State Dept. Didn’t Check Arms Purchasers--GAO

The State Department approved almost $15 billion worth of licenses for arms and other military equipment in the last fiscal year but didn’t check very closely whether the weapons were going to terrorists or unfriendly countries, the General Accounting Office said today.

The report by the congressional watchdog agency said the licensing procedure within the Office of Munition Control is so loose that “export license application data and information were not routinely checked for accuracy or veracity.”

In fact, the GAO told a Senate committee, “OMC rarely requests U.S. embassies’ assistance in verifying the bona fides of the purchaser or other foreign parties to the sale.”

“OMC also was not using readily available information about exports and others involved in commercial sales transactions that would help identify applications potentially needing closer scrutiny,” the study said.

The GAO report was prepared for the Governmental Affairs Committee, which has been looking at procedures for selling weapons. That review has received new attention in the wake of the Iran- contra affair, which involved the secret sales of weapons to Iran.

The GAO recommended that the State Department tighten up its procedures for overseeing the export licenses, which are necessary for U.S. firms to sell their goods overseas.

The State Department clears deals made by private U.S. firms. The Defense Department oversees sales by the U.S. government.

The GAO study found that the OMC workload has increased sharply in the past decade, from $3.3 billion in fiscal 1977 to $14.9 billion in fiscal 1986. During that time, the staff has remained at about the same, 30 people. The OMC office has sought more staff, but budget restrictions have blocked those plans.

The GAO study cited one case in which the OMC issued 322 licenses worth $15 million to an unidentified company which had been denied export privileges by the Commerce Department.