortfalls, if any. Based on the body 
of work GAO has done on the cost of contingency operations, GAO is also 
making observations on efforts to require greater accountability to the 
Congress on the use of funds appropriated to DOD for contingency 
operations. 

What GAO Found: 

GAO’s analysis of reported obligations for the first seven months of 
fiscal year 2004 through April 2004 and the military services’ 
forecasts as of June 2004 of their likely costs for the Global War on 
Terrorism for operation and maintenance and military personnel through 
the end of fiscal year 2004 suggests that anticipated costs will exceed 
the supplemental funding provided for the war by about $12.3 billion 
for the current fiscal year. The following table shows the shortfall 
and surplus for each service.

Service Forecasts of GWOT Funding Shortfalls and Surpluses in Operation 
and Maintenance and Military Personnel Appropriations Accounts as of 
June 2004

[See PDF for image]

[End of table]

DOD and the services are taking a variety of actions to cover 
anticipated shortfalls in their war-related funding. These actions 
include taking steps to reduce costs, transferring funds among 
appropriations accounts, and deferring some planned activities to use 
those funds to support the war. Also, DOD plans to ask the Congress for 
additional transfer authority, which would give it sufficient authority 
to move funds from one service to another and get funds to the 
operation and maintenance accounts that have the greatest shortfalls. 
The deferral of activities planned for fiscal year 2004 adds to the 
requirements that will need to be funded in fiscal year 2005 and 
potentially later years and could result in a “bow wave” effect in 
future fiscal years.

GAO’s past work has shown that current cost reporting includes large 
amounts of funds that have been reported as obligated in miscellaneous 
categories and thus provide little insight on how those funds have been 
spent. This is likely to result in reduced transparency and 
accountability to the Congress and the American people. Recent 
congressional actions have signaled the Congress’ intent to require 
greater accountability regarding the use of GWOT funds. For example, in 
action on the President’s $25 billion request for an Iraqi Freedom Fund 
Contingent Emergency Reserve in fiscal year 2005, the House Committee 
on Appropriations included provisions in its bill for cost reporting 
related to the use of these funds. But additional actions are necessary.

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense revise DOD cost reporting 
guidance so that large amounts of obligations are not shown in 
"miscellaneous" categories. To better assess the adequacy of previously 
provided funding, the Congress may wish to direct DOD to report on the 
adequacy of funding for the war on terrorism. DOD did not provide 
comments by the date requested. GAO discussed its analysis and proposed 
recommendation with DOD and service representatives, who agreed that 
there needed to be greater detail in the miscellaneous cost reporting 
categories. The representatives did not object to providing the 
Congress with information on the adequacy of funding.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-915.

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on 
the link above. For more information, contact Neal Curtin at (757) 
552-8100 or curtinn@gao.gov.

[End of section]

Contents: 

Letter: 

Results in Brief: 

Background: 

Fiscal Year 2004 GWOT Costs Are Exceeding Supplemental Funding: 

DOD Plans a Variety of Actions to Cover the Military Services' 
Shortfalls of GWOT Funds: 

Congressional Efforts to Improve Accountability of GWOT Funds: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendation for Executive Action: 

Matter for Congressional Consideration: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Service Forecasts of GWOT Funding Shortfalls and Surpluses in 
Operation and Maintenance and Military Personnel Appropriations 
Accounts as of June 2004: 

Table 2: Operation and Maintenance and Military Personnel Funds 
Appropriated for DOD during Fiscal Year 2004 for the Global War on 
Terrorism: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: Location of DOD's Fiscal Year 2004 Contingency Operations: 

Figure 2: Reported Obligations of GWOT Operation and Maintenance Funds 
through April 2004: 

Figure 3: Reported Obligations of GWOT Military Personnel Funds through 
April 2004: 

Figure 4: Global War on Terrorism Operating Support Reported 
Obligations for Fiscal Year 2003: 

Abbreviations: 

DOD: Department of Defense: 

GWOT: Global War on Terrorism: 

LOGCAP: Logistics Civil Augmentation Program: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

Washington, DC 20548: 

July 21, 2004: 

Congressional Committees: 

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United 
States began military operations to combat terrorism both in the United 
States and overseas. Military operations to defend the United States 
from terrorist attacks are known as Operation Noble Eagle. Overseas 
operations to combat terrorism are known as Operation Enduring Freedom 
and have taken place principally in Afghanistan. In March 2003, the 
United States began Operation Iraqi Freedom to change the government in 
Iraq. Together, these three operations are known as the Global War on 
Terrorism (GWOT). To support GWOT operations in fiscal year 2004, the 
Congress appropriated $65 billion to the Department of Defense (DOD) in 
an emergency supplemental appropriation.[Footnote 1] The 
administration had requested that amount to cover about $51 billion for 
ongoing military operations in Iraq, over $10 billion for U.S. forces 
in Afghanistan, and about $3.6 billion for homeland defense and support 
to allies.

To assist the Congress in its oversight role, we reviewed (1) the 
adequacy of current funding for fiscal year 2004 GWOT-related 
activities and (2) actions DOD is undertaking to cover any anticipated 
shortfalls. Based on the body of work we have done on the cost of 
contingency operations, we are also making observations on efforts to 
require greater accountability to the Congress on the use of 
supplemental funds appropriated to DOD for contingency operations. We 
provided a draft of this report to your offices for deliberations on 
fiscal year 2005 defense bills.

