Legistorm: Transparency's Sidekick

GAO reported in 1992 that the policies governing the use of military aircraft were too broad and vague to have much impact on the use of the 89th Airlift Wing by government officials. (See GAO/NSIAD-92-133.) Moreover, at that time, the use of aircraft was free of charge to all but a few users, and no one independently verified compliance with policies. This follow-up report finds that the Office of Management and Budget, the Defense Department (DOD), and the White House have addressed GAO's earlier recommendations for strengthening the management and use of the 89th Airlift Wing. Specifically, they have defined key terms, spelled out circumstances under which reimbursements are due, and required record-keeping. Requests to DOD for use of the wing generally complied with application policies on justification for using the 89th Airlift Wing. However, DOD acknowledged that agency reimbursements for wing missions have generally not been collected for two years and, in some cases, for as long as six years. Also, reimbursements for nonofficial travel sometimes were credited to the wrong accounts or the collection of reimbursements could not be verified.