House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) called the Pentagon failing its annual audit “unacceptable” in a post online.
“Government agencies need to be held to the same standard as any business in America,” Emmer posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “This is unacceptable.”
According to the Department of Defense (DOD) chief financial officer, the Pentagon has failed its annual audit for the sixth year in a row. Only seven of the 29 sub-audits passed this year. All sub-audits are required to pass for the overall audit to be approved.
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Comptroller Mike McCord told reporters that “things are showing progress,” although the same number of sub-audits failed this year as it did in last year’s report.
A successful audit is still years away, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. He thinks the department needs to be “doing better at this and moving faster.”
Federal law requires mandatory audits for all government agencies. The Pentagon didn’t start auditing itself until 2018.
Auditors found that half of the department’s $3.8 trillion total assets can’t be accounted for.
The Department of Defense makes up more than half of the U.S. discretionary spending and its assets range covering personnel, supplies, bases and weapons. The auditing process for the Pentagon is difficult due to the sheer size and scope of the department, The Hill previously reported.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to ensure the DOD audit will pass next year.
The bill comes as concerns about government spending have been voiced this year by members of Congress during attempts to pass a debt ceiling and continuing resolution efforts to keep funding federal operations.
Emmer has previously been critical of the government’s spending and said in January that Republicans intend to cut the DOD’s “waste.”
“Republicans will not impact defense spending aside from efficiencies and waste,” Emmer said on “Fox & Friends” in January. “It’s the domestic spending we’re going to go after.”