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Congressmembers reintroduce legislation targeting wasteful Pentagon spending

On Monday, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IO) reintroduced legislation that would streamline Pentagon spending.

The Streamline Pentagon Spending Act, would repeal statutory requirements to provide unfunded priorities lists, reduce wasteful reporting burdens and enhance civilian oversight over the budgetary process, officials said. Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the legislation would target wasteful practices.

“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.

The legislators said that the military services have submitted wish lists to Congress, in the form of unfunded priorities lists, as part of their annual budget submissions. In 2016, it became a statutory requirement for chiefs of staff of the military services to provide these lists annually. The lists often don’t come with cost estimates, the senators said, which hinders oversight.

The proposed legislation would repeal that requirement, officials said. A proposal to repeal the statutory requirement was endorsed by U.S Department of Defense Comptroller Mike McCord last year.

“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.”

Liz Carey

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