Skip to Content

Press Releases

Womack, Ruppersberger Request GAO Review of National Guard State Partnership Program

Washington, September 14, 2020

Washington, DC—September 14, 2020….Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) and Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2) today announced their request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a review of the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP). The members sent a letter asking for an updated strategic assessment of the program to ensure its objectives are being advanced and that the current framework is effectively supporting the U.S. National Defense Strategy.

The members said, “The State Partnership Program has proven to be a strong and cost-efficient initiative that has advanced American national security interests for decades. We must keep it that way. With today’s ever-evolving threat landscape – including growing competition from China and Russia – this evaluation will provide recommendations to ensure the SPP is best equipped to confront the challenges we face as a nation. We want our defense resources optimized for our service members and American taxpayers.” 

The bipartisan letter outlines how the SPP has not undergone a comprehensive study since 2012 and calls for an analysis of several different metrics, including program framework, objectives, milestones, performance, and a review of current partnerships. It asks that the GAO provide its findings in a written and unclassified report no later than January 15, 2021.

Following the end of the Cold War, the SPP was established by the Pentagon to create constructive partnerships between state National Guards and newly independent countries of the former Soviet Union. It quickly became a key U.S. security tool, helping facilitate engagement across all aspects of international civil-military affairs and establishing diplomatic cooperation. The program – which currently has partnerships with 89 nations across the globe – is administered by the National Guard Bureau, guided by State Department foreign policy goals, and executed by the state adjutants general in support of combatant commander and U.S. Chief of Mission security cooperation objectives and Department of Defense policy goals. Arkansas’s state partner is Guatemala and Maryland’s are Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The full text of the letter is available below:

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: 

  1. Does a comprehensive oversight framework for SPP now exist?
  2. Does SPP have clear goals, objectives, metrics, and milestones?
  3. Are there sufficient mechanisms in place to accurately and consistently assess individual SPP programs according to those goals, objectives, metrics, and milestones?
  4. Based on these criteria, how are individual SPP programs performing?
  5. Are SPP programs fully aligned with the NDS?
  6. How is the NDS informing decisions to establish new SPP countries?
  7. Is there a full-time National Guard bilateral affairs officer in the U.S. embassy of every SPP country?
  8. Does the National Guard Bureau have sufficient resources to ensure proper program direction for state-level action officers?
  9. 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) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He serves as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Budget and is a member of the House Appropriations defense and transportation, housing and urban development subcommittees.

womack.house.gov

###