61%
Each year, Congress and defense lobbyists play a game. Defense lobbyists push for more spending than is necessary, and lawmakers–too afraid to look weak on defense–give in. It’s the taxpayers who lose.
In yesterday’s Oversight Committee Hearing I turned that game around on Department of Defense (DOD) officials with a game called “JeoparDOD."
The answers to these questions are troubling. Here are a few of them:
- Which President allowed defense spending to grow by $100 billion in four years?
- What program is $183 billion dollars over budget and ten years behind schedule?
- What has the Department of Defense failed to pass for years?
- What percentage of DOD’s assets can it not account for?
Look, if my kids couldn’t tell me where 61% of their allowance had gone, I wouldn’t give them more allowance. Our military isn’t benefiting from this lack of financial oversight. Just one group is: Big Defense Contractors.
Defense contractors and corporations' pockets are being padded thanks to their influence in politics. In fact, defense contractors spent $101 million on lobbying in just the first three quarters of 2022.
Lax Pentagon oversight coupled with a lack of accountability is wasteful, reckless, and unacceptable. As a champion of oversight, I’m going to keep pushing against leaders in both parties to make sure taxpayer dollars aren’t handouts to private defense contractors.
Katie Porter
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