Senator Ayotte: Pentagon Spending Must Be Scrutinized to Find Savings that Won't Undercut Readiness

Press Release

Improved DOD financial management and data necessary to better inform defense budget decisions

During an Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing today, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) underscored the need to find savings within the Department of Defense (DoD) budget by identifying wasteful and duplicative spending at the Pentagon. Senator Ayotte, who serves as the panel's Ranking Member, noted that DoD is one of the few agencies in the entire federal government that cannot pass an independent audit of its finances; she expressed concern that DoD needs more reliable data and financial management processes necessary to fully evaluate areas of potential savings.

In her opening remarks during the hearing, Senator Ayotte emphasized the importance of obtaining reliable financial data to ensure that proposed spending reductions do not undercut warfighters or endanger military readiness.

"With our nation facing a serious fiscal crisis, we must closely scrutinize spending at every federal agency, including the Pentagon. DoD must be auditable to ensure that we're responsible stewards of taxpayer money," said Senator Ayotte. "However, as we reduce defense spending, it's critical to ensure that reductions don't undercut America's warfighters or compromise our military readiness. To distinguish between necessary defense budget cuts and reductions that would harm our troops and threaten readiness, we need reliable financial data and effective businesses processes and systems."

DoD's inability to be audited could limit its ability to successfully implement management controls and efficiency initiatives, achieve savings, and redirect increasingly scarce defense dollars to higher priorities.

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