[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14422]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1545
                         AUDIT THE PENTAGON ACT

  (Mr. COFFMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, we in Congress have a responsibility to 
ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely. No Federal department should 
get a free pass, especially one responsible for managing over 50 
percent of all annual discretionary spending.
  The law requires all Federal agencies, including the Department of 
Defense, to present auditable financial statements to Congress. 
Unfortunately, it has been over 16 years and the Pentagon has yet to 
comply with this law.
  How can we be expected to oversee the Pentagon's spending habits when 
we have no confidence in the numbers that DOD has presented?
  My ``Audit the Pentagon Act'' presents a ``carrot and stick'' 
approach to addressing this issue. It gives the DOD additional transfer 
authority if it receives a clean audit, allowing it greater flexibility 
to reprogram funds among accounts. Failure to achieve a clean audit 
results in serious consequences.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill which improves fiscal 
accountability and oversight of the Pentagon's budget process.

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