As a whole, the federal government has made progress towards getting its finances audit-ready over the past two decades. However, this past week the Government Accountability Office found in its annual report on the federal government’s financial statements that the Department of Defense (DoD) remains behind other departments in preparing for a full audit.

By September 2017, the Pentagon is required by law to have all DoD financial statements audit-ready. By March 2019, it is required to complete a comprehensive audit of all its finances.  While the Department is working to become audit-ready, there are concerns that it may not be prepared to successfully meet these deadlines.

This January, Congressman Wenstrup joined in sending a bipartisan letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, requesting that each administration nominee that comes before the committee commits to supporting auditability of the Department of Defense as a top priority. While Congressman Wenstrup is a strong supporter of fully resourcing national defense and properly equipping our troops, he also advocates for fighting waste and abuse to ensure defense dollars are going where they are most needed.

Question of the Week: Do you support comprehensive audits of the Department of Defense?