Congressman DeSaulnier Announces Legislation to Squash Wasteful Spending at DoD

Washington, D.C. – In response to last week’s House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which broke longstanding budget caps on defense spending, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) announced the introduction of the Department of Defense Waste Reduction Act (H.R. 2367). Designed to address reckless spending at the Department of Defense (DoD), this bill would prevent the DoD from receiving any additional funding until wasteful spending practices within the Department are addressed.

A report by the Washington Post exposed that the Pentagon buried an internal study that identified a $125 billion in bureaucratic waste. The study, which was conducted by the Defense Business Board (DBB), outlined a “clear path” for the DoD to save the identified funding without requiring layoffs or military personnel reductions.

“Despite never completing a full audit and clear evidence of reckless spending at the DoD, last week the House authorized a bloated defense spending bill, which exceeds spending caps by $72 billion. Such an increase is troubling, since the DBB report could be just the first glimpse into a myriad of waste, fraud, and abuses. We must insist on transparency and accountability in our government agencies, and ensure taxpayer dollars are judiciously spent. This bill would do just that by decreasing the staggering cost to taxpayers, all while keeping our military manpower and readiness intact,” said Congressman DeSaulnier.

The Department of Defense Waste Reduction Act would require the DoD to implement the cost-saving recommendations laid out in the DBB report or submit justifications to Congress for not doing so before Congress can provide any funds over their authorized level, set by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.

Following the Washington Post exposé, Congressman DeSaulnier joined Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) in calling for Congressional hearings to investigate DoD spending practices. During an Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the internal study, DeSaulnier questioned members of the DBB about the findings in the report and its subsequent cover up.