Federal Preparedness for Oil Import Disruptions]
Gao ID: 120391 February 2, 1982GAO presented its views on the Federal Government's preparedness for oil import disruptions. GAO stated that: (1) the U.S. Government is totally unprepared to deal with significant disruptions in oil imports; (2) oil import disruptions pose a significant threat to National security; and (3) immediate steps can be taken to improve readiness. GAO believes that it is necessary for the Government to implement sound contingency programs to prepare for any possible import disruptions, and it identified three characteristics necessary for such programs: (1) a contingency measure must have the potential to produce results which are large enough to be worth its cost; (2) the program must be fully developed, tested, and ready for use; and (3) the program must be activated quickly. GAO concluded that would be far better to have good contingency plans available, than to have to develop them during a disruption.