This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-05-780R 
entitled 'FY 2006 Annual Report on the Cooperative Threat Reduction 
Program' which was released on July 1, 2005. 

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. 

July 1, 2005: 

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

The Honorable Duncan L. Hunter: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Ike Skelton: 
Ranking Minority Member: 
Committee on Armed Services: 
House of Representatives: 

Subject: FY 2006 Annual Report on the Cooperative Threat Reduction 
Program: 

Under section 1308 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2001 (Pub. L. 106-398), the Department of Defense (DOD) is to 
submit an annual report to Congress on its Cooperative Threat Reduction 
(CTR) program no later than the first Monday in February of each year. 
The report should include a 5-year plan that discusses the amount and 
purpose of funding needed over the term of the plan and a description 
of efforts conducted by the United States to ensure that CTR assistance 
is fully accounted for and used for its intended purposes. The act 
requires the Comptroller General to assess this 5-year plan and the 
description of efforts to account for CTR assistance within 90 days of 
the report's submission to Congress. The Department submitted its CTR 
annual report for fiscal year 2006 to Congress on February 23, 2005, 
and we provided our findings to your staff on May 23, 2005.[Footnote 1]

We analyzed the 2006 report to determine whether (1) the 5-year plan 
addresses legislative requirements and presents accurate information, 
and (2) the accountability section addresses legislative requirements 
and presents accurate information. Enclosed is information provided to 
your staff presenting our assessment of the CTR annual report submitted 
for fiscal year 2006 (see enclosure). 

We found that the 5-year plan addressed the legislative requirements by 
setting forth funding information for the term of the plan and stating 
the purpose of those funds. We also confirmed with project managers 
that, for the eight projects we reviewed in detail, the information 
provided in the report was generally accurate. In addition, we examined 
the source documents that supported the data in the published report 
and found that the published data were generally well supported. 

We found that the accountability section addressed three of the four 
legislative requirements. It (1) discussed the status of contracts and 
services and the methods used to ensure that CTR aid is used for the 
purposes intended, (2) determined whether the assistance provided has 
been used effectively and efficiently, and (3) described the audits and 
examinations planned for the next year. We found that the information 
in these sections of the report was generally accurate and complete and 
included the concerns raised in project trip reports and audit and 
examinations. 

The report did not comply with section 1308(c)(5) of the NDAA for FY 
2001 (Pub. L. 106-398) however, because it did not provide a 
description of the condition and location of CTR-furnished equipment. 
Instead, the annual report states that this information is now 
available upon request at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), 
through a new, centralized database system that tracks CTR 
equipment.[Footnote 2] When we asked to review the database, DTRA 
provided it to us in a timely manner. 

In prior years, DOD included the CTR equipment list as an appendix to 
the annual report. Since last year's report, DTRA's contractor at the 
Threat Reduction Support Center (TRSC)[Footnote 3] has developed a new 
database that draws information regarding CTR equipment from a wider 
variety of sources in order to address data limitations that were 
previously reported in last year's CTR annual report. DOD is loading 
all equipment data into this new database to enhance both reporting and 
tracking capabilities. However, according to TRSC officials, DOD did 
not include the equipment list as an appendix in this year's report 
because of its voluminous nature. 

We performed our work in Washington, D.C., from April 2005 through May 
2005 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 
standards. 

We provided a draft of this report to DOD officials. DOD provided 
technical comments, which we have incorporated where appropriate. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, 
Secretary of Defense, and to interested congressional committees. We 
also will make copies available to others upon request. This report 
will also be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at 
http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions regarding this report, please 
contact me at (202) 512-8979 or christoffj@gao.gov. David Maurer, Josie 
Sigl, Hynek Kalkus, and Beth Hoffman León also made key contributions 
to this report. 

