International Affairs

Recent Reports

Countering China: Agencies Provided Over $1 Billion but Have Not Assessed Overall Results of Projects

GAO-26-107822

Published: Jun 17, 2026

Publicly Released: Jun 17, 2026

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Agencies Should Assess Risk of Ending Foreign Worker Program

GAO-26-108239

Published: May 13, 2026

Publicly Released: May 13, 2026

Compacts of Free Association: Education and Health Remain Priorities, but Implementation and Oversight Are Delayed

GAO-26-107778

Published: May 05, 2026

Publicly Released: May 05, 2026

United Nations Renovations: Budget and Schedule Status of Selected Projects Are Mixed, and State Could Strengthen Oversight

GAO-26-107577

Published: Apr 29, 2026

Publicly Released: Apr 29, 2026

Guam: Considerations for Evaluating Alternative Customs Models and Potential Economic Effects

GAO-26-107811

Published: Mar 18, 2026

Publicly Released: Apr 17, 2026

International Collaboration: U.S. Banking Agencies’ Participation in Climate Risk Network

GAO-26-108020

Published: Mar 26, 2026

Publicly Released: Mar 26, 2026

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Open Recommendations

Countering China: Agencies Provided Over $1 Billion but Have Not Assessed Overall Results of Projects

GAO-26-107822

Jun 17, 2026

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5 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the Office of China Coordination, in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assistance Oversight, releases the Countering PRC Influence Fund annual guidance earlier in the proposal process to provide agency units more time to develop proposals and subsequently obligate funds. (Recommendation 1)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the Office of China Coordination, in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assistance Oversight, updates the annual guidance for the proposal process for the Countering PRC Influence Fund to require regional and functional bureaus to obtain and document input from relevant regional and issue area experts on all proposals related to their respective regions or areas. (Recommendation 2)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the Office of China Coordination, in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assistance Oversight, updates the annual guidance for the proposal process for the Countering PRC Influence Fund to require Regional China Officers to review and document input on all proposals submitted by operating units within their region, including projects originating with or managed by functional bureaus. (Recommendation 3)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the Office of China Coordination, in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assistance Oversight, consistently collects and periodically updates complete data on projects funded from the Countering PRC Influence Fund at a sufficient level of detail, such as the award number; the bureau, office, or post that has managed the project; targeted region and country; start and end dates; obligated funding; and the line of effort the project has supported. (Recommendation 4)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the Office of China Coordination, in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assistance Oversight, develops a process for assessing the results of the portfolio of Countering PRC Influence Fund projects across lines of effort, appropriation accounts, and regions in countering Chinese influence. (Recommendation 5)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Democracy Assistance: State Should Require Plans to Mitigate Effects of Reported Antidemocratic Actions Overseas

GAO-26-108754

Mar 09, 2026

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2 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the head of any entity responsible for democracy assistance programs requires implementing partners to develop, during award design, a plan for mitigating the risk of having to shift, pause, or cease democracy assistance award activities that involve interacting with host-country government entities and to adjust this plan as needed throughout award implementation. (Recommendation 1)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State	The Secretary of State should ensure that the head of any entity responsible for democracy assistance programs requires award managers to review, during award design, plans for mitigating the risk of having to shift, pause, or cease democracy assistance award activities that involve interacting with host-country government entities and to monitor adherence to these plans throughout award implementation. (Recommendation 2)	Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Excess Defense Articles: DOD Needs to Better Assess the Program

GAO-26-107627

Dec 16, 2025

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2 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Director of DSCA takes steps to improve information recorded in SCIP-EUM on EDA items, such as by systematically identifying EDA in the database, recording disposition information in routine EUM observation forms, and noting changes in end use in routine EUM item lists. (Recommendation 1)	Open DOD partially agreed with this recommendation. DSCA agreed with the need to record the disposition of EDA items subject to routine EUM and stated it will direct SCOs to document when EDA items have been expended, disposed, lost, or transferred in the comment fields of SCIP-EUM's routine summary reports. However, DSCA stated that systematically identifying EDA in SCIP-EUM would require software modifications that are not cost-effective. While EDA are subject to routine or enhanced EUM, SCIP-EUM does not identify items that were transferred under the EDA program. We maintain that it is important that DSCA takes steps to improve information on EDA in SCIP-EUM, such as by using existing features to identify items as EDA. We will continue to monitor DOD's progress on implementing this recommendation.
Department of Defense	The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Director of DSCA, in consultation with the Department of State, develop and implement a process to manage the EDA program's performance that includes establishing performance goals, routinely and systematically collecting performance information, and using that information to regularly assess results. (Recommendation 2)	Open DOD agreed with this recommendation. DSCA stated it will implement a performance management process that includes measurable goals, systematic data collection, and regular assessments by April 2026. We will continue to monitor DOD's progress on implementing this recommendation.

Ukraine: State Should Take Additional Actions to Improve Planning for Any Future Recovery Assistance

GAO-25-107043

Nov 19, 2025

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2 Open Recommendations

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of State	The Secretary of State should, after completion of the foreign assistance review, ensure that the Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance for Europe and Eurasia (EUR/ACE) finalizes strategy-level indicators to allow for assessment of progress in achieving the strategic goals identified in any revised Ukraine Assistance Strategy. (Recommendation 1)	Open The State Department agreed with our recommendation, noting that once State's foreign assistance review concluded, it would ensure that strategy-level indicators for its Ukraine programming are crafted and reviewed.
Department of State	The Secretary of State should, for any ongoing and future recovery assistance to Ukraine, ensure that EUR/ACE determines the estimated costs to achieve each of State's strategic goals outlined in any revised Ukraine Assistance Strategy, basing them on different scenarios that account for changing conditions in the war and other donors' contributions. (Recommendation 2)	Open The State Department agreed with our recommendation, noting that cost estimates can be valuable tools for budget planning and execution. State noted it would work to incorporate cost estimates for achieving individual goals and objectives into any future strategic planning for Ukraine's recovery, while also noting that a variety of challenges, such as the ongoing adjustment of its Ukraine recovery programming to align with the administration's approach, may affect its ability to act on the recommendation in the near term.