In the ninth year of operations since the 9/11 attacks while troops are being withdrawn in Iraq and increased in Afghanistan, the cost of war continues to be a major issue including the total amount appropriated, the amount for each operation, average monthly spending rates, and the scope and duration of future costs. This report analyzes war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
Since September 11, 2001, Congress has provided about $808 billion to the DoD for the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) in addition to funding in DoD's base budget. Prior reports have found DoD's reported GWOT cost data unreliable and found problems with transparency over certain costs. In response, DoD has made several changes to its cost-reporting procedures. Congress has shown interest in increasing the transparency of DoD's cost reporting and funding requests for GWOT. This report assessed: (1) DoD's progress in improving the accuracy and reliability of its GWOT cost reporting; and (2) DoD's methodology for reporting GWOT costs by contingency operation. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.
Global War on Terrorism : DOD needs to more accurately capture and report the costs of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom : report to congressional committees.
How do federal statistics strengthen our nation's science as well as its policy? In this latest volume of The ANNALS, leading academics, along with key federal officials, including the president's science advisor, the chief statistician of the U.S., the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the presidents of the National Academies, and the director of the Census Bureau address the argument that the statistics that the federal statistical system produces should be understood as constituting a scientific infrastructure for the empirical social sciences. Further, they see the current federal statistical system as "the best hope for bringing strong science to bear on new data sources" and "the best place to navigate unforeseen challenges in preserving the independence of statistical information from political interference." If federal statistics are the knowledge base from which policy problems and solutions emerge, it is imperative that we pay attention to the lessons they offer. Never before has this topic received this level of attention from such an array of contributors. A must read for all social scientists and policy-makers.