To accomplish this review, we obtained the most recently available DOD 
data on the services' reported obligations of funds in fiscal year 2004 
in support of GWOT and compared the data to available funding detailed 
in appropriations legislation. Obligations are incurred through actions 
such as orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, or similar 
transactions made by federal agencies during a given period that will 
require payments during the same or a future period.[Footnote 2] DOD's 
financial systems capture the obligation of funds. To identify DOD's 
fiscal year 2004 GWOT-reported obligations, we used DOD's Consolidated 
Department of Defense Terrorist Response Cost Reports, which report the 
monthly and cumulative GWOT obligations, and analyzed the data. 
Although we did not validate the financial systems or data that the 
Defense Finance and Accounting Service uses to produce these 
consolidated cost reports, we did discuss the data presented in these 
reports with DOD and service representatives and agreed that for the 
limited scope of this review, the consolidated reports provided the 
best available data. We also did not verify whether reported 
obligations were actually in support of GWOT. However, we are beginning 
a separate review of the obligations accumulated through the various 
sources of information used by the services, including the method by 
which the Defense Finance and Accounting Service acquires and 
consolidates the data into the cost report and whether the reported 
obligations support the war.

We interviewed DOD and service representatives responsible for 
preparing budgets and estimating costs to obtain their forecasts of 
fiscal year 2004 funding needs as contained in their midyear budget 
reviews that they presented to the Office of the Under Secretary of 
Defense (Comptroller) and subsequent updates as of June 2004. We also 
interviewed resource management representatives from some of the major 
commands involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom. We focused our work on 
the obligation of funds appropriated for operation and maintenance and 
military personnel, for both active and reserve forces, because they 
represented the large majority of funds obligated in fiscal year 2004 
through April 2004. In developing observations on how to improve 
accountability over contingency funds, we drew upon the body of work we 
have done over the past decade on the cost of contingency operations. 
The Congress was in the final stages of completing action on the fiscal 
year 2005 defense appropriations bill as we were finalizing our report. 
A detailed discussion of our scope and methodology is contained in 
appendix I.

We performed our work from January through June 2004 in accordance with 
generally accepted government auditing standards.

Results in Brief: 

Our analysis of reported obligations for the first half of fiscal year 
2004 and the military services' forecasts as of June 2004 of their 
likely costs for GWOT for operation and maintenance and military 
personnel through the end of fiscal year 2004 suggests that anticipated 
costs will exceed the supplemental funding provided for GWOT by a net 
of about $8.312.3 billion as of June 2004. Each of the services 
forecasts a shortfall compared to their GWOT operation and maintenance 
appropriations. Two of the services--the Army and the Air Force--
forecast a surplus in their military personnel GWOT funding and the 
Navy and the Marine Corps forecast a shortfall. Our comparison of 
the percentage of fiscal year 2004 GWOT operation and maintenance funds 
obligated by the services through the first seven months of the fiscal 
year (i.e., October 1, 2003, through April 2004, the latest month for 
which obligation data are available for all the services) showed that 
the military services had obligated more than 60 percent of their 
available appropriations. For example, the percentage of GWOT operation 
and maintenance funds that were obligated as of April 30, 2004, ranged 
from a low of nearly 61 percent for the Air Force to a high of over 
77 percent for the Marine Corps. The military services forecast that 
their GWOT operational needs will exceed their supplemental GWOT 
operation and maintenance funding, with the Army forecasting a 
$10.2 billion shortfall and the Air Force forecasting a $1.5 billion 
shortfall.

DOD and the services are taking a variety of actions to cover 
anticipated shortfalls in their GWOT accounts. These actions include 
taking steps to reduce costs, transferring funds among appropriations 
accounts, and deferring planned peacetime activities to use those funds 
to support GWOT. The Army has increased management's review of planned 
activities to ensure that they are necessary, is planning to defer 
activities such as refurbishment of equipment used in Operation Iraqi 
Freedom to fiscal year 2005 and beyond to reduce fiscal year 2004 
costs, is seeking transfers of funds from the other services, and has 
received almost $1 billion in surpluses from the transportation working 
capital fund. Both the Air Force and the Navy plan to decrease 
peacetime flying hours in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, delay 
sending equipment into depots for repair, and defer facility 
sustainment and restoration modernization projects among other actions 
within their overall operation and maintenance accounts to make funds 
available for GWOT needs. The Marine Corps plans to seek the transfer 
of funds from Navy investment accounts to cover its shortfall. However, 
there are statutory dollar limits on the amount of funds DOD can 
transfer and, according to a DOD representative, as of June 18, 2004, 
DOD had used up most of its transfer authority. According to this 
representative, DOD plans to ask the Congress for additional transfer 
authority, which would give DOD sufficient authority to move funds from 
one military service to another and get funds to the operation and 
maintenance accounts that have the greatest shortfalls. Finally, the 
deferral of activities planned for fiscal year 2004 adds to the 
requirements that will need to be funded in fiscal year 2005 and 
potentially later years and could result in a "bow wave" effect in 
future fiscal years.

Our past work has shown that current cost reporting includes large 
amounts of funds that have been reported as obligated in miscellaneous 
categories and thus provide little insight on how those funds have been 
spent. For example, iFor example, in our report on fiscal year 2003 
funding, we pointed out that almost 35 percent of obligations reported 
in the operation and maintenance account were in "other supplies and 
equipment" and "other services and miscellaneous contracts." This may 
result in reduced transparency and accountability to the Congress and 
the American people. Our work has also discussed the difficulty of 
accurately budgeting for annual funding needs and the resulting 
existence of both funding shortfalls and surpluses, which at times have 
been spent on noncontingency related activities. Recent congressional 
committee actions have signaled the Congress' intent to require greater 
accountability regarding the use of GWOT funds. For example, in action 
on the President's $25 billion request for the Iraqi Freedom Fund 
Contingent Emergency Reserve in fiscal year 2005, the House Committee 
on Appropriations included provisions in its bill requiring DOD to 
provide more accountability related to the use of these funds, but 
additional actions are necessary.

To improve accountability over the use of GWOT funds, we are 
recommending that the department provide more detail in its cost 
reporting on contingency operations,. and wWe also raise a matter for 
the Congress' consideration regarding additional DOD reporting the 
Congress could require to keep its members better informed on how the 
funds are usedthe adequacy of funding.

