Regular submissions of written information are the most important tool Congress uses to oversee the security assistance programs it funds. Many laws governing security assistance require the executive branch to issue periodic reports explaining the objectives and activities of its programs. These requirements guarantee that Congress receives updates about many activities on a regular basis.

With a few minor exceptions, these reports are considered to be public information. Their availability has made these legally mandated reports an indispensable source of primary information for this study.

For ease of presentation, this study divides all legally-mandated written information into two categories: "reports" and "notifications." Reports are documents that must be submitted by a fixed calendar date. They usually describe the overall activities or strategy of a particular program, providing an overview, for instance, of expenditures during a past fiscal year. Most are submitted annually or quarterly, which means overseers know when to expect them (several, however, frequently end up being delivered well past their deadlines).

Notifications, by contrast, are submitted in response to an action -- such as an arms sale, a waiver or an information request -- that does not take place on a regular basis. Since they occur "on the fly," the submission of these documents cannot be placed on a calendar. A list of major notification requirements is presented on a separate page.

The rest of this page presents, in chronological order, all significant reports submitted over the course of a year.

January 2002

• Impact of fumigation in Colombia

The House Appropriations Committee’s report (107-142) for the Foreign Operations Appropriations law requests the State Department to submit a report “on the human and environmental impact of all materials used in such aerial coca and opium poppy eradication in Colombia. The report shall include guidelines for the application of aerially sprayed materials, scientific and other justifications for such guidelines, as well as a description of a verification system to ensure compliance with those guidelines.” The committee also requested the State Department to submit a report including “a description of all areas sprayed, materials and methods used, compliance with the spray guidelines, and the human and environmental impacts of such spraying.”

• Report on country human-rights practices

By January 31, the Secretary of State must report on the status of internationally-recognized human rights in all foreign countries which belong to the United Nations or receive U.S. economic or security assistance. This annual report must be submitted to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is required by Sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195), as amended (also known as sections 2151n and 2304 of Title 22, U.S. Code).

This report may be obtained on the Internet at the State Department's site: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr/c1470.htm

February 2002

• Congressional Presentation Document for Foreign Operations

By February 1, the President must submit his budget request for all foreign aid programs for the next fiscal year. Along with this request, the President must report on the dollar value of all foreign assistance and guaranties, by category and by country, provided by the United States to foreign countries and international organizations. This must include estimates of arms sales and an accounting of Security Assistance Organizations (such as "Milgroups") stationed in U.S. embassies overseas. This annual report must be submitted to the Congress. It is required by Section 634 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195), as amended (also known as section 2394 of Title 22, U.S. Code).

The 2003 Congressional Presentation Document may be obtained on the Internet at the State Department's site: http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2003/

The 2002 Congressional Presentation Document may be obtained on the Internet at the State Department's site: http://www.state.gov/s/rpp/rls/cbj/.

The 2001 Congressional Presentation Document may be obtained on the Internet at the State Department's site: http://www.state.gov/www/budget/fy2001/fn150/forops_full/index.html.

• National Drug Control Strategy

By February 1, 2002, the President, together with the Director of the White House's Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, popularly known as the "Drug Czar"), must report on the government's goals and objectives for all drug-control activities, both international and domestic. This annual report must be submitted to the Congress. It is required by Section 1504 of Title 21, U.S. Code.

This report may be obtained on the Internet at the ONDCP site: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/policy/ndcs.html.

• Annual arms transfers report (the "section 655" report)

By February 1, the President must report on the dollar value and quantity of defense articles (including excess defense articles), defense services and military training transferred to each foreign country and international organization during the previous fiscal year. The report must specify whether the defense articles were furnished under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or licensed for export under the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) program. The report must also document foreign military items imported into the United States, by country and by type. This annual report must be submitted to the Congress. It is required by Section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195), as amended (also known as section 2415 of Title 22, U.S. Code).

The 2000 DCS portion, released in 2001, is available, as a large PDF file, on the site of the Center for International Policy: http://ciponline.org/facts/655-2000.pdf. The FMS portion for 2000 has not yet been released. The 1999 FMS portion, released in 2000, may be obtained on the Internet at the site of the Federation of American Scientists' Arms Transfers Monitoring Program: http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/655-99/655rep.html.

• National security assistance strategy

By February 1, the Secretary of State must prepare and submit an annual National Security Assistance Strategy document. This annual report must be submitted to the appropriate committees of Congress. It is required by Section 501 of the Security Assistance Act of 2000, October 6, 2000 (H.R. 4919, Public Law 106-280).

• Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies

By February 1, the Secretary of Defense must report on the operations of regional centers for security studies, such as the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies located at Fort McNair in Washington, DC. The report must indicate the center's status and objectives, its budget including operating costs, the extent of international participation in its programs, and a description of any accepted foreign gifts and donations. This annual report must be submitted to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. It is required by Section 184 of Title 10, U.S. Code.

• Defense Department humanitarian assistance

By the first Monday in February, at the time of the defense budget submission for the next fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense must report on the Defense Department's provision of humanitarian assistance during the previous fiscal year. The report must include the total amount of funds obligated "for the purpose of providing transportation of humanitarian relief and for other humanitarian purposes worldwide"; the number of scheduled and completed transportation missions for purposes of providing humanitarian assistance; and a description of transfers of excess non-lethal supplies for humanitarian relief purposes. This annual report must be submitted to the House Armed Services Committee, House International Relations Committee, Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is required by Section 2551 of Title 10, U.S. Code.

