Senators introduce bipartisan efforts to audit the Pentagon
Christopher Tremoglie
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Government spending is out of control and has been for quite some time. One of the biggest culprits has been the Department of Defense. Last week, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined forces and introduced the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 to try to bring some fiscal accountability to the Pentagon. It’s long overdue and an initiative that legislators from both political parties should support.
“Accountability and transparency are the bedrock of responsible democracy. No institution is above scrutiny, especially the Department of Defense, which has the largest budget of any federal agency and is charged with carrying out the greatest constitutional responsibility. We need to ensure that our defense spending is accurate, accountable, and in the best interest of American Taxpayers,” Paul said in a press release.
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Fiscal matters are a vital issue in the sustainability of government. Paul knows this and has always been a fiscal hawk. After reports that the Department of Defense miscalculated the value of military aid it provided to Ukraine, it’s apparent there is a lot of work that needs to be done. As the Washington Examiner previously reported, the error was discovered in March and reported in May. It is just the latest example of why an audit is desperately needed.
“From buying $14,000 toilet seats to losing track of warehouses full of spare parts, the Department of Defense has been plagued by wasteful spending for decades. Every dollar the Pentagon squanders is a dollar not used to support service members, bolster national security or strengthen military readiness,” Grassley said. “The Department of Defense should have to meet the same annual auditing standards as every other agency.”
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“The Pentagon and the military industrial complex have been plagued by a massive amount of waste, fraud, and financial mismanagement for decades. That is absolutely unacceptable,” Sanders said. “If we are serious about spending taxpayer dollars wisely and effectively, we have got to end the absurdity of the Pentagon being the only agency in the federal government that has never passed an independent audit.”
Additionally, the senators stated that the DOD failed its fifth audit. This included the revelation that they were “unable to account for over half of its assets, which are in excess of $3.1 trillion, or roughly 78 percent of the entire federal government.” Such errors are inexcusable and should anger every taxpayer. The people of the country deserve better than the DOD’s incompetence.