DOD did not provide comments by the date requested. However, we did 
discuss our analysis and proposed recommendation with DOD and service 
representatives, who agreed that there needed to be greater detail in 
the miscellaneous cost reporting categories. The representatives did 
not object to providing the Congress with information on the adequacy 
of GWOT funding. DOD provided technical comments and we have 
incorporated them as appropriate.

Background: 

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States 
has undertaken military operations worldwide to fight terrorism as part 
of GWOT. To pay for the incremental costs[Footnote 3] of GWOT, the 
Congress has provided over $165 billion in appropriations for military 
operations through fiscal year 2004. This amount includes funds for 
operations in Afghanistan and more recently Iraq, homeland security, 
and other global counterterrorism military and intelligence operations. 
Figure 1 shows the location of DOD's major operations in support of 
GWOT during fiscal year 2004.

Figure 1: Location of DOD's Fiscal Year 2004 Contingency Operations: 

[See PDF for image]

[End of figure]

Most of the costs associated with GWOT fall into two accounts--
operation and maintenance and military personnel. Operation and 
maintenance account funds obligated in support of GWOT are used for a 
variety of purposes, including transportation of personnel, goods, and 
equipment; unit operating support costs; and intelligence, 
communications, and logistics support. Military personnel funds 
obligated in support of GWOT cover the pay and allowances of mobilized 
reservists as well as special payments or allowances for all qualifying 
military personnel, both active and reserve, such as Imminent Danger 
Pay and Family Separation Allowance.

Fiscal Year 2004 GWOT Costs Are Exceeding Supplemental Funding: 

Our analysis of the military services' reported obligations for the 
first seven months of fiscal year 2004 and the services' forecasts as 
of June 2004 of full fiscal year costs suggests the services' combined 
operation and maintenance costs could exceed supplemental GWOT funding 
by about $13 billion. At the same time, the services' forecasts suggest 
the Army and the Air Force will have some surplus military personnel 
funds while the Navy and the Marine Corps will have a small shortfall. 
Using the surplus military personnel funds to offset some of the 
operation and maintenance shortfalls could result in a net shortfall of 
about $12.3 billion. Table 1 shows the services' forecasts.

Table 1: Service Forecasts of GWOT Funding Shortfalls and Surpluses in 
Operation and Maintenance and Military Personnel Appropriations 
Accounts as of June 2004: 

Service: Army; 
Operation and maintenance: ($10.2); 
Military personnel: $0.8; 
Net total by service: ($9.4).

Service: Air Force; 
Operation and maintenance: ($1.5); 
Military personnel: $0.1; 
Net total by service: ($1.4).

Service: Navy; 
Operation and maintenance: ($0.9); 
Military personnel: ($0.21); 
Net total by service: ($1.0).

Service: Marine Corps; 
Operation and maintenance: ($0.4); 
Military personnel: ($0.1); 
Net total by service: ($0.5).

Total; 
Operation and maintenance: ($13.0); 
Military personnel: $0.7; 
Net total by service: ($12.3). 

Source: Developed by GAO from service data.

Note: Shortfalls in parentheses. We did not audit the data used.

[End of table]

Our analysis suggests that the services will require additional funding 
to satisfy operation and maintenance expenses and in some cases 
military personnel expenses. The services, in concert with the Office 
of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), plan to take a variety 
of actions to cover forecasted shortfalls.

Fiscal Year 2004 Funds Appropriated for the Global War on Terrorism: 

To support GWOT in fiscal year 2004, the Congress appropriated 
$65 billion to DOD in an emergency supplemental appropriation.[Footnote 
4] Of this $65 billion, about $63 billion was appropriated directly to 
the services' and other defense agencies' appropriations accounts and 
about $2 billion to a transfer fund called the Iraqi Freedom 
Fund.[Footnote 5] Of the $63 billion, $5.3 billion was designated for 
classified programs, which we did not review, $3.07 billion was for 
procurement, $500 million was for military construction, $624 million 
was for the working capital funds, and $672 million was for other 
appropriations. Table 2 shows the operation and maintenance and the 
military personnel appropriations provided to the services and DOD-wide 
agencies for GWOT, exclusive of the amounts designated for classified 
program[Footnote 6]s.: 

Table 2: Operation and Maintenance and Military Personnel Funds 
Appropriated for DOD during Fiscal Year 2004 for the Global War on 
Terrorism: 

Dollars in billions.

Operation and maintenance; 
Army: $24.095; 
Navy: $1.866; 
Air Force: $5.809; 
Marine Corps: $1.373; 
DOD-wide agencies: $3.884; 
Total: $37.027.

Military personnel; 
Army: $12.859; 
Navy: $0.816; 
Air Force: $3.385; 
Marine Corps: $0.910; 
DOD-wide agencies: $0; 
Total: $17.970.

Total; 
Army: $36.954; 
Navy: $2.682; 
Air Force: $9.194; 
Marine Corps: $2.283; 
DOD-wide agencies: $3.884; 
Total: $54.997. 

Source: P.L. 108-106.

Note: The dollar figures cited above include appropriations received by 
both the active and the reserve components for each service. Data 
include transfers from the Iraqi Freedom Fund as of April 2004--$180 
million and $142 million, respectively, to the Army and Marine Corps 
operation and maintenance accounts and $157 million to the Marine 
Corps' military personnel account.

[End of table]

We recognize that estimating the costs of ongoing military operations 
is difficult because operational requirements can differ substantially 
from what was assumed in developing budget estimates. For example, 
according to Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) 
representatives, in developing the President's fiscal year 2004 GWOT 
budget request, DOD assumed, among other things, that the number of 
military personnel would decline from a wartime high of 130,000 to 
99,000 by the end of fiscal year 2004, that it would be able to make 
greater use of sealift as opposed to more expensive airlift, and that 
military units replacing those involved in the invasion of Iraq would 
have fewer armored vehicles than the units they replaced. Conditions in 
Iraq have prevented much of this from happening, and costs have not 
decreased as anticipated. This includes having higher numbers of troops 
in Iraq, with DOD stating that it plans to keep troop levels at 138,000 
for the foreseeable future.

