Warren, Braun, Lee, Grassley Lead Effort to End Wasteful Pentagon Spending

September 30, 2024

Warren, Braun, Lee, Grassley Lead Effort to End Wasteful Pentagon Spending

Senator Warren has repeatedly criticized Congress' statutory requirement for unfunded priorities lists

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Washington, DC - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, along with Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), reintroduced the Streamline Pentagon Spending Act, bipartisan legislation to repeal statutory requirements to provide unfunded priorities lists, reduce wasteful reporting burdens, and enhance civilian oversight over the budgetary process.

For decades, the military services have submitted wish lists, referred to as "unfunded priorities lists," to Congress on top of their annual budget submissions. In 2016, it became a statutory requirement for the chiefs of staff of the military services to provide these lists annually. These lists often do not come with long-term cost estimates, harming oversight and making it difficult for taxpayers to know if their dollars are being used responsibly.

The Streamline Pentagon Budgeting Act would repeal requirements for top military officers, combatant commanders, the Missile Defense Agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to provide unfunded priorities lists. Last year, Department of Defense (DoD) Comptroller Mike McCord confirmed the ineffectiveness of combatant commands and military services submitting unfunded priorities lists on top of their annual budget requests and endorsed a proposal to repeal the statutory requirement.

"The budget process is all about making tough decisions and setting clear priorities - requesting billions of dollars in vague 'unfunded priorities' undermines that process. We need to get rid of the requirement to provide these wishlists in order to cut down on wasteful spending," said Senator Warren.

"Strengthening national security ought to be our strict focus, and I'm always working to support robust military capabilities. But my longtime oversight shows the Pentagon can't even balance its books, so why do our laws demand the Defense Department seek even more taxpayer dollars?" Senator Grassley said. "Our bill strikes down the unfunded priorities mandate to help cut back on paperwork and wasteful spending."

"Our crushing national debt is a national security threat. Defense is the most important thing we do, and if we're going to get our servicemembers the best equipment, we need a stable budgeting process. Unfunded priority lists may have started with good intentions, but as Congress's budget dysfunction has gotten worse it has morphed into another budgeting gimmick with negative results such as non-necessities being included in the budget and critical necessities ended up on a wish list. The nation and our military deserve a stable budgeting process, which this legislation will be a step toward," saidSenator Mike Braun

Senator Warren initially introduced the bill as a bipartisan and bicameral piece of legislation in 2022. In January 2023, Senator Warren, King, Lee, and Braun wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, pushing the agency to rein in its use of unfunded priorities lists. Senator Warren also wrote to DoD in December 2022, criticizing the "unfunded priorities list," which asked for an additional $25 billion, including $19.3 billion for inflation.

Senator Warren has led vigilant, bipartisan oversight of Pentagon spending in the Senate:

• In May 2024, Senator Warren led a bipartisan letter demanding the Department of Defense (DoD) provide answers about military contractors' price gouging tactics that cost the Pentagon billions of dollars every year in overpayments.
• In March 2024, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Warren questioned Secretary Robert F. Hale, former Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chair of the PPBE Commission, about how the Pentagon allocates budgetary resources and their requested increase in allocation flexibility.
• In July 2023, chairing a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senator Warren called out the Department of Defense (DoD) for wasting billions in taxpayers dollars due to price gouging by defense contractors for services and in health care, and identified opportunities for cost savings when DoD buys personnel-related goods and services.
• In December 2022, Senator Warren sent a letter to DOD, criticizing its most recent "unfunded priorities list," which asked for an additional $25 billion, including $19.3 billion for inflation. The DoD's budget contradicts assurances Senator Warren received in October that DoD would not need blanket inflation-based policy changes.
• In September 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Warren questioned General Anthony Cotton, nominee for STRATCOM commander, about how he would handle so-called "unfunded priorities" that become wish lists to boost the Pentagon's budget.
• In June 2022, Senator Warren introduced the bicameral Stop Price Gouging the Military Act, which would enhance DoD's ability to access certified cost and pricing data. Part of Senator Warren's legislation was incorporated into the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act reported to the Senate.
• In May 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Warren criticized Army leaders for reducing its military housing budget request and instead asking for those funds in their unfunded priorities list.
• In April 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, DoD Secretary Lloyd Austin III agreed with Senator Warren that the proposed DoD budget should not increase by $90 to $400 billion, stating that the additional billions in funding was not necessary.
• In July 2020, in response to questioning from Senator Warren in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said big defense contractors cannot divert the increased progress payments towards share buybacks, dividends, or executive salaries.
• In May 2020, Senator Warren wrote to the Department requesting clarification on how the Department would prevent profiteering following a recent change to increase payments to contractors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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