Summary

As of September 30, 1991, the Defense Department (DOD) had accepted about $48.7 billion in contributions from foreign governments and $687,000 from private U.S. and foreign individuals. Foreign contributions consisted of cash and in-kind support, such as equipment and transportation, to defray Operations Desert Shield/Storm costs. Major contributors were Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Germany, and Korea. Individual contributions consisted of cash donations to defray the costs of Desert Shield/Storm and for other DOD needs. As of April 10, 1992, foreign contributions had increased to $53.7 billion, and individual contributions had increased to $688,000. DOD credited all cash contributions to the account and administered these funds in accordance with applicable legislative and accounting requirements. DOD also established procedures for tracking, reporting, and valuing in-kind support. GAO found some reporting discrepancies, which DOD corrected. Because data from contributing countries were not always available, DOD estimated the value of some contributions, and, as a result, the estimated value may differ from the actual cost incurred by the contributor.

GAO found that: (1) as of September 1991, foreign governments and private individuals contributed about $48.7 billion to the DOD Defense Cooperation Account, primarily to defray the costs of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; (2) DOD administered cash contributions to the Defense Cooperation Account in accordance with legislative and accounting requirements; (3) DOD deposited all contributions and earned interest in the account, invested account funds in U.S. securities, and only transferred funds to authorized accounts; (4) DOD also processed transactions in an accurate and timely manner; (5) in accordance with legislative requirements, DOD established procedures to track, report, and value in-kind contributions; (6) DOD corrected or plans to correct the contributions reporting discrepancies that GAO identified; and (7) because data from contributing countries were not always available, DOD estimated the value of some contributions, and, as a result, the estimated value may differ from the actual cost incurred by the contributor.