Pentagon let $27.7b in funds expire in 2018, watchdog says
The US Department of Defense (DoD) allowed $27.7 billion in funds to expire last year, a new government watchdog report says, boosting calls by Democrats that Pentagon dollars should be trimmed.
The department’s Inspector General (IG) office made the announcement in a 33-page document about fiscal year 2018 released Tuesday.
“If the DoD does not spend its funds within the legal timeframes, the funds expire. In FY 2018, the DoD reported $27.7 billion of expired funds, meaning that, generally, the DoD can no longer use those funds for new spending,” read the report.
Democrats, now in control of the House, have been calling for using the extra money going to Pentagon for domestic priorities.
The Trump administration wants some $750 billion for defense in the budget, a figure reportedly considered too high by the Democrats.
The report, which followed the Pentagon’s first ever audit, was meant at enabling “Congress and the public to receive a more accurate assessment of how the DoD spends its money; ... prevent wasteful practices; and assist the DoD to improve operational decisions,” according to Acting DoD Inspector General Glenn Fine.
“The road to a clean opinion is not short; it will not happen immediately,” Fine said. “Continued progress requires sustained effort and attention throughout the Department.”
Last week, US President Donald Trump told Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to stop publicly releasing watchdog reports.
“For these reports criticizing every single thing — and even in some cases saying good, perhaps — but for these reports, to give it out, forget about the public, given out to the enemy is insane. And I don’t want that to happen anymore, Mr. Secretary, you understand that,” Trump said.
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