Grassley, Warren, Colleagues Lead Legislation to Limit Waste & Paperwork at the Pentagon

Grassley, Warren, Colleagues Lead Legislation to Limit Waste & Paperwork at the Pentagon

WASHINGTON - Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce wasteful reporting burdens at the Department of Defense (DOD) and enhance congressional oversight of taxpayer dollars. Specifically, the Streamline Pentagon Spending Act would repeal a 2016 statute that requires military chiefs of staff and commandants to provide Congress a list of unfunded priorities on top of annual budget submissions.

"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?" Grassley said. "Our bill strikes down the unfunded priorities mandate to help cut back on paperwork and wasteful spending."

"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 wish lists in order to cut down on wasteful spending," Warren said.

"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 service members 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," Braun said.

Download bill text HERE.

Background:

The Streamline Pentagon Spending Act would repeal the unfunded priorities list requirement 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.

Unlike agencies' annual budget submissions, unfunded priorities lists often fail to consider the long-term costs of these investments over the future years defense plan. DOD in 2023 supported getting rid of the lists, saying they have "no necessary connection to the [Defense] Secretary's global priorities."

Grassley's Work to Address DOD's Troubling Financial History:

DOD is the only federal agency to have never passed a financial audit. Grassley has conducted oversight and led bipartisan legislation to improve the agency's controls. He has additionally spearheaded multi-year investigations into price gouging practices by DOD contractors. The Streamline the Pentagon Act complements Grassley's longstanding efforts to cut waste and abuse across DOD's financial systems.

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