Pentagon Blasted For Spending $41.6 Million On Viagra

As the Pentagon prepares to defend its annual allocation of funds from Congress, one lawmaker is up in arms over medical expenditures. In particular, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) objects to $41.6 million being spent on Viagra.

This contentious issue exploded during a hearing in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Lee questioned John Tenaglia of the Department of Defense on how much the armed forces spend on Viagra annually.

When he said he did not know, she replied “about $41.6 million.” 

Lee noted that the allocation on the little blue pill by the Pentagon was more than it cost to repair a collapsed bridge in her district. The Democrat also charged that contractors squander hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds for spare parts for the F-35 fighter jet program.

Critics of the Pentagon’s budget argue that the funding amounts to misplaced priorities. Particularly those on the left believe the taxpayer funds could better be used on domestic projects.

Democrats have a long history of objecting to every dollar spent by the armed forces. Many such as Lee would rather divert the dollars to their own pet projects. 

The military’s defenders counter that the needs of the armed forces are broad and encompass a wide array of services. They argue that breaking down individual expenses may be misleading and result in a lack of readiness.

Part of this readiness is treating the medical needs of members past and present, and some of them include erectile dysfunction.

The fact is, as Lee should be well aware, that the Pentagon’s health care system is an umbrella that covers nearly 10 million individuals. Many of these are retirees and their families. 

The Military Times reported that less than 10% of the Viagra prescriptions funded by the armed forces are for active members. A study cited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs shed further light on the necessity of the medical benefit.

In the 2015 report, it was determined that male veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were “significantly more likely than their civilian counterparts to report erectile dysfunction and other problems.”

This issue among active service members also reportedly increased after the U.S. became engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To deny this medical treatment to veterans would be a grave disservice.