This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-03-341R 
entitled 'Cooperative Threat Reduction Program Annual Report' which was 
released on December 2, 2002. 

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. 

United States General Accounting Office: 
GAO: 

GAO-03-341R: 

United States General Accounting Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

December 2, 2002: 

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

The Honorable Bob Stump: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Ike Skelton: 
Ranking Minority Member: 
Committee on Armed Services: 
House of Representatives: 

Subject: Cooperative Threat Reduction Program Annual Report: 

Section 1308(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2001 (P.L. 106-398) requires the Comptroller General to provide 
Congress with an assessment of the Department of Defense’s annual 
report on the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program within 90 days 
of the submission of the annual report to Congress. The Department of 
Defense submitted its CTR annual report for Fiscal Year 2002 to 
Congress on September 3, 2002, almost 19 months after the submission 
date mandated by law. 

On November 22, 2002, we briefed members of your staff on our 
assessment of the CTR annual report for Fiscal Year 2002. In summary, 
we found that the report (1) did not clearly set forth future funding 
data required by Congress, (2) did not include certain important 
planning elements, (3) in some instances asserted the use of a more
rigorous methodology than was actually used, and (4) incorporated some 
but not all prior GAO recommendations. We also noted that we had not 
assessed the validity of the data contained in the annual report 
because the Department of Defense had not updated most of that data 
prior to the report’s late submission. 

We performed our work in Washington, D.C., from September 2002 through
November 2002 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. 

We obtained comments on the information contained in the enclosure from 
the Director of the Department of Defense’s CTR Policy Office. In 
general he concurred with our findings. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Honorable Donald Rumsfield, 
Secretary of Defense, and interested congressional committees. The 
report will also be available at no charge on GAO’s home page at 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff have any questions regarding this assessment, 
please contact me at (202) 512-8979. James Shafer, Beth Anne Hoffman 
León, Hynek Kalkus, Pierre Toureille, and Lynn Cothern also made key 
contributions to this report. 

Sincerely, 

Singed by: 

Joseph Christoff: 
Director, International Affairs and Trade: 

Enclosure: 

[End of letter] 

Enclosure: 

Cooperative Threat Reduction Annual Report for FY 2002: 

Briefing to the Staffs of the Armed Services Committees: 

November 22, 2002: 

Overview: 
* Background; 
* GAO Objectives; 
* Results; 
* Five Year Plan; 
* Accountability Report. 

Background: 

Congress began requiring annual Cooperative Threat Reduction reports on 
planning and accountability in the mid-1990s: 

DOD’s Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program helps former Soviet 
states in reducing threat of weapons of mass destruction. 

In mid-1990s, Congress directed DOD to report annually on CTR
multiyear planning and accountability efforts. 

* Multiyear plan for DOD’s use of the amounts provided for CTR; 
intended to guide preparation of annual budgets; 
- due with budget justification materials; 

* Report on efforts to ensure that CTR aid was being accounted for and 
used as intended; 
- due January 31st of each year; 
- GAO assessment required 30 days after report’s submission. 

Congress consolidated CTR reporting requirements in 2000 to facilitate 
more timely submission of data: 

DOD typically submitted CTR planning and accountability reports to
Congress months after they were due. 

Congress consolidated CTR reporting requirements in 2000: 
* Cited need for more timely submission of data; 
* Required that the new CTR annual report include: 
- plan setting forth amount and purpose of funding to be provided over 
next 5 years; to guide preparation of annual budgets; 
- section describing efforts to ensure that CTR aid is being accounted 
for and used as intended; 
* Required that annual report be submitted first Monday of February. 

Congress also required GAO to provide Congress with its assessment of 
the five-year plan and the accountability section within 90 days of the 
annual report’s submission. 

First consolidated CTR annual report submitted 19 months late: 

First consolidated CTR annual report (for fiscal year 2002) was due
February 5, 2001. 

DOD submitted the FY 2002 annual report on September 3, 2002; 
* Information generally not updated beyond January 2001 information cut 
off date. 

According to DOD officials, late submission was result of: 
* Questions regarding out year budgets and program scope, due in part 
to new administration’s review of CTR program; 
* Absence of confirmed DOD officials during the transition; 
* Relatively low priority; 
* September 11 aftermath. 

GAO Objectives: 

* Determine whether five-year plan addresses congressional requirements 
and federal strategic planning guidance; 

* Determine whether accountability section addresses congressional
requirements and past GAO recommendations. 

Results in Brief: 

FY 2002 five-year plan: 

* does not clearly address all congressional requirements (does not 
clearly not set forth the amount of CTR funding to be provided over 5
years); 
* does not include important planning elements. 

Accountability section: 

* addresses the elements required by Congress; 
* asserts use of more rigorous methodology than actually used; 
* incorporates some but not all prior GAO recommendations. 

Results: Five-Year Plan: 

Plan does not clearly set forth amount of CTR funding: 

Plan does not clearly set forth the amount of funding that DOD planned 
to provide over the five-year term of the plan; 

* Amount must be deduced from summary table; $2.173 billion was planned 
to have been provided over FY 2003-2007; 

* Previous CTR multiyear plan (FY 2001) had clearly presented five-year
funding amount by fiscal year. 

According to DOD officials, DOD comptroller was unwilling to endorse a
clearer presentation in the FY 2002 five-year plan, due to uncertainty
regarding program’s out year budgets and scope. 

Plan does not systematically incorporate key federal strategic planning 
elements: 

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) strategic plans should
include: 

* Description of external factors beyond the agency’s control that could
affect its achievement of program goals; 

* Annual performance goals that are based on objective measures of 
results and linked to long-term goals; 

* Plans for evaluations to help establish or revise program goals. 

Such elements could help guide preparation of annual CTR budgets but 
are not systematically incorporated in the five-year CTR plan sent to
Congress. 

GPRA-related plan is being developed for internal use by CTR 
implementing agency (Defense Threat Reduction Agency). 

Results: Accountability Section: 

Addresses the elements required by Congress: 

* Describes the condition and location of CTR-furnished equipment; 

* Discusses the status of contracts and services and methods to ensure 
intended use; 

* Determines whether assistance provided has been used for the purpose
intended; 

* Describes the audits and examinations and other such efforts planned 
for the next year. 

Asserts use of more rigorous methodology than actually used: 

* Asserts the use of a statistically significant sample on an audit and
examination (A&E) visit; 

* Statistically significant sample not used on A&E visit. 

The report incorporates some, but not all, prior GAO recommendations: 

Recommendations regarding the completeness of information provided 
(from GAO’s 2000 report) have been incorporated; 

* Listing of services included in report; 
* Listing of assistance is cumulative from start of program. 

Recommendations regarding the planning and scope of A&Es (from GAO’s 
2001 report) are not reflected. 

[End of enclosure] 

GAO's Mission: 

The General Accounting Office, the 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 [hyperlink, 
http://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 
[hyperlink, http://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. General Accounting 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: [hyperlink, http://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. General Accounting Office: 
441 G Street NW, Room 7149: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: