86 



overseas promotions. * ' : '. 



-.*'*■"■■ 

 Second, concerning graduation, FAS has no restrictions on the 

 length of time that participants can continue to receive MPP 

 funds. In the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 

 1990, Congress directed FAS to evaluate each MPP participant to 

 determine whether continued program assistance was necessary for 

 market maintenance, but FAS has not developed specific criteria 

 to make the required evaluations. We believe that providing for 

 the phaseout of government funding would make clear that these 

 funds are not an entitlement. Furthermore, such action could 

 increase the number of firms that benefit from the programs and 

 would give the taxpayer greater assurance that these funds are 

 being used to help firms enter new markets. 



Program evaluations are Important to ensure that government funds 

 for export promotion activities are used effectively. We 

 recognize that the large number of variables that determine 

 export levels makes it extremely difficult to demonstrate a one- 

 to-one relationship between program- funded promotion activities 

 and increased exports. But additional evaluations could be done. 

 We found that few program evaluations were completed from fiscal 

 years 1986 through 1992. In general, FAS has acknowledged 

 weaknesses in this area and the need to conduct a greater number 

 of evaluations. FAS representatives cited limited staff and 

 travel funds as factors accounting for the small number of 

 program evaluations. 



OVERSEAS STAFF RESOURCES BURDENED 

 BY HEAVY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 



Especially in a time of budgetary constraints, FAS needs to 

 assess how effectively It uses its resources. Our ongoing review 

 of FAS resource utilization indicates that FAS devotes 

 substantial resources to reporting on commodities abroad. FAS 



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