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Bernie Sanders Declares War On Wasteful Military Spending
In the speech, Rumsfeld made a remark that was largely ignored by the media, given the terror that struck the following day.
"According to some estimates," he said, "we [the Department of Defense] cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions."
A 2013 Reuters investigation uncovered numbers far more startling than those cited by Rumsfeld.
"Because of its persistent inability to tally its accounts, the Pentagon is the only federal agency that has not complied with a law that requires annual audits of all government departments. That means that the $8.5 trillion in taxpayer money doled out by Congress to the Pentagon since 1996, the first year it was supposed to be audited, has never been accounted for. That sum exceeds the value of China's economic output last year."
(snip)
In his speech in Iowa, Bernie Sanders addressed the fact that while the Department of Defense continues to be lavished with taxpayer money and while companies that have been convicted of serious fraud continue to secure lucrative government contracts, many military families are forced to rely on food stamps to survive.
"I believe that when we talk about making government cost-effective and protecting taxpayers, it doesn't simply mean cutting Medicaid and food stamps. What it does mean is taking a hard look at an agency which receives about $600 billion a year, where there is an enormous amount of waste and fraud."
"That is exactly what I will do," he continued. "We are going to take a very hard look at that."
https://www.slantnews.com/story/2015-12-30-bernie-sanders-calls-for-an-audit-of-the-department-of-defense-citing-mass-waste-and-fraud-election-2016
Bernie Sanders Calls Out Defense Contractors and Lobbyists
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders calls out wasteful spending on military, fraud and government settlements from defense contractors, wants to make judicious cuts, and if president he would audit the Department of Defense - who can't keep track of where money is going.
(snip)
Senator Sanders responded, “They make sure they have military contracts all over the country. So then any member of Congress who stands up and says ‘Well, maybe we don’t have to spend $600 billion on the military.’ They get letters from people working in the military industry in their own state.”
Actual spending on the military is well over $600 billion. From our blog post B is for Billion: What Military Cuts? on February 3rd, our current “National Security Budget” for 2015 is $1,009,000,000,000 – Over $1 TRILLION for one year alone. This number includes the actual Pentagon budget, cost of nuclear weapons, Veteran Affairs, non-Department of Defense national security, and the share of interest on our national debt attributed to military spending.
As president, Sen. Sanders said he would audit the Department of Defense because of the massive cost overruns. “The Department of Defense is so large, it is so complicated, that they can’t even audit themselves. You ask them, ‘tell me exactly where is the money going’, they’re not quite clear about it.”
Sen. Sanders ends with, “We know that there is massive fraud going on in the defense industry. Virtually every major defense contractor has either been convicted of fraud or reached a settlement with the government….We need a strong military, it is a dangerous world. But I think we can make judicious cuts.”
http://gui.afsc.org/birddog/bernie-sanders-calls-out-defense-contractors-and-lobbyists
Does anyone know if Hillary has called for an audit of the Military Industrial Complex?
11 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Just trying to get ahead of the pack, great op as always Uncle Joe.
We need to audit the Pentagon
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/263014-we-need-to-audit-the-pentagon
Based on the latest revelations from federal investigators, the Pentagon all too often seems to be spending cash like a carefree heir to a family fortune -- except in this case, taxpayers are the ones footing the bill.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko has called out Department of Defense (DoD) leadership for renting “specially furnished” private villas in Afghanistan and hiring contractors to provide round-the-clock “security” as well as 3-star “food services” to the tune of $150 million.
This comes on the heels of another report, also prompted by Sopko, that the Pentagon spent $43 million on a gas station there that should have cost approximately $500,000. That’s the difference between budgeting for one new car and instead purchasing more than 100. Even more incredible is that the Pentagon offered bogus explanations about how the money was spent on private villas and the gas station.
When asked why they required private villas with flat-screen TVs and personal catering instead of living on secured military bases that provide housing and food, officials claimed “the goal was to show private companies that they could set up operations in Afghanistan themselves without needing military support.” They failed to address the fact that the officials did have armed support 24/7 while at the villas and paid contractors $57 million to provide it. To quote Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that “sounds like U.S. Grade A baloney.”
And when asked about the gas station, the Pentagon claimed that it simply could not provide any information at all -- not the cost, planning, or implementation -- about any aspect of the project.
Despite these, and other far more outrageous examples of waste and abuse, the Pentagon insists it needs more money from taxpayers’ pockets. A number in Congress and running for president want to fulfill their request. So what do you do with someone who spends away the inheritance and keeps asking others for more? Well for starters, you certainly don’t give them more money, no questions asked; you go back and find out how all that money was actually spent.
