The U.S. Agency for International Development obligated (legally committed) $185 billion in FY 2009-2019 appropriations to spend on various projects. Under its policies, USAID tries to spend its money before the end of the next fiscal year following the obligation. We consider spending after that to be delayed. For selected accounts funded in FY 2009-2017, we found as much as $23 billion in delaye...

The U.S. Agency for International Development has tried to increase staff diversity. We reviewed how its workforce changed over 2002–2018. Overall, the proportion of racial or ethnic minorities in USAID’s full-time, permanent, career workforce rose from 33 to 37%, but proportions of some groups fell. Also, racial or ethnic minorities in the Civil Service were 31 to 41% less likely to be promo...

The State Department has expressed a commitment to building a workforce that reflects the diverse composition of the United States. We testified on State’s progress. Though State's workforce has grown more diverse, racial or ethnic minorities are still underrepresented, especially in the senior ranks. Racial or ethnic minorities in State’s Civil Service were 4% to 29% less likely to be promo...

The State Department has expressed a commitment to building a workforce that reflects the diverse composition of the United States. Though State's workforce has grown more diverse, racial or ethnic minorities are still underrepresented, particularly in the senior ranks. Racial or ethnic minorities in State’s Civil Service were 4% to 29% less likely to be promoted than their white coworkers wit...

USAID has undertaken a number of projects to reform its organizational structure, workforce, and programs—with the ultimate goal of helping partner countries become more self-reliant. We found USAID generally addressed 9 of the 11 key practices necessary for successful agency reforms, but only partially addressed 2 others. For example, USAID solicited input from employees through briefings and...

The State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development were responsible for managing $33.7 billion in foreign assistance in fiscal year 2018. We found that State submitted required reports to Congress detailing how these funds were allocated to foreign countries and international organizations. However, State submitted the reports 80 to 230 days past the mandated 30-day time frame in...

In response to an Executive Order, the State Department launched an initiative to streamline its programs and processes in 2017 and reported specific reform projects to Congress in 2018. We found that State is implementing most of these projects. However, some projects have been stalled or discontinued due to top leadership transitions, shifting priorities, and a lack of confirmed officials in ke...

The Department of State's Foreign Service staff at posts around the world provide a range of services, such as processing visa applications and promoting U.S. interests abroad. Since 2008, State has had trouble filling some positions at these posts, notably in information management and security, but State doesn't have a plan to address this issue. Chronic vacancies increase Foreign Service staff...

The United States provided nearly $1.5 billion in weapons, training, and other assistance to Lebanese security forces between 2013 and 2018. We reviewed how State and DOD oversaw and assessed the effectiveness of this assistance in several areas. For example: State and DOD found Lebanese forces improved in key areas, such as border security, but gaps in performance information limited State's ab...

The U.S. government and Caribbean countries formally launched the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative in 2010 to try to reduce drug trafficking, increase public safety, and promote social justice in the region. U.S. agencies allocated more than $560 million from 2010 through 2018 for this collaborative effort with 13 nations. Is it working? The State Department doesn’t know. We found that whil...

The United States has a national security interest in promoting stability in countries affected by violent conflict. We looked at how 3 federal agencies and an independent institute support conflict prevention, mitigation, and stabilization efforts, such as removing explosives hidden near homes. Although these entities have worked together in Iraq, Nigeria, and Syria, the federal agencies have no...

Over 20 U.S. diplomats and family members in Cuba have suffered injuries—such as brain damage—believed to be connected to unexplained incidents. After incidents involving serious injury, the State Department is generally required to assess State's response and improve security. However, State’s office responsible for convening that review learned of the incidents in Cuba from media reports...

Over 20 U.S. diplomats and family members in Havana, Cuba, have suffered injuries—including brain damage—believed to be connected to unexplained incidents starting in 2016. A similar incident has also been reported in Guangzhou, China. After incidents involving serious injury, the State Department is generally required to convene an Accountability Review Board (ARB) to assess State's response...

Terrorist attacks against U.S. diplomats and personnel overseas have underscored the need to protect U.S. people, property, and information. The State Department has taken steps to improve diplomatic security, such as building more secure embassies and requiring counter threat training for personnel. We identified 11 key diplomatic security issues for congressional oversight—highlighting numero...

U.S. government personnel at U.S. embassies and consulates continue to face security threats. During fiscal years 2013-2016, the State Department evacuated staff and their families from 23 overseas posts in response to threats, such as terrorism, civil unrest, and natural disasters. The State Department has processes to prepare overseas posts for crises and evacuations, such as requiring posts to...

Is State Department doing enough to keep U.S. personnel safe? U.S. personnel overseas can be targets of terrorism, violence, and crime—particularly while in transit. From 1998 to 2015, State Department personnel were attacked more than 100 times while traveling outside of embassy compounds, with many of the worst attacks occurring while victims were in motorcades, official vehicles, or other fo...

U.S. agencies allocated approximately $6.5 billion for security-related assistance to Egypt in fiscal years 2011 through 2015. As of September 30, 2015, over $6.4 billion of the $6.5 billion total had been committed or disbursed. The majority of the funding (99.5 percent) was provided to Egypt through the Department of State's (State) Foreign Military Financing (FMF) account. The funds from this a...

In its September 2015 report (GAO-15-808R), GAO evaluated four Department of State (State) Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) requirements that GAO determined were critical in the selection of a site for a training facility and found that Fort Pickett, near Blackstone, Virginia, fully met all four while the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) campus in Glynco, Georgia, did not fully m...