December 06, 2016

Congresswoman Lee: The Pentagon is Defrauding the American People

Oakland, CA – Congresswoman Barbara Lee released a statement responding to reports that the Pentagon buried a study identifying $125 billion in waste from the agency:

“For decades, officials have resisted any serious efforts to reign in bloated Pentagon spending. Yesterday, the Washington Post revealed just how far they’ll go to bury evidence of rampant waste, fraud and abuse.

“Reports show that Pentagon officials intentionally deceived Congress and the American people to hide at least $125 billion in waste. This deceit is an insult to hardworking taxpayers. The Pentagon does not have a license to defraud the American people and should be held accountable.

“It’s past time to end the culture of unchecked spending at the Pentagon. As the Washington Post reported yesterday, the Pentagon couldn’t give ‘even a remotely accurate idea of what it was paying,’ for back-office personnel. That is why Congress should pass my bipartisan legislation, the Audit the Pentagon Act, which would bring long overdue transparency and accountability to defense spending. Enough is enough.”

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