State Department Needs to Resolve Data Reliability Problems that Led to Inaccurate Reporting to Congress on Foreign Arms Sales
Abstract
State officials attributed States inaccurate reporting on the licensing of Stinger missiles for commercial sale to errors in the license data entry process. In addition, States multi-office review of the draft Section 655 reports failed to discover the inaccurate reporting. Furthermore, we found data reliability problems that raise additional questions about the accuracy and reliability of data in States Section 655 reports to Congress. Although States report is intended to ensure that Congress and the public are informed about foreign arms sales by U.S. industry, deficiencies in States processes for preparing its Section 655 report inhibit the ability of Congress to obtain accurate information needed to provide effective oversight of these weapons sales programs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 28, 2005
- Accession Number
- AD1179437
Entities
People
- Addison Ricks
- David Maurer
- Ernie Jackson
- Jonathan Ban
- Joseph A. Christoff
- Lynn Cothern
- Martin de Alteriis
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office