Ernst: Here’s how to make sure our military gets maximum ‘bang’ for the taxpayer’s buck

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) detailed in the New York Post how her new legislation will give the Pentagon the tools to achieve its goal of passing a clean audit by 2028.

Ernst joined Stuart Varney on Fox Business to discuss why the Pentagon needs to pass its audit - especially after the Biden Pentagon directed tax dollars towards octopus hypnosis and monkey mind reading.

Watch Senator Ernst's interview here.

"If we are asking American taxpayers to spend $1.5 trillion on defense spending, those taxpayers need to know that those dollars are being used appropriately," said Ernst.

By: Sen. Joni Ernst

As published in New York Post

To combat the threats of the 21st century, I've consistently voted for our service-members to have the funding and support they deserve, while using my congressional oversight to ensure the Pentagon spends taxpayer dollars on national security and stops losing billions to waste, fraud or abuse.

Yet too often, we've seen money for our military wasted.

The Government Accountability Office told me last year that the military confirmed almost $11 billion in fraud over the last seven years.

This includes the case of a low-level civilian Army worker in Texas who stole $109 million by creating a false child-care company, sending invoices to the military and cashing the checks.

She was only caught when the IRS, not the military, investigated.

The GAO also pointed out that its $11 billion estimate likely massively undercounts fraud that could be found if the Pentagon had better financial systems, oversight and internal controls.

With examples like these, that sadly comes as no surprise.

Last year, the Air Force paid 80 times the commercial market price for a soap dispenser for a C-17 cargo plane.

If we can't get a fair deal on soap dispensers, how do we know taxpayers are getting a fair deal on the rest of the plane?

The Pentagon inspector general also published data showing military credit cards have been used for nearly $400,000 in cash at casino ATMs, and $100,000 spent at bars and nightclubs.

Despite allegedly having an automated system to detect and prevent abuse of government purchase cards, these charges weren't denied or reviewed before the IG found them.

No wonder the Pentagon is the only federal agency that has never passed an audit.

This isn't just a math problem. How we spend taxpayers' money matters.

When the military fails to pass its audit, it can't demonstrate where its money goes or where its equipment is, which can have real consequences for our troops.

Consider 47 fighter aircraft that had to be grounded after a foreign manufacturer was discovered providing defective parts and illegally exporting sensitive military data.

More recently, over $1 billion worth of Army weapons, vehicles and repair parts were found deteriorating because the equipment wasn't being properly tracked or stored.

If soldiers tried to use these broken weapon systems to go to war, the price would be paid not just in dollars but also in casualties.

As the Senate DOGE Caucus chair, I find that unacceptable, and it should be unacceptable to every taxpayer as well.

We have much to do to stop waste, fraud and abuse in the Pentagon's budget.

Last year, the department's leaders pledged to prioritize its audit and finally get this done by 2028.

To ensure that, I am leading the RECEIPTS Act, which I'm introducing today to give the Pentagon the tools to make that happen and finally pass its financial statement audits.

If we are going to ask taxpayers, as President Donald Trump has, to spend $1.5 trillion on defense - nearly as much as the rest of the world combined - we must be able to defend how every dollar is being spent.

My RECEIPTS Act gives the Pentagon added resources, including AI-related technology, to save both money and time to review the military's invoices and spending.

Rather than spending hundreds of millions of dollars on costly consultants, we can use modern, commercial AI technology to clean the military's books and find the fraud.

This effort also requires the Pentagon's accountants to focus on getting a clean audit opinion and stop doing side-hustle finance work for non-defense federal agencies.

Once the Pentagon balances its checkbook, my bill would get rid of duplicative and burdensome reporting to Congress.

For those that say the Defense Department is too complicated to accomplish this, consider that the US Marine Corps just passed its third audit, joining other large agencies in the Pentagon, including the Defense Information Services Agency, the military's commissaries and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

Our troops and the American people deserve better than massively overpriced soap dispensers and funds handed to crooks and frauds.

After 30 years of trying and failing, let's finally get the Pentagon audit done and assure both troops and taxpayers that the military's growing budget is money well-spent.

As published in New York Post

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