Report: Many State Department goals remain unmet

The State Department has met its goals for disseminating information on its Web site but is failing in several other areas, according to a report released Monday by the General Accounting Office.

The report, "Department of State: Status of Achieving Key Outcomes and Addressing Major Management Challenges," (GAO-02-42), was requested by Tennessean Fred Thompson, the top Republican on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. It notes that although the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the priorities of State, many of the agency's performance goals have gone unmet.

The goals include: eliminating the threat of weapons of mass destruction; expanding U.S. access to foreign markets; enhancing Americans' ability to travel and live abroad securely; and reducing the risks of terrorism.

The department said it is establishing a better system to track child abductions and in 2002 will continue to use its consular Web site, implement computerized tracking systems for international adoptions and U.S. citizens imprisoned abroad, and improve the passport system, among other things.