New cash for defense infrastructure under fire
The bill, sponsored by Lee and Republican Michael Burgess, would cut the budget of any Pentagon agency that doesn’t achieve a clean audit by half a percent for the first year after enactment and 1 percent each subsequent year.
“The lack of accountability and transparency at the Pentagon is simply outrageous,” Lee said in a statement. “Congress pours trillions of taxpayer dollars into the Pentagon … but we still have no clear idea how that money is being spent. This legislation would be a long overdue step in ensuring transparency and putting an end to the culture of waste, fraud and abuse at the Department of Defense.”
The measure is supported by a handful of watchdog groups on both ends of the political spectrum, including Win Without War, Public Citizen, Taxpayers for Common Sense, FreedomWorks and R Street.