March 2002

• International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

By March 1, the Secretary of State must provide the factual basis of the President's yearly decisions to certify whether significant drug source and transit countries are cooperating with U.S. anti-drug efforts. The report must also offer a detailed description of these efforts in each country, the country's own efforts, a status report on drug production or transportation in each country, and other aspects of each country's anti-drug policies. It must also include the amounts and nature of U.S. counter-drug assistance and discuss the health and environmental impact of herbicides used for aerial drug eradication. This annual report must be submitted to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is required by Section 489 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195), as amended (also known as section 2291h of Title 22, U.S. Code).

This report may be obtained on the Internet at the State Department's site: http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2001/

Also of interest is the annual budget request for the State Department's International Narcotics Control (INC) program. The 2003 request is available on the Internet at the State Department's site: http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2003/.

• Foreign Military Training Report
  
  By March 1, the Secretaries of State and Defense must report on all military training which the United States provided to foreign military personnel in 2001 and projected for 2002. For each military training activity, the report must include "the foreign policy justification and purpose for the training activity, the cost of the training activity, the number of foreign students trained and their units of operation, and the location of the training." The report must also discuss the operational benefits that U.S. military units gained as a result of each training activity. The law allows the Defense and State Departments to include a classified annex "if deemed necessary and appropriate." This annual report is required by Section 656 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195), as amended, and by section 561 of the 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations Law (H.R. 2506, P.L. 107-115).

The 2002 report is on the State Department website at http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/fmtrpt/2002/.

• Humanitarian and civic assistance

By March 1, 2001, the Secretary of Defense must provide a list of countries in which humanitarian and civic assistance activities were carried out during the preceding fiscal year; descriptions of these activities in each country; and the amount spent carrying out each activity in each country. The term "humanitarian and civic assistance" includes U.S. military activities in foreign countries that involve providing medical, dental and veterinary care, constructing roads, bridges, schools, clinics and other public buildings, drilling wells and constructing basic sanitation facilities. The report must also include information about the Defense Department's Humanitarian Demining program. This annual report must be submitted to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the House International Relations Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is required by Section 401 of Title 10, U.S. Code.

All information related to Latin America from the March 1, 2001 version of this report is presented on this study's "Humanitarian and Civic Assistance" section.

• School of the Americas (Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation)

By March 15, 2002, the Secretary of Defense must report on the activities of the School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). The report is to be prepared in consultation with the Secretary of State. This annual report must be submitted to the Congress. It is required by Section 2166(h) of title 10, U.S. Code.

• Lethal equipment for Andean Regional Initiative countries

The House Appropriations Committee’s report (107-142) requests the State Department to submit a report with “an accounting of all aircraft, vehicles, boats and lethal equipment (other than ammunition) transferred to the militaries or police” of each Andean Regional Initiative country (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, or Venezuela). The report must also include “an accounting of the number of U.S. Armed Forces personnel deployed or assigned to duty in the Andean Region or other nation at any time during the preceding 180 days” using foreign operations funds, as well as “the length and purpose of the deployment or assignment, and the associated costs and force protection risks.” (Because of the troop presence requirement, this report may be classified.)

April 2002

• Special Operations Forces' training with friendly foreign forces: Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET)

By April 1, the Secretary of Defense must report on the Special Forces' training with foreign forces, an activity that has come to be known as Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET). The report must specify all countries in which that training was conducted; the type of training conducted, including whether the training was related to counter-narcotics or counter-terrorism activities, the duration of the training, the number of members of the armed forces involved, and expenses paid in connection with the training; the extent of foreign military forces' participation, including the number and service affiliation of foreign military personnel involved, and the host nation's "physical and financial contribution" to the training effort; and the training's relationship to other overseas training programs conducted by the armed forces. This annual report must be submitted to the Congress. It is required by Section 2011 of Title 10, U.S. Code.

• Additional aircraft for Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador in 2003

By April 10, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s report on the 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations law (107-58), the State Department must report “on the feasibility of procuring additional aircraft for Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador, within the projected budget for counternarcotics programs in fiscal year 2003.”

• Defense Department counter-drug assistance

By April 15, the Secretary of Defense must report on the Defense Department's counter-drug assistance to foreign governments during fiscal year 2001. This includes the large amounts of aid and training provided under "Section 1004" and "Section 1033."The one-time-only report is to be submitted to the congressional defense committees.

June 2002

• Costs of support for "Plan Colombia"

By June 1 and every 6 months until funds are spent, the President must submit a report detailing and itemizing the costs incurred by all government agencies for their support of Plan Colombia during the previous six months. This report must be submitted to the Congress. It is required by Sec. 3204(e) of the 2001 Military Construction Appropriations bill, July 13, 2000 (H.R. 4425).

The first report may be obtained on the Internet at the site of the Center for International Policy: http://ciponline.org/colombia/072701.htm. 

Quarterly reports:

Every ninety days, the following reports must be submitted:

• The President must submit an unclassified report to the Speaker of the House and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee listing offers, acceptances, licenses and approvals of arms sales, with projections of future sales. [Section 36(a) of the Arms Export Control Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-269), as amended (also known as section 2776 of Title 22, U.S. Code).]
• The President must provide to the Speaker of the House and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a list of all security assistance surveys authorized during the preceding calendar quarter, specifying the country involved, the purpose of the survey, and the number of U.S. personnel carrying out the survey. A "security assistance survey" is "any survey or study conducted in a foreign country by United States Government personnel for the purpose of assessing the needs of that country for security assistance," including "defense requirement surveys, site surveys, general surveys or studies, and engineering assessment surveys." [Section 26 of the Arms Export Control Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-269), as amended (also known as section 2766 of Title 22, U.S. Code).

Source: Applicable laws. All items in quotation marks are direct citations of the law.

(The little calendar graphic comes from Microsoft's Works Clip Art web page.)