Letter to Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States - Womack, Ruppersberger Request GAO Review of National Guard State Partnership Program

Letter

Dear Mr. Dodaro:

The National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) connects 89 countries across the globe with highly trained, motivated U.S. subject matter experts to build capacity and address shared challenges. We believe the SPP represents an incredibly valuable and cost-effective tool for advancing American national security interests. However, in light of growing threats and opportunities, we feel it is time for an assessment to ensure that the program has sufficient resources and is fully aligned with the National Defense Strategy (NDS).

We note that GAO has not conducted a comprehensive review of SPP since 2012. Therefore, based on our committee assignments, we request that GAO conduct a review of SPP focused on these questions:

Does a comprehensive oversight framework for SPP now exist?
Does SPP have clear goals, objectives, metrics, and milestones?
Are there sufficient mechanisms in place to accurately and consistently assess individual SPP programs according to those goals, objectives, metrics, and milestones?
Based on these criteria, how are individual SPP programs performing?
Are SPP programs fully aligned with the NDS?
How is the NDS informing decisions to establish new SPP countries?
Is there a full-time National Guard bilateral affairs officer in the U.S. embassy of every SPP country?
Does the National Guard Bureau have sufficient resources to ensure proper program direction for state-level action officers?
As the number of SPP countries has increased, has the level of resourcing kept pace?
We request that the GAO provide its findings in a written and unclassified report no later than January 15, 2021. Thank you for your timely attention to this request.

Sincerely,

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3)

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