Overseas Staffing: U.S. Government Diplomatic Presence Abroad

GAO discussed the size and costs of the U.S. government's overseas diplomatic presence. GAO noted that: (1) half of the 37,800 federal employees employed abroad at diplomatic posts are americans; (2) federal agencies spent over $2.6 billion in fiscal year 1993 to maintain their overseas diplomatic presence; (3) agencies need to consider whether their diplomatic presence is essential, given world changes and efforts to reduce the cost of government; (4) although the Department of State bases its overseas staffing levels on historical data, it and other agencies need to develop more systematic staffing allocation systems that use complete cost data to determine appropriate staffing levels; and (5) mechanisms to review and monitor aggregate staffing levels are fragmented and weak.