Washington, D.C. - This past weekend, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the Rules Committee, penned an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News on the Pentagon's failure to pass an audit for the 7th year in a row. Congressman Burgess has voiced his concern multiple times to Congress, that there must be oversight into the Department of Defense and they must be held accountable for the billions of taxpayer dollars used.
Pentagon Finances Must be Held Accountable
Another year, another $824 billion missing from the Department of Defense. Is the Pentagon’s failure to pass an audit really a headline story any more? Or is Congress’ lack of enforcement?
On Nov. 15, the Pentagon failed yet another audit. Seven years ago, I advocated for Department of Defense fiscal accountability in Congress. Seven years later, I am still advocating for it.
Let me be clear: Government overreach and overregulation are not the answer, but I do support government accountability and the maintenance of tax dollar integrity. The DOD should have been held responsible before I even came to Congress 22 years ago.
Following World War II, President Harry Truman proposed a new defense structure, alternative to the previously established Department of War, and merged all military departments into one. Even at that time in our history, the United States was spending more on defense than it could afford. In his proposal to Congress, Truman cited wasteful military spending as a reason for a more unified and accountable defense department.
In 1990, Congress passed the Chief Financial Officers Act requiring every department and agency in the federal government to produce verifiable financial statements that can be fully audited. It took 27 years before President Donald Trump forced the DOD to undergo its first audit in 2017.
DOD Comptroller Mike McCord told reporters at a briefing on Nov. 15 that he would not say that the agency failed, as it had “about half clean opinions,” Fox News reported. “So if someone had a report card that is half good and half not good, I don’t know that you call the student or the report card a failure,” McCord said.
The truth is, if Congress had enforced its own legislation 34 years ago, the Pentagon would already have mastered this mandate. Even so, 50% is not a passing grade on any legitimate exam.
Congress has made sure America’s military power is formidable both at home and around the globe. But the least we can do is keep an accurate record of how we wield that power.
The Pentagon must conform to the same level of accountability that other public sector agencies are held to when it comes to the spending of taxpayer dollars. Our national defense is too important to remain a black box.
Our country faces more threats than at any time in recent history. The Pentagon’s many resources must be optimized to ensure that the United States can maintain the most capable military in the world.
For the past seven years, I have championed congressional urgency for legislative enforcement of the DOD’s precarious fiscal habits by acting as the Republican lead on the Audit the Pentagon Act. This legislation would require a 0.5% reduction in DOD discretionary budget authority if the department is unable to achieve a clean audit. That legislation has yet to be enacted.
In the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, Congress mandated the DOD achieve a clean audit by 2028. This is a step to correct what will be nearly 40 years of legislative and executive shortfalls. It will be up to Congress to step up and put an end to inefficient federal agency spending.
My time in office is nearly over. I urge my fellow legislators to take this issue to heart and fully prioritize an accurate DOD audit. It’s time for Congress to remind the Department of Defense who is in control of the purse strings.
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