Additional Costs of Stationing U.S. Forces in Europe

The costs incurred by the United States in stationing NATO- committed forces in Europe instead of at home are reviewed. The Jackson-Nunn amendment to the 1974 Department of Defense Appropriation Authorization Act required the executive branch to reduce proportionately U.S. Forces deployed in Europe to the extent that the fiscal year (FY) 1974 balance-of-payments deficit was not fully offset. The amendment also provided that substantial reductions in the U.S. cost burden would be sought through appropriate arrangements with NATO and its individual members.

In a report to Congress on July 1, 1975, GAO stated that the balance-of-payments deficit had been fully offset. However, during GAO's subsequent review, it was found that efforts to increase allied burden sharing as required by the amendment have resulted in only small reductions in the additional costs of stationing U.S. Forces in Europe. Further, the Defense Department largely understated these additional costs for FY 1974 at $440 million, while GAO estimated them to be as much as $l.3 billion.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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