The federal government secretly spends our tax money in ways that we couldn’t even imagine.
The Pentagon and the Department of Defense seem to be the biggest culprits of them all.
Now Rand Paul is calling for serious transparency after it was revealed that the Pentagon cannot account for trillions of dollars.
Pentagon funding problems could impact “military readiness”
Government spending is out of control and despite the need for a strong national defense—the Department of Defense is a giant part of the problem.
Last month, officials at the Pentagon sent a letter to Congress sharing concerns that they didn’t have enough cash and were “uncertain” about future funding.
“We have already been forced to slow down the replenishment of our own forces to hedge against an uncertain funding future,” Pentagon comptroller, Michael McCord, warned.
“Failure to replenish our military services on a timely basis could harm our military’s readiness,” he added.
This funding problem puts our military leaders in a bit of a predicament.
We have sent billions of dollars in military assets to Ukraine to help them defend themselves from Russia.
Politicians have promised us that they’ve been sending older equipment to the Ukrainian government and replacing our stockpiles with brand new tech.
But that seems like it’s far from the truth.
Now the latest Pentagon audit is giving Americans new reason to be concerned.
DOD has failed every audit since they began in 2018
In 1990 Congress passed the Chief Financial Officers Act, which ordered all federal agencies to audit themselves annually.
Despite the congressional requirement, the Pentagon waited until 2018 to formally begin the process of auditing itself.
Since 2018, the Department of Defense hasn’t passed a single audit.
That’s right, they have failed all six consecutive audits since they began in 2018.
Comptroller McCord attributes the failure to the complexity of auditing the massive $3.8 trillion organization.
“Auditing the Department’s $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities is a massive undertaking, but the improvements and changes we are making every day as a result of these audits positively affect every Solider, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Guardian, and DOD civilian,” McCord said.
But fiscal conservatives aren’t buying the excuse and are now calling for serious accountability.
“$3.8 trillion vanished into thin air”
Rand Paul led the charge from congressional conservatives.
“The recent failure of the Pentagon’s 6th audit couldn’t make it clearer that we need accountability & transparency.”
The Senator from Kentucky said that this is the perfect time for lawmakers to start discussing an independent audit.
“No institution is above scrutiny, especially the DoD w/ the largest budget of ANY fed agency,” he added.
The recent failure of the Pentagon’s 6TH audit couldn’t make it clearer that we need accountability & transparency. It’s time to independently #AuditthePentagon. No institution is above scrutiny, especially the DoD w/ the largest budget of ANY fed agency. https://t.co/ATqPB3ZYlS
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 16, 2023
Arizona Representative Andy Biggs suggested that leaders at the Pentagon should face “consequences.”
“The Pentagon has failed its sixth straight audit. $3.8 trillion vanished into thin air,” he said.
The Pentagon has failed its sixth straight audit.
$3.8 trillion vanished into thin air.
Any other organization would face consequences.
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) November 16, 2023
The Libertarian Party blamed the failure on the military leveraging a worldwide “empire.”
“US foreign policy has sent $4 trillion in assets across the globe, to 4,500 sites, with little to no accountability. The only solution is to end global militarism,” they wrote.
The government has access to every dollar that Americans spend.
There’s no reason why Americans shouldn’t know the same about them.
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
