Cost of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm and Allied Contributions
Abstract
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today before this Committee on the cost of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and allied contributions to help defray this cost. At the outset, I would like to emphasize that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports on the incremental costs of the Operations. We have reported on both incremental and total costs and now estimate that total costs could exceed $100 billion. Our allies have pledged about $54.6 billion or about half of the total cost. Having said that, I will present our views on the Administration's most recent cost estimates, the differences between estimated costs and funding requirements, and the extent to which taxpayer financing will be required. In summary, we believe that, for the most part, OMB's and the Department of Defense's (DOD) estimated cost through May 1991 is reasonable, but we believe that the estimate of future costs is unsupported and appears high. More importantly, we believe that incremental funding requirements will be substantially less than OMB's cost estimate, and that fiscal year 1991 incremental funding needs can be fully financed through allied contributions to the Defense Cooperation Account.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 15, 1991
- Accession Number
- AD1176252
Entities
People
- Frank C. Conahan
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office