Funding for GWOT Operation and Maintenance in Fiscal Year 2004 Is Not 
Likely to Be Sufficient: 

Our analysis of reported obligations for the first seven months of 
fiscal year 2004 and the military services' forecasts as of June 2004 
of their likely costs for GWOT through the end of fiscal year 2004 
suggest that anticipated costs will exceed the supplemental funding 
provided for GWOT. Our comparison of the percentage of fiscal year 2004 
GWOT operation and maintenance funds obligated by the military services 
for the first seven months of the fiscal year (i.e., October 1, 2003, 
through April 2004, the latest month for which obligation data are 
available for all the services) showed that all of the military 
services had obligated more than 60 percent of their available 
appropriations, including any funds transferred from the Iraqi Freedom 
Fund. As shown in figure 2, the percentage of available operation and 
maintenance funds that were obligated as of April 30, 2004, ranged from 
a low of nearly 61 percent for the Air Force to a high of over 
77 percent for the Marine Corps. Therefore, we believe that if funds 
continue to be obligated at the current rate or higher, operation and 
maintenance reported obligations made in fiscal year 2004 will be 
higher than the funds available for obligation in fiscal year 2004.

Figure 2: Reported Obligations of GWOT Operation and Maintenance Funds 
through April 2004: 

[See PDF for image]

Note: Total reported obligations include obligations from both the 
active and the reserve components. We did not audit the data.

[End of figure]

Each of the military services completed a midyear budget review in 
May-June 2004 for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including a 
forecast of their requirements for GWOT and, in some cases, has updated 
those forecasts. Each service concluded it did not have sufficient 
GWOT funding for GWOT operation and maintenance, while two of the 
services--the Navy and the Marine Corps--forecasted a shortfall in GWOT 
military personnel funds (see next section). A summary of each 
service's review follows.

* The Army forecasts a funding shortfall of about $10.2 billion. The 
shortfall includes $5.3 billion for support to deployed Army forces; 
$3.4 billion for a variety of activities, including $2 billion for 
refurbishing equipment used in Operation Iraqi Freedom and $753 million 
in contractor logistics support; $800 million for equipment 
maintenance; and $650 million for contract guards and garrison support 
units in the United States. The two largest components of the shortfall 
in support for deployed forces are the Logistics Civil Augmentation 
Program (LOGCAP) contract that provides a wide array of support 
services such as feeding and housing soldiers and the costs, such as 
those for spare parts, associated with the higher operating tempo of 
U.S. forces. LOGCAP costs have grown significantly as contractors 
replaced soldiers providing complex support functions. Higher than 
initially planned troop levels in Iraq as of spring 2004 (130,000 
instead of 99,000) and an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan (from 
about 14,000 to about 21,000) have increased all aspects of troop 
support. Additional factors driving costs are the decision to change 
the force mix of units serving in Iraq from one-third armor, two-thirds 
wheeled vehicles to one-half armor, one-half wheeled vehicles, which 
will lead to higher operational tempo and maintenance costs because 
armor vehicles are more expensive to operate and an increased use of 
airlift to move critical equipment to Iraq this past spring.

* The Air Force forecasts a shortfall of about $1.5 billion, which 
includes the costs for increased operating tempo, such as more flying 
hours than anticipated, higher transportation costs to move Air Force 
units and equipment, body armor for airmen in combat areas, night 
vision gear, and operation of surveillance equipment. In addition, the 
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) directed the Air 
Force to fund $116 million for its own support provided under the 
LOGCAP contract, which would otherwise have been paid by the Army.

* The Navy forecasts a shortfall of $931 million, which includes the 
costs for higher steaming and flying hours. For example, Navy 
representatives told us that they had planned for 11 additional 
steaming days per quarter but are actually at 18 additional days per 
quarter, which totals $231 million of the shortfall. In addition, there 
are 4,000 Navy personnel in Iraq and Kuwait that were not planned to 
deploy, which increases the operational costs, and the transportation 
costs to move additional Navy and Marine Corps personnel (which were 
also not expected to deploy) to GWOT operations.

* The Marine Corps forecasts a shortfall of $446 million. This 
shortfall reflects the cost of having 26,500 Marines in Iraq and the 
additional deployment of two Marine Expeditionary Units in support of 
GWOT operations when initially Marine Corps forces were expected to 
decrease their presence in fiscal year 2004. It also includes the cost 
of refurbishing equipment that had been in Iraq in fiscal year 2003. 
Furthermore, the equipment and maintenance costs associated with adding 
extra armor on vehicles are much higher than anticipated because of the 
extra wear-and-tear the vehicles are experiencing due to the extra 
weight. The shortfall does not include an additional $140 million 
needed for aircraft force protection that is being funded by the Navy.

In addition to the military services, the Congress also provided 
GWOT operation and maintenance appropriations for the defense agencies, 
including the Special Operations Command and the Defense Logistics 
Agency. These agencies are also reflected in the midyear budget review. 
Our analysis of their collective reported obligations through April 
2004, which represents almost 58 percent of the fiscal year, indicates 
that the defense agencies are also obligating their funds rapidly, with 
about 66 percent of their appropriated operation and maintenance funds 
obligated through April 2004.

Funding for GWOT Military Personnel Is Reasonably Close to Forecasts: 

The military services have been obligating their funds for military 
personnel at a rate that nearly mirrors the percentage of the fiscal 
year that has passed. As figure 3 shows, with seven months of the 
fiscal year gone, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force have obligated 
over one-half of their appropriations and the Marine Corps has 
obligated almost half, including any funds transferred from the Iraqi 
Freedom Fund. For example, the Army and the Navy have obligated almost 
60 and 59 percent, respectively, of their GWOT appropriation.

Figure 3: Reported Obligations of GWOT Military Personnel Funds through 
April 2004: 

[See PDF for image]

Note: Total reported obligations include obligations from both the 
active and the reserve components. We did not audit the data.

