Bosnia: Costs Are Uncertain but Seem Likely to Exceed DOD's Estimate
NSIAD-96-120BR
Published: Mar 14, 1996. Publicly Released: Mar 14, 1996.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's estimated costs of participation in the multilateral coalition in Bosnia.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress may wish to consider that any supplemental funding provided should only be available for: (1) expenses incurred in support of contingency operations involving the former Yugoslavia; and (2) the reimbursement of accounts utilized to fund those operations. | Congress has established an Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund, which places funding for expenses related to overseas contingency operations in a transfer fund that the Secretary of Defense may transfer to the services. This allows the Secretary to provide funds as operations unfold during the year. | |
| If initial contingency operation funding proves to be inadequate, but some services have costs below their funded level while others have costs above it, Congress should redistribute, by transfer before Congress provides additional funds, excesses earmarked for contingencies. | DOD, in an April 1996 reprogramming action, reflected $68.1 million in reductions to military personnel and operations and maintenance accounts that had been identified as overstated. | |
| Congress may wish to consider whether appropriation levels should be reevaluated as more experience and actual cost data become available. The second reprogramming in DOD Bosnia funding plan would lend itself to such a reevaluation. | When DOD submitted the second reprogramming for Bosnia operations to Congress, the reprogramming reflected an amount that considered both actual experience and actual costs incurred for the operation to date. |
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Topics
Armed forces abroadCost overrunsDefense appropriationsPeacekeepingDefense budgetsDefense economic analysisDefense operationsFuture budget projectionsNATO military agreementsNATO military forcesReprogramming of appropriated funds