In other words, you do an audit.
The Pentagon is the single largest government bureaucracy and has been cited multiple times -- even in the absence of an official audit -- for grossly irresponsible expenditures. Spending money inefficiently on weapons systems and programs that aren’t needed or that don’t work only makes us less safe, by diverting taxpayer dollars that could otherwise be spent on useful programs. As it stands, right now the Pentagon might be buying power drills to mix cake batter and we wouldn’t know it.
Yet, a top official at the Pentagon sought to downplay the necessity of an audit, saying that overseeing the books “will never be the top mission of the department” because DoD’s first concern is to “defend the nation.” Plus, military financial systems are difficult to overhaul and reform in the first place. The trouble is, how the Pentagon tracks its spending – on its supply chains, procurement, personnel, training, and much more – is related directly to its effectiveness in protecting America. When resources are misallocated, brave service people don’t get what they need, where they need it, when it matters most. And of course, it’s never easy to bring transparency or accountability to any large entity like a government agency. In the case of the Pentagon, however, making an effort at reform could not be more urgent: lives may be at stake. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is already pressing for an audit of the Pentagon in order to combat similar “unacceptable boondoggle[s].”
The Audit the Pentagon bill is so bipartisan that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- who are probably as opposite on the political spectrum as one can get -- are cosponsors.
As the old saying goes: waste not, want not. If an audit can help to keep the Pentagon from willfully wasting taxpayer dollars, it won’t be left wanting so much more.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/263014-we-need-to-audit-the-pentagon
Based on the latest revelations from federal investigators, the Pentagon all too often seems to be spending cash like a carefree heir to a family fortune -- except in this case, taxpayers are the ones footing the bill.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko has called out Department of Defense (DoD) leadership for renting “specially furnished” private villas in Afghanistan and hiring contractors to provide round-the-clock “security” as well as 3-star “food services” to the tune of $150 million.
This comes on the heels of another report, also prompted by Sopko, that the Pentagon spent $43 million on a gas station there that should have cost approximately $500,000. That’s the difference between budgeting for one new car and instead purchasing more than 100. Even more incredible is that the Pentagon offered bogus explanations about how the money was spent on private villas and the gas station.
When asked why they required private villas with flat-screen TVs and personal catering instead of living on secured military bases that provide housing and food, officials claimed “the goal was to show private companies that they could set up operations in Afghanistan themselves without needing military support.” They failed to address the fact that the officials did have armed support 24/7 while at the villas and paid contractors $57 million to provide it. To quote Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that “sounds like U.S. Grade A baloney.”
And when asked about the gas station, the Pentagon claimed that it simply could not provide any information at all -- not the cost, planning, or implementation -- about any aspect of the project.
Despite these, and other far more outrageous examples of waste and abuse, the Pentagon insists it needs more money from taxpayers’ pockets. A number in Congress and running for president want to fulfill their request. So what do you do with someone who spends away the inheritance and keeps asking others for more? Well for starters, you certainly don’t give them more money, no questions asked; you go back and find out how all that money was actually spent.
In other words, you do an audit.
The Pentagon is the single largest government bureaucracy and has been cited multiple times -- even in the absence of an official audit -- for grossly irresponsible expenditures. Spending money inefficiently on weapons systems and programs that aren’t needed or that don’t work only makes us less safe, by diverting taxpayer dollars that could otherwise be spent on useful programs. As it stands, right now the Pentagon might be buying power drills to mix cake batter and we wouldn’t know it.
Yet, a top official at the Pentagon sought to downplay the necessity of an audit, saying that overseeing the books “will never be the top mission of the department” because DoD’s first concern is to “defend the nation.” Plus, military financial systems are difficult to overhaul and reform in the first place. The trouble is, how the Pentagon tracks its spending – on its supply chains, procurement, personnel, training, and much more – is related directly to its effectiveness in protecting America. When resources are misallocated, brave service people don’t get what they need, where they need it, when it matters most. And of course, it’s never easy to bring transparency or accountability to any large entity like a government agency. In the case of the Pentagon, however, making an effort at reform could not be more urgent: lives may be at stake. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is already pressing for an audit of the Pentagon in order to combat similar “unacceptable boondoggle[s].”
The Audit the Pentagon bill is so bipartisan that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- who are probably as opposite on the political spectrum as one can get -- are cosponsors.
As the old saying goes: waste not, want not. If an audit can help to keep the Pentagon from willfully wasting taxpayer dollars, it won’t be left wanting so much more.
k/r