[End of figure]

While three of the four services' reported obligations for military 
personnel are about at the expected level for this point in the fiscal 
year, the military services' forecasts as of June 2004 predict a 
surplus in the Army and Air Force accounts and a shortage in the Navy 
and Marine Corps accounts. Details are as follows.

* The Army forecasts a surplus of $800 million due to less than 
expected use of reservists in support of Operation Noble Eagle and 
savings on costs to move soldiers from one home station to another.

* The Air Force forecasts a surplus of $112 million due to the 
deactivation of reservists.

* The Navy forecasts a shortfall of $61 million resulting from factors 
including the increase in Family Separation Allowances for personnel in 
Iraq and Kuwait. The Navy has also activated 1,300 reservists.

* The Marine Corps forecasts a shortfall of $107 million. There are 
26,500 Marines in Iraq, including 4,000-5,000 reservists, plus the 
deployment of two Marine Expeditionary Units in support of GWOT that 
were not anticipated when the Marines' budget estimate was developed.

DOD Plans a Variety of Actions to Cover the Military Services' 
Shortfalls of GWOT Funds: 

To fund forecasted GWOT shortfalls, the Office of the Under Secretary 
of Defense (Comptroller) and the military services are planning to take 
a number of actions. These actions include taking steps to reduce 
costs, transferring funds from the Iraqi Freedom Fund, transferring 
funds between appropriations accounts, and deferring planned peacetime 
activities to use those funds to support GWOT.

These potential shortfalls could require DOD to move funds between or 
within appropriation accounts. DOD uses "transfer authority" to shift 
funds between appropriation accounts, for example, between military 
personnel and operation and maintenance. Transfer authority is granted 
by the Congress to DOD usually pursuant to specific provisions in 
authorization or appropriation acts. In the fiscal year 2004 National 
Defense Appropriation Act, DOD was given general transfer authority to 
shift $2.1 billion between appropriations accounts, as well as other 
transfer authorities that are more specific in nature. DOD was also 
given transfer authority in the fiscal year 2004 Emergency Supplemental 
Appropriation Act to shift $3 billion of the funds appropriated in that 
act. In both cases, the Secretary of Defense must determine that this 
transfer is necessary in the national interest and that it would fund 
unforeseen and higher priority items than those originally funded, and 
he must notify the Congress promptly of the transfer. The ability to 
shift funds within a specific appropriation account, like operation and 
maintenance, is referred to as "reprogramming." In general, DOD does 
not need statutory authority to reprogram funds within an account as 
long as the funds to be spent would be used for the same general 
purpose of the appropriation and the reprogramming does not violate any 
other specific statutory requirements or limitations. For example, DOD 
could reprogram operation and maintenance funds originally appropriated 
for training to cover increased fuel costs because both uses meet the 
general purpose of the operation and maintenance account, as long as 
the shift does not violate any other specific congressional prohibition 
or limitation.

According to a representative in the Office of the Under Secretary of 
Defense (Comptroller), DOD has sufficient funds within its overall 
appropriation to cover forecasted GWOT shortfalls. Therefore, DOD does 
not plan to ask the Congress for additional funding, but instead will 
cover the shortfall in its fiscal year 2004 GWOT funding by both 
transferring and reprogramming normal annual appropriation and GWOT 
funds. However, as explained earlier, there are statutory dollar limits 
on the amount of funds DOD can transfer and, according to a DOD 
representative, as of June 18, 2004, DOD had exhausted most of its 
transfer authority. According to this representative, DOD plans to ask 
the Congress for an additional $1.1 billion in transfer authority, 
which would give the department sufficient authority to move funds from 
one service to another and get funds to the operation and maintenance 
accounts that have the greatest shortfalls. Also, according to most 
service representatives, they plan to reprogram funds within their 
appropriations to the extent allowed by law. Finally, DOD plans to 
transfer the remaining amount in the Iraqi Freedom Fund, which has its 
own transfer authority, to the Army and Marine Corps operation and 
maintenance accounts.

Military Services Plan to Cover GWOT Shortfalls: 

To cover their forecasted GWOT shortfalls, each of the military 
services has identified a number of steps it plans to take. Some of 
these steps involve actions they can take internally, such as seeking 
to reduce costs and revising spending priorities, or reprogramming, 
within the same appropriation account, while others involve 
transferring funds between accounts.

The Army, the service with the largest forecasted shortfall in 
operation and maintenance, is taking a variety of actions to address 
its forecasted shortfall. Actions include emphasizing the need to 
control costs, reprogramming funds within and transferring funds across 
accounts, seeking help from the other military services for bills now 
being paid by the Army, and deferring what amounts to a total of about 
$3.4 billion in activities until fiscal year 2005 or beyond, including 
deferring refurbishment of equipment used in Operation Iraqi Freedom. 
In a December 2003 message, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army asked 
units to control costs and look for alternatives to the LOGCAP contract 
with the realization that costs were growing rapidly. Army 
representatives told us that to control costs they have implemented a 
number of measures, including: 

* higher level review of LOGCAP tasks over $10 million as well as over 
other contract actions and equipment and supply purchases,

* strengthened management controls on new work performed under the 
LOGCAP contract, and: 

* the review of supply requisitions to identify and cancel duplicate or 
inactive requisitions after 30 days as well as a management review of 
requisitions that have a high-dollar value, involve large quantities, 
or involve pilferable items.[Footnote 7]

The Army will also seek to transfer the previously discussed 
anticipated $800 million surplus that is attributable to GWOT in its 
military personnel appropriation account and reprogram funds within its 
military personnel Army and National Guard appropriations to cover the 
forecasted $650 million shortage for contract guards and garrison 
support units, and it is waiting for the Congress' approval of the 
Office of the Secretary of Defense's request to transfer funds from 
other service and defense agency accounts, as well as the previously 
discussed transfer of remaining funds in the Iraqi Freedom Fund. The 
Army has already received almost $1 billion in transfers from the 
transportation working capital fund that reflect surpluses in that 
account and anticipates a reduction in transportation rates and usage 
changes that would produce a $265 million savings. Finally, the Army is 
seeking to have the other military services pay some bills it is 
currently paying. These bills include having the Marine Corps pay 
almost $313 million and the Air Force pay almost $116 million in LOGCAP 
costs, which is the Army's estimate of the cost of LOGCAP services 
being provided to those services. In total, the Army has identified 
$6.8 billion in funding sources for its operation and maintenance 
shortfall and will defer activities for the remaining $3.4 billion to 
fiscal year 2005 and beyond.

