Defense Inventory
DOD's Humanitarian Assistance Program Gao ID: NSIAD-91-87FS January 18, 1991Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Humanitarian Assistance Program, focusing on its effect on the utilization and donation programs administered by the General Services Administration (GSA).
GAO found that: (1) under the program, DOD could identify and claim excess nonlethal property for humanitarian purposes before the property became available to other federal agencies, state and local governments, or other eligible recipients; (2) GSA could not precisely determine the effect of the program on its utilization and donation programs, since DOD claimed the property before it became available to GSA; (3) the program donated about 2.8 million nonlethal items to foreign countries from fiscal years 1986 through 1989; (4) the acquisition cost of those items was $48.8 million; (5) Afghan and Cambodian refugees received about 80 percent of the donated property; and (6) reports generally indicated efficient use of the donated property.