Ukraine Aid Oversight Hindered by Pentagon Record-Keeping, Watchdog Says
The IG report follows congressional concerns about oversight and efforts to coordinate with State and USAID.
PATRICK TUCKER and COURTNEY BUBLÉ | JULY 12, 2022
PENTAGON UKRAINE SECURITY COOPERATION DEFENSE BUDGET
The Defense Department watchdog warned on Tuesday that some of the DOD’s and individual services’ practices for tracking and recording the movement of money and aid to Ukraine are hurting the office’s ability to track aid.
The DOD Inspector General’s office released an 18-page management advisory on Tuesday regarding the department’s use of $6.5 billion from the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, which President Biden enacted in March as part of the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act. This is separate from the $40 billion aid package the president signed in May, which gave the State and U.S. Agency for International Development IG offices a funding boost and included reporting requirements for DoD.
“We observed that the [Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer] made improvements to their reporting processes and controls for Emergency Supplemental Funding as a result of lessons learned and recommendations from the CARES Act Management Advisory, including the [disaster emergency fund code] reporting requirements in the funding authorization documents,” the advisory said. “However, as the DoD is building processes and procedures to ensure the transparency of the reporting for the Ukraine supplemental funds, we identified multiple areas of concern that, if not adequately addressed, could reduce the traceability of Ukraine supplemental funds and the transparency in the DoD’s reporting.”
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2022/07/ukraine-aid-oversight-hindered-pentagon-record-keeping-watchdog-says/374162/
