December 11, 2017

Congresswoman Lee Applauds Pentagon’s Announcement of Financial Audit

Washington, D.C. –  Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the sponsor of H.R. 3079, the Audit the Pentagon Act, released the following statement in response to the Pentagon’s announcement that they would conduct their first-ever financial audit, beginning in 2018:

“The long overdue announcement by the Pentagon that they will undertake a financial audit is an important step towards transparency. For years, I have introduced the bipartisan Audit the Pentagon Act to end the culture of waste, fraud and abuse at the Department of Defense.

“It is disgraceful that Congress has poured trillions upon trillions of taxpayer dollars into an agency that refuses even the most basic measure of accountability. It is my hope that this audit, which was mandated by law in the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, will help rein in bloated Pentagon spending and ensure our security investments are smart and effective.”

Congresswoman Lee has been a long-time critic of the lack of transparency and accountability at the Department of Defense. Earlier this year, the Lee-Burgess amendment requiring an audit report from Defense Secretary Mattis was adopted in the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act. 

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