[One of the Vermont senators amendments would require the Pentagon
to return a portion of its budget if it fails another audit. ]
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SANDERS NDAA AMENDMENTS WOULD CUT US MILITARY BUDGET BY 10%, TARGET
RAMPANT FRAUD  
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Jake Johnson
July 18, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ One of the Vermont senator's amendments would require the Pentagon
to return a portion of its budget if it fails another audit. _

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a hearing Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) speaks during a hearing on March 22, 2023, Stefani
Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders [[link removed]]
has filed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that
would cut the U.S. military's historically large
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budget by 10%, penalize the Pentagon if it fails another audit, and
spotlight fraud committed by defense contractors.

The Vermont Independent's efforts to rein in Pentagon spending come
after the Republican-controlled House passed
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its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)—but not
before loading it with right-wing amendments that would roll back
service members' access to abortion and gender-affirming care.

The Senate is expected to begin considering its own NDAA on Tuesday
afternoon. Once the Senate completes its bill, the two chambers will
conference and reconcile the differences.

Sanders' budget-reduction amendment
[[link removed]]—backed
by Sens. Elizabeth Warren
[[link removed]] (D-Mass.), Ed
Markey [[link removed]] (D-Mass.), and
Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)—proposes an $88.6 billion cut to the $886
billion in total U.S. military spending set to be authorized by the
NDAA.

The amendment states that "the total amount of funds authorized to be
appropriated by this act is hereby reduced by 10%," excluding
"accounts and funds relating to military personnel, the Defense Health
Program, and assistance to Ukraine," which the U.S. has sent roughly
$46 billion
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in military aid over the past year and a half—a small fraction of
the Pentagon's annual budget.

"The amount of reduction for each account and fund subject to such
requirement shall be applied on a pro rata basis across each program,
project, and activity funded by such account or fund," the measure
reads.

House Republicans refused to allow a vote on Rep. Barbara Lee's
(D-Calif.) amendment
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that called for a $100 billion cut to the Pentagon's fiscal year 2024
budget.

Sanders has also filed amendments aimed at cracking down on waste and
fraud at the Pentagon, which has failed five consecutive audits
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One of the senator's proposals
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which has bipartisan support, would require the Pentagon to return a
small portion of its budget to the Treasury Department's general fund
if it fails an audit "during any fiscal year after fiscal year 2024."

Another Sanders-led amendment
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would require the Pentagon chief to "submit to the congressional
defense committees a report on defense contracting fraud, including a
summary of fraud-related criminal convictions, civil judgments, and
settlements over the previous five fiscal years, a listing of
contractors debarred or suspended from federal contracting based on a
criminal conviction for fraud, and a valuation of contracts affected
by fraud."

In May, Sanders urged
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the Pentagon to investigate rampant price gouging by military
contractors after a _CBS News_investigation
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highlighted the extent to which profitable private companies are
overcharging the Defense Department for weapons and other items.

"Pentagon analysts found overcharges that boosted total profits to
nearly 40% and sometimes as high as 4,000%," Sanders and other
senators wrote in a recent letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
"Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and TransDigm are among the
offenders."

Analysts have estimated
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that roughly half of the Pentagon's budget each year winds up in the
coffers of private military contractors—a trend that's on track to
continue with the NDAA for fiscal year 2024.

"This bill continues to double down on militarism and unchecked
spiraling funding, an approach that hasn't led to a more peaceful or
just world," Amelia Kegan, associate general secretary for policy and
advocacy with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, said
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of the House-passed NDAA.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

* Senator Bernie Sanders
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