GAO Report on Democracy Assistance, State Department Should Improve Congressional Notification of Its Use of Certain Legal Authorities
The Government Accountability Office reviewed 37 State congressional notifications for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 funding. The review found that 36 of these notifications did not address one of three criteria for reporting the use of notwithstanding authorities. Additionally, the notifications did not clearly identify the program activities for which the democracy assistance exemption was used.
State Funding Notification Issues
Federal law allows agencies to provide funding even when U.S. law prohibits it through notwithstanding authorities. Historically, the annual appropriations act required agencies to notify Congress if they used these authorities for assistance in countries where U.S. law prohibited funding. In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the joint explanatory statement included additional directions for these notifications. The GAO reviewed 37 State congressional notifications for FYs 2023 and 2024 funding. Thirty six of these notifications did not address one of three criteria specified in Section 7015(c) of those appropriations acts or their joint explanatory statements regarding the use of notwithstanding authorities. State bureaus draft these notifications, but State guidance to them did not cover these three criteria.
State Funding Notification Issues
The Government Accountability Office reviewed 101 Congressional notifications regarding the democracy assistance notwithstanding authority. The review found that most notifications lacked a clear link to specific programs or activities. State guidance does not direct bureaus to include this linkage in notifications. This lack of linkage makes it difficult for Congress to oversee how appropriated funds are used for democracy assistance.
Why GAO Looked Into It
The House Appropriations Committee included a provision for the GAO to assess democracy assistance. The review examined the extent to which State’s congressional notifications addressed Section 7015(c) of appropriations acts for FYs 2023 and 2024. The GAO also examined how clearly and consistently these notifications presented information on the use of democracy assistance notwithstanding authorities for FYs 2021 through 2024 appropriations. GAO analyzed State notifications submitted on behalf of eight bureaus and reviewed State guidance for drafting notifications.
What GAO Recommends
GAO made 2 recommendations to Department of State:
- The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of Legislative Affairs develops guidance for congressional notifications that addresses congressional reporting criteria for notwithstanding authorities.
- The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of Legislative Affairs develops guidance for congressional notifications that calls for the notifications to identify specific programs and activities, if known, for which State plans to use a notwithstanding authority, such as the democracy assistance notwithstanding authority.
The full report, Democracy Assistance: State Department Should Improve Congressional Notification of Its Use of Certain Legal Authorities, is on GAO’s site, publicly released Nov 06, 2026.