The Air Force is taking a variety of actions to reduce or defer 
spending in its active component operation and maintenance account in 
order to absorb its forecasted GWOT shortfall. Actions include 
decreasing peacetime flying hours in the fourth quarter of this fiscal 
year, reducing depot maintenance, deferring facility sustainment and 
restoration modernization projects, eliminating training events, 
decreasing contractor logistics support, slowing civilian hiring, and 
curtailing lower priority requirements such as travel, supplies, and 
equipment.

The Navy is also taking a variety of actions to cover its forecasted 
GWOT shortfall. To cover its forecasted operation and maintenance 
shortfall of $931 million, the Navy, like the Air Force and the Army, 
plans to reduce or defer spending in its operation and maintenance 
account, by reducing activities involving facility sustainment and 
restoration modernization projects by $300 million and non-GWOT flying 
and steaming hours by $226 million. According to Navy representatives, 
if the fleet does not want to reduce flying and steaming hours, it can 
defer its depot maintenance. The Navy received $121 million in 
transfers from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The Navy will 
cover the remaining $284 million shortfall in operation and maintenance 
and the $61 million shortfall in military personnel through the 
transfer and reprogramming of funds from investment accounts.

The Marine Corps plans to fund both $334 million of its forecasted 
$446 million operation and maintenance shortfall and its $107 million 
military personnel shortfall with funds transferred from the Iraqi 
Freedom Fund and Department of the Navy investment accounts. According 
to Marine Corps representatives, they also plan to reduce or defer 
spending in noncritical areas such as facilities improvements or 
sustainment projects.

Deferring and Reducing Spending Could Increase Fiscal Year 2005 
Spending Needs: 

As discussed earlier, each of the military services expects to take 
steps to make funds available for GWOT by reducing and deferring 
planned activities. Actions such as reducing training can have both 
short-and long-term impacts. In the short term, units train less if 
flying and steaming hours are reduced. In the long term, for example, 
Air Force representatives told us that part of the reduction in 
peacetime flying hours would affect the Air Education and Training 
Command's training of new pilots, which would slow new pilot 
production. While some actions, such as reduced training or travel, 
cannot be restored, actions that involve deferring planned activities 
can be restored in future fiscal years to the extent funding is 
available. As discussed earlier, the Army both plans to defer 
$3.4 billion in activities until 2005 and beyond and expects to receive 
transfers of funds from other services and defense agency accounts, 
which would affect the other services' spending plans; the Air Force 
plans to reduce depot maintenance; the Navy plans to reduce facility 
repair activities; and the Marine Corps plans to seek the transfer of 
funds from investment accounts. We believe that the deferral of these 
activities will add to the requirements that will need to be funded in 
fiscal year 2005 and potentially later years and so could result in a 
"bow wave" effect in future fiscal years. Activities that are deferred 
also run the risk of costing more in future years.

Congressional Efforts to Improve Accountability of GWOT Funds: 

Recent congressional committee actions have signaled the Congress' 
intent to require greater accountability regarding the use of GWOT 
funds. On May 12, 2004, the President submitted a budget amendment for 
DOD requesting $25 billion for the Iraqi Freedom Fund Contingent 
Emergency Reserve in fiscal year 2005. The House Committee on 
Appropriations included provisions in its bill for accountability 
related to the use of these funds. The committee bill includes numerous 
reporting requirements, including a new requirement for a comprehensive 
biannual report to the Congress that provides a detailed and specific 
accounting of the expenditure of taxpayer funds in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.[Footnote 8] In its committee report on the defense 
appropriations bill, the Senate Committee on Appropriations expressed 
its disappointment in the responsiveness of DOD in providing reports 
already required by various laws.[Footnote 9] The report does not 
require new reports be provided, but directs DOD to provide meaningful 
detail to describe the purposes and specific use of funding in all 
reports submitted to the committee.

We have been reporting on the cost of ongoing military operations for 
more than a decade. In that reporting, we have analyzed DOD's monthly 
cost reports detailing the reported obligations of funds in support of 
the operations. DOD currently prepares a monthly Consolidated DOD 
Terrorist Response Cost Report that contains reported obligations by 
operation and within each operation and by appropriation account for 
the military services and defense agencies. Within these accounts, the 
report provides obligation data in about 50 categories that are defined 
in chapter 23 of the DOD Financial Management Regulations.[Footnote 10]

However, we have reported for several years and as recently as May 2004 
that large amounts of reported obligations for GWOT are in 
miscellaneous categories in both the operation and maintenance and the 
military personnel accounts.[Footnote 11] For example, in fiscal year 
2003, the $43.7 billion in operation and maintenance reported 
obligations were reported in four major categories: civilian personnel, 
personnel support, operating support, and transportation. As shown in 
figure 4, the operating support category, which details obligations for 
such operation-related activities as facilities support, fuel, and 
spare parts and totaled about $32.1 billion, showed about $15.5 billion 
in miscellaneous categories. This amount was comprised of about 
$7 billion for other supplies and equipment and about $8.4 billion for 
other services and miscellaneous contracts, which totaled about 
35 percent of the total reported operation and maintenance obligations.

