Pentagon Failed Financial Audit For Sixth Consecutive Year
The Pentagon failed its annual audit for the sixth year in a row, and conservative lawmakers demanded consequences for Biden’s Department of Defense.
The massive agency listed $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities. Auditors performed 30 sub-audits and found only seven were rated “clean.” According to comptroller Mike McCord, eighteen failed, three are ongoing and one was “qualified.”
All must pass for the audit to receive approval, but that obviously is not even close to being currently possible.
The news came as debate intensified over how tens of billions in unaccountable aid has been sent to Ukraine.
Several reports accuse the DoD of failing to properly monitor the weapons and equipment shipped to Kyiv. McCord said the Pentagon has not gone far enough in correcting issues identified by last year’s audit.
He suggested the DoD needs to work closely with the Treasury Department to coordinate valuations of military hardware. He also recommended implementing automation to streamline the process.
Alarmingly, while he noted “progress” and claimed the Pentagon is working toward a “clean” audit, McCord admitted that the feat “is still years away.”
The most recent Pentagon audit was conducted by 1,600 auditors carrying out 700 site visits, according to the DoD. The seven sub-audits that passed in 2023 is the identical number to those found free of fraud last year.
The Pentagon is legally bound to undergo the financial probes of its record keeping. The process dives into the DoD’s stewardship of weapons systems, military service members across the globe as well as property dispersed worldwide.
Besides the massive aid continuing to pour into Ukraine, lawmakers are set to send billions to Israel to assist in its war against Hamas terrorists. Congress has yet to jointly approve aid packages featuring funding for Israel.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) blasted the news of the sixth straight failure by the Pentagon. He declared “any other organization would face consequences.”
Calling the situation a “flagrant disregard for taxpayer funds,” the House Oversight Committee member sharply criticized the administration. “DoD’s inability to adequately track assets risks our military readiness,” and the Pentagon reaps almost a trillion dollars yearly.
