Q: Has the Department of Defense improved its handling of tax dollars?
A: For 20 years I’ve kept the pressure on the Pentagon to take a more conscientious approach to spending taxpayers’ money. As many Iowans will remember, I exposed the spending scandal in the ‘80s when federal bureaucrats saw no problem in spending $600 for a toilet seat or $400 on a hammer. At the time, it created quite a stir. One would think it would have made a lasting impression at the Pentagon. Apparently, not even being hit figuratively over the head with a $400 hammer knocked enough sense into the bureaucracy. Since then, I’ve continued to dig up procurement problems at the Pentagon. That includes "watching the watchdog," the internal auditors at the Department of Defense who are charged with ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse in the Pentagon. Using my congressional oversight authority, I keep close tabs on the Office of the Inspector General to make sure its work is accurate, thorough, and honest. With an annual defense budget approaching roughly $450 billion annually, a million dollars misspent here and a million there may not seem like a big deal. Wrong answer. As Iowa’s senior U.S. Senator, I’m proud to bring Midwestern values to the policy tables in Washington. Growing up during the Great Depression helped me to appreciate the meaning behind waste not, want not. As a strong supporter of the U.S. military, I’ll continue my crusade to root out waste, fraud and abuse at the Pentagon. We need to channel hard-earned, limited tax dollars towards outfitting our troops and building the best national defense possible.
Q: How has the Pentagon wasted millions of tax dollars in unused airline tickets?
A: Once again, a breakdown in internal financial controls has led to significant waste, fraud and abuse. As part of my on-going scrutiny over the Pentagon’s books, I called for two audits by the General Accounting Office. The studies show the Defense Department’s credit card program continues to bleed the American taxpayer. The nonpartisan GAO revealed a flagrant disregard for basic accounting principles at the Pentagon. One investigation showed an appalling level of waste in unused airline tickets. It estimated about $100 million has been wasted since 1997. Now if Iowans purchased a fully refundable $700 airline ticket, it’s a safe bet that ticket wouldn’t collect dust in a dresser drawer. But that’s exactly what’s been happening at the Pentagon. The second investigation revealed the DoD is improperly reimbursing individual travelers for airline tickets they didn’t purchase. Between the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, improper reimbursements for airline tickets run in the millions every year. The bean counters at the Defense Department need to remember we need every last penny earmarked for defense to help win the War on Terrorism and provide for the nation’s security. Moreover, we’re battling widening budget deficits. We simply can’t afford to allow misspending at the Pentagon to continue unchecked. From my oversight post in the U.S. Senate, I’ll continue to apply congressional pressure on the Pentagon to stop the hemorrhaging of millions of tax dollars. I’m doing my best to fix this culture of indifference towards the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people.