Figure 4: Global War on Terrorism Operating Support Reported 
Obligations for Fiscal Year 2003: 

[See PDF for image]

Note: We did not audit the data. Percentage total does not add due to 
rounding.

[End of figure]

Similarly, we reported that within the military personnel account, of 
$15.6 billion in reported obligations, $3.8 billion, or 24 percent, was 
in the miscellaneous category of other military personnel. We reported 
that in discussing the results of our analysis with the Office of the 
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and the military services, 
there was recognition of the large amount of reported obligations 
captured in miscellaneous categories and that the Comptroller's office 
is considering how best to provide more specific detail in future cost 
reports.

Chapter 23 of the Financial Management Regulations is DOD's guidance on 
contingency operations cost definition and reporting. In our opinion, 
the categories defined in the guidance provide a uniform framework for 
capturing obligations, but the miscellaneous categories do not provide 
the specificity or transparency needed for the Congress and others to 
understand clearly how funds appropriated for contingency operations 
are being used, particularly since these categories involve billions of 
dollars in reported obligations.

In our annual reporting on the cost and funding of ongoing military 
operations, we have recognized that estimating the costs of ongoing 
military operations is difficult because operational requirements can 
differ substantially from what was assumed in developing budget 
estimates. As a result, the actual funding requirement is often more or 
less than what was initially estimated, and the military services have 
sometimes used surpluses to fund activities that were not part of the 
contingency operation. We have found that in some years funding was 
insufficient for some services while it was sufficient for others and 
that within a service it was sufficient for one appropriation account 
but not for another. For example, in June 1996 we reported that the 
Army and the Navy reported obligations for operation and maintenance 
that were in excess of their supplemental funding, while the Air Force 
and the Marine Corps reported obligations that were less than their 
supplemental funding.[Footnote 12] In that year, both the Air Force and 
the Marine Corps used the excess funding for a variety of otherwise 
unfunded operational needs. In other years, the Congress rescinded 
excess funding or reduced subsequent year funding based on an expected 
carryover of funds.

Conclusions: 

Largely because of the security situation in Iraq, the military 
services are forecasting costs as of June 2004 in excess of their 
supplemental GWOT funding. DOD is taking a variety of actions to cover 
these shortfalls. It has also asked the Congress to provide a 
$25 billion contingent reserve for GWOT in fiscal year 2005. To ensure 
accountability for the use of those funds, the Congress is 
contemplating requiring periodic reports on the use of such funds. Our 
past work has shown that current cost reporting includes large amounts 
of funds that have been reported as obligated in miscellaneous 
categories and so provides little insight on how those funds have been 
spent. This may result in reduced transparency and accountability to 
the Congress and the American people. Our work has also discussed the 
difficulty of accurately budgeting for annual funding needs and the 
resulting existence of both funding shortfalls and surpluses, which at 
times have been spent on noncontingency-related activities. This in 
turn helps highlight the importance of providing useful information to 
the Congress for its oversight role.

Recommendation for Executive Action: 

In light of the fact that we have reported for years on the large 
amounts of reported obligations in the miscellaneous categories of the 
Consolidated DOD Terrorist Response Cost Reports, we recommend that the 
Secretary of Defense take the following three actions: (1) review 
recent Consolidated DOD Terrorist Response Cost Reports to identify the 
larger groupings of reported obligations within the "other supplies and 
equipment," "other services and miscellaneous contracts," and "other 
military personnel" cost categories;, (2) revise Chapter 23 of the 
Financial Management Regulations to include these groupings as 
reporting categories so that the amounts classified in the "other" 
categories are minimized; and (3) direct the military services to begin 
reporting obligations using these new cost categories as soon as 
possible they are identified.

Matter for Congressional Consideration: 

To better assess the adequacy of previously provided funding, the 
Congress may wish to expand its reporting requirements for DOD on the 
use of GWOT funds to include reports at the half year and the end of 
the third quarter of each fiscal year that include an assessment of the 
adequacy of funding for GWOT in that fiscal year, including (a) if 
funding appears to be insufficient, the Secretary of Defense's plan for 
covering any shortfall and (b) if funding appears to exceed forecasted 
costs, the procedures that will be followed to ensure that any excess 
funds are not used for non-GWOT purposes.

Agency Comments: 

DOD did not provide us comments by the date we requested. However, we 
discussed our analysis with a representative from DOD's Office of the 
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and representatives from each 
military service's budget office. We also discussed our proposed 
recommendation and matter for congressional consideration. The Office 
of the Under Secretary of Defense representative stated that he agreed 
with our proposed recommendation and that the department had been 
discussing ways to provide more detail in the cost report's 
miscellaneous categories. This representative and the service 
representatives also stated that they had no objections to the matter 
for congressional consideration and, in fact, provide information to 
the Congress whenever it is requested. DOD also provided technical 
comments and we have incorporated them as appropriate. In particular, 
the Army clarified that they were not deferring the purchase of ceramic 
body armor and we agreed to delete references to that issue in the 
final report. We have also updated the reported obligations to reflect 
April data.

We are sending copies of this report to other interested congressional 
committees; the Secretary of Defense; the Under Secretary of Defense 
(Comptroller); and the Director, Office of Management and Budget. 
Copies of this report will also be made 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 have any questions regarding this report, please call me on 
(757) 552-8100. Principal contributors to this report were Steve 
Sternlieb, Ann Borseth, John Buehler, and David Mayfield.

