Sanders, Grassley and Colleagues Make Bipartisan Push to Audit the Pentagon and End Wasteful Spending

As the recent debt ceiling deal increased military spending to $886 billion for fiscal year 2024, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), today introduced 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.

The Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 is endorsed by a number of organizations, including the R Street Institute.