Signed by: 

Joseph A. Christoff: 
Director, International Affairs and Trade: 

Enclosure: 

Cooperative Threat Reduction Annual Report for FY 2006:

Briefing to the Staffs of the Armed Services Committees: 

May 23, 2005:

Background:

The National Defense and Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2001 
requires the Department of Defense to submit an annual CTR report that 
sets forth:

* the amount and purpose of funding needed over the next 5 years, and:

* a description of the audit and examinations (A&E) and other efforts 
conducted by the United States to ensure that CTR assistance is fully 
accounted for and used for its intended purposes.

* NDAA requires GAO to assess the 5-year plan and the accountability 
section within 90 days of the annual report's submission.

Objectives:

* Determine whether the 5-year plan addresses legislative requirements 
and presents accurate information:

* Determine whether the accountability section addresses legislative 
requirements and presents accurate information:

Scope & Methodology: Five-year plan:

To determine whether the 5-year plan addresses legislative requirements 
and presents accurate information:

* We assessed the plan to determine if it included the amount of funds 
and resources proposed to be provided over the term of the plan and a 
description of how those resources will be used.

* We selected eight projects accounting for 78% of the future funding 
and compared the information presented in the plan with information 
from project managers to determine the accuracy of the data.

Scope & Methodology: Accountability section:

To determine whether the accountability section addresses legislative 
requirements and presents accurate information:

* We assessed the section to determine if it included a description of 
the condition and location of CTR-furnished equipment, a discussion of 
the status of contracts and services and the methods used to ensure CTR 
aid is used for purposes intended, a description of whether assistance 
provided has been used effectively and efficiently, and a description 
of the audits and examinations planned for the next year.

* We reviewed all 12 A&Es and 165 project management trip reports for 
FY 2004 to determine if the section accurately presents concerns raised 
in these reports.

Scope & Methodology: CTR annual report presentation:

We conducted our review from April 2005 to May 2005 in accordance with 
generally accepted government auditing standards.

Results in Brief:

* FY 2005 5-year plan:

* All legislative requirements were addressed.

* Information provided in eight sample projects was generally accurate.

Accountability section:

* Three of four legislative requirements were addressed.

* The annual report did not contain information on CTR-furnished 
equipment as required by section 1308(c)(5) of the NDAA for FY 2001.

Principal Findings: Five-year plan addressed the legislative 
requirements, and the information provided was accurate.

* FY 2005 5-year plan:

* The report provided the amount of funds and resources proposed for 
the term of the plan.

* The report stated the purposes for which these proposed funds and 
resources will be used.

* The project managers of 8 selected projects confirmed that the 
information was accurate.

Principal Findings: Accountability section addressed 3 of 4 legislative 
requirements:

Accountability section of the report:

- Discussed the status of contracts and services and the methods used 
to ensure CTR aid is used for purposes intended;

- Determined whether assistance provided has been used effectively and 
efficiently, and for purposes intended;

- Described the audits and examination planned for next year; but:

- Did not describe the condition and location of CTR-furnished 
equipment.

-- CTR Annual Report did not contain information on CTR equipment, its 
location, or current condition of equipment as required by Section 1308 
(c) (5) of the NDAA for FY 2001.

-- DTRA was able to provide an electronic copy of the list upon 
request. 

Conclusion:

* The CTR report meets all legislative requirements for the five-year 
plan.

* The CTR report meets three of the four requirements for the 
accountability section.

[End of slide presentation] 

(320350): 

FOOTNOTES

[1] We refer to the section of the CTR annual report for fiscal year 
2006 titled "Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program Activities and 
Assistance" as the 5-year plan and the accountability section. This 
section includes both the 5-year plan and the fiscal year 2004 
accounting activities. These sections were consolidated in the FY 2005 
report at GAO's recommendation. 

[2] DOD's CTR Logistics Support (CLS) contractor has developed the 
Electronic Information Delivery System (EIDS) to track CTR equipment. 

[3] DTRA has contracted with the Science Applications International 
Corporation's (SAIC) Threat Reduction Support Center (TRSC). TRSC staff 
provide support to CTR program and project managers in the areas of 
operations, logistics, engineering, and financial and program 
management.