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Open Recommendations

Export Controls: Commerce Should Improve Workforce Planning and Information Sharing
GAO-25-107431
Jun 26, 2025
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Under Secretary for Industry and Security develops a long-term workforce plan to determine the resources and personnel it needs to meet its growing workload. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Under Secretary for Industry and Security works with DOD, DOE, and State to facilitate access to all relevant information on each export license application. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Under Secretary of Industry and Security consults with reviewing agencies prior to changing export license application conditions recommended by one or more of those agencies. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Under Secretary for Industry and Security clarifies and reaches agreement with State, DOD, and DOE on written guidance for the use of export license conditions. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Human Rights: State Can Improve Response to Allegations of Civilians Harmed by U.S. Arms Transfers
GAO-25-107077
Apr 24, 2025
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Directors of the Political Military Bureau and the Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau develop a mechanism to incorporate external parties' allegations of civilian harm using U.S. defense articles into its CHIRG reporting process, such as an online gateway similar to its human rights reporting gateway. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Directors of the Political Military and Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor—as they review the CHIRG process for efficiency improvements—develop and implement a strategy to identify appropriate staffing and resources for the process. Such a strategy could include the use of staff development, flexibilities, and other human capital strategies and tools that can be implemented with available resources. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Ukraine: DOD Can Take Additional Steps to Improve Its Security Assistance Training
GAO-25-107923
Jan 28, 2025
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in coordination with the Director of DSCA, issues guidance that requires the combatant commands to identify resources necessary for training when proposing a security assistance package, including situations that require rapid execution of PDA. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In its comments on our draft report the Department of Defense (DOD) disagreed with this recommendation. However, in its letter to Congress within 180 days of the report's issuance, DOD changed its position and now concurs with this recommendation. The department stated that it updated DOD Directive 5132.03 on DOD Policy and Responsibilities Related to Security Cooperation in January 2025 and that update no longer contained explicit guidance for the inclusion of training in security cooperation. DOD's original position was that it already provided guidance regarding a "total package approach" as part of security cooperation in DOD Directive 5132.03. At that time, we agreed that DOD provides some guidance regarding the inclusion of training in security cooperation activities. However, our report describes gaps in DOD's existing guidance that hindered the department's ability to plan and identify training needs for defense articles delivered to Ukraine. Specifically, DOD did not have detailed guidance to assist planners in applying a total package approach when using PDA in a crisis security assistance scenario. In particular, the expanded size, scope, and speed of equipment delivered under PDA since 2022 contributed to unanticipated challenges for U.S. Army units delivering training to Ukrainian forces. In a corrective action plan that DOD provided to GAO in May 2025, the department noted that it will ensure there is guidance for combatant commands to identify training resource needs in support of security cooperation activities, including through the Defense Secuity Cooperation Agency's Security Assistance Management Manual. Providing clear guidance to the combatant commands, as DOD now plans to do by November 2025 would meet the intent of our recommendation to identify and plan for training needs before security assistance packages are approved and sent to the service components for execution, as we recommended in January 2025.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Commander, U.S. European Command provides clear guidance to subordinate organizations on documenting approaches for assessing training provided to Ukrainian forces. Such guidance should include data elements and standards to ensure data quality. (Recommendation 2)
Open
The Department of Defense concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan DOD provided to us in May 2025, DOD noted that U.S. European Command would take actions to address this recommendation. Specifically, U.S. European Command plans to develop and publish a standardized training assessment framework, integrate that framework into existing standard operating procedures, and ensure that incoming personnel with relevant organizations are trained on the framework. U.S. European Command intends to complete these actions by September 2025. When it takes these actions, DOD will be in a better position to consistently assess training provided to Ukrainian forces and maintain a standard process through rotational unit changes, as GAO recommended in January 2025.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Commander, U.S. European Command directs subordinate organizations to capture and share relevant observations from ongoing efforts to train Ukraine's forces through the Joint Lessons Learned Information System in a timely manner. These steps could include emphasizing the importance of recording observations in the Joint Lessons Learned Information System and requiring subordinate commands to develop clear implementing guidance that directs personnel to record observations in the Joint Lessons Learned Information System. (Recommendation 3)
Open
The Department of Defense concurred with this recommendation. In a corrective action plan DOD provided to us in May 2025, DOD noted that U.S. European Command would take actions to address this recommendation. Specifically, U.S. European Command plans to update implementing orders and directives to include Joint Lessons Learned Information System submission requirements. The command also plans to designate lesson learned recorders at appropriate organizations to monitor lesson learned submission compliance and quality, implement a review process to evaluate observation relevance and trends, and provide feedback to contributors to improve quality over time. U.S. European Command intends to complete these actions by September 2025. When it takes these actions, DOD will be in a better position to record, track, develop, and implement lessons learned from training Ukrainian forces, as GAO recommended in January 2025.
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