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Neal P. Curtin Director, 
Defense Capabilities and Management: 

Congressional Committees: 

The Honorable John W. Warner, Chairman:  
The Honorable Carl Levin:  
Ranking Minority Member:  
Committee on Armed Services:  
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Don Nickles, Chairman:  
The Honorable Kent Conrad:  
Ranking Minority Member:  
Committee on the Budget:  
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Ted Stevens, Chairman:  
The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye:  
Ranking Minority Membe:  
Subcommittee on Defense: 
Committee on Appropriations:  
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Duncan Hunter, Chairman:  
The Honorable Ike Skelton:  
Ranking Minority Member:  
Committee on Armed Services:  
House of Representative: 

The Honorable Jim Nussle, Chairman:  
The Honorable John Spratt:  
Ranking Minority Member:  
Committee on the Budget:  
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Jerry Lewis, Chairman:  
The Honorable John Murtha:  
Ranking Minority Member:  
Subcommittee on Defense:  
Committee on Appropriations:  
House of Representatives: 

[End of section]

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

To assess the adequacy of funding for the Global War on Terrorism 
(GWOT), we reviewed (1) the President's fiscal year 2004 budget request 
for supplemental appropriations, (2) applicable laws appropriating 
funds for GWOT, and (3) Department of Defense (DOD) reports on the 
obligation of GWOT funds. We obtained budget forecasts from the 
military services based on their midyear budget review and subsequent 
updates through June 2004, including key cost factors of GWOT 
operations. We also discussed these forecasts with service 
representatives. We compared the latest available obligation reports 
against total available appropriated funds. We focused our work on the 
obligation of funds appropriated for operation and maintenance and 
military personnel because they represented the large majority of funds 
obligated in fiscal year 2004 through April 2004.

To assess actions planned to address forecasted GWOT funding 
shortfalls, we reviewed service documents related to the midyear budget 
review and subsequent updates through June 2004 and discussed with DOD 
and the military services the actions the services planned to take and 
their likely impact on current programs. We also reviewed applicable 
legislation on DOD's authority to transfer funds.

To provide observations on congressional efforts to improve 
accountability of GWOT funds, we reviewed available material in DOD 
appropriations and authorization bills for fiscal year 2005, committee 
press releases, and statements of key leaders to identify proposed 
actions to improve accountability. We also reviewed our reports related 
to the cost and funding of ongoing military operations dating back to 
fiscal year 1994.

We visited the following locations during our review: 

* Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Washington, 
D.C.

* Department of the Army, Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

* U.S. Army Forces Command and Headquarters, Third Army, Fort 
McPherson, Georgia.

* Department of the Air Force, Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

* Air Force Central Command, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

* Department of the Navy, Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

* United States Marine Corps, Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

* First Marine Expeditionary Forces, Headquarters, Camp Pendleton, 
California.

We performed our work from January through June 2004 in accordance with 
generally accepted government auditing standards.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the 
Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, P.L. 108-106 (Nov. 6, 2003).

[2] Department of Defense Financial Management Regulations, 7000.14-R, 
vol. 1, Definitions, page xvii.

[3] The term "incremental costs" means those directly attributable 
costs that would not have been incurred if it were not for the 
operation. Sections 230406 and 230902 of Department of Defense 
Financial Management Regulations 7000.14-R, Volume 12, Chapter 23, 
Contingency Operations (Feb. 2001) provide additional information on 
incremental costs.

[4] P.L. 108-106 (Nov. 6, 2003).

[5] The Iraqi Freedom Fund is a special account providing funds for 
additional expenses for ongoing military operations in Iraq and those 
operations authorized by P.L. 107-40 (Sept. 18, 2001), Authorization 
for Use of Military Force, and other operations and related activities 
in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

[6] These 16 DOD-wide agencies include the Defense Logistics Agency and 
the Special Operations Command.

[7] We have testified on LOGCAP and other contracting issues in Iraq 
and issued a report on LOGCAP in July 2004. U.S. General Accounting 
Office, Contract Management: Contracting for Iraq Reconstruction and 
for Global Logistics Support, GAO-04-869T (Washington, D.C., June 15, 
2004) and Military Operations: DOD's Extensive Use of Logistics Support 
Contracts Requires Strengthened Oversight, GAO-04-854 (Washington, 
D.C., July 19, 2004).

[8] H.R. 4613, 108th Congress, sec. 9012 (2004).

[9] S. Rep. No. 108-204 (2004).

[10] Department of Defense Financial Management Regulations, 7000.14-R, 
vol. 12, chapter 23, Contingency Operations (Feb. 2001).

[11] U.S. General Accounting Office, Military Operations: Fiscal Year 
2003 Funding and Reported Obligations in Support of the Global War on 
Terrorism, GAO-04-668 (Washington, D.C., May 13, 2004).

[12] U.S. General Accounting Office, Contingency Operations: Update on 
DOD's Fiscal Year 1995 Cost and Funding, GAO/NSIAD-96-184BR 
(Washington, D.C.: June 27, 1996).

GAO's Mission: 

The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and 
investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting 
its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance 
and accountability of the federal government for the American people. 
GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and 
policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance 
to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding 
decisions. GAO's commitment to good government is reflected in its core 
values of accountability, integrity, and reliability.

Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony: 

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no 
cost is through the Internet. GAO's Web site (www.gao.gov) contains 
abstracts and full-text files of current reports and testimony and an 
expanding archive of older products. The Web site features a search 
engine to help you locate documents using key words and phrases. You 
can print these documents in their entirety, including charts and other 
graphics.

Each day, GAO issues a list of newly released reports, testimony, and 
correspondence. GAO posts this list, known as "Today's Reports," on its 
Web site daily. The list contains links to the full-text document 
files. To have GAO e-mail this list to you every afternoon, go to 
www.gao.gov and select "Subscribe to e-mail alerts" under the "Order 
GAO Products" heading.

Order by Mail or Phone: 

The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2 
each. A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent 
of Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or 
more copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. 
Orders should be sent to: 

U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G Street NW, Room LM 
Washington, D.C. 20548: 

To order by Phone: 

Voice: (202) 512-6000: 

TDD: (202) 512-2537: 

Fax: (202) 512-6061: 

To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs: 

Contact: 

Web site: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm 
E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov 

Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470: 

Public Affairs: 

Jeff Nelligan, Managing Director, 
NelliganJ@gao.gov 
(202) 512-4800 

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 
441 G Street NW, Room 7149 
Washington, D.C. 20548: