FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 23, 2023
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

Dr. Rand Paul Joins Bipartisan Push to Audit the Pentagon and End Wasteful Spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) joined Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in introducing legislation that would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to finally pass a full, independent audit in fiscal year 2024. If enacted, the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 would require any DOD component that fails to complete a clean audit opinion to return 1 percent of its budget to the Treasury for deficit reduction.

“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,” said Dr. Paul.

“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,” said Sanders. “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.”

“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.” 

Last year, the DOD failed its fifth audit and was 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. More recently, reports disclosed the Department of Defense miscalculated more than $6 billion in aid to Ukraine. 

You can read the full text of the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 HERE.

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