House approves Andy Biggs' NDAA amendment to slightly slash defense budget if Pentagon fails audit

The House in a voice vote Tuesday night approved Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs' amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, which would cut the defense budget by 0.5% if the Pentagon fails an audit.

The amendment directs all components of the Pentagon that fail to pass their audit to give up 0.5 percent of its discretionary budget to the Treasury Department in hopes of decreasing the federal debt.

Military personnel, reserve personnel, National Guard troops and Defense Health Program accounts are exempt from the amendment, and the amendment states the president may waive the penalty for any account if applying it would "harm national security or members of the Armed Forces who are deployed in combat zones," according to The Hill.

The move comes after the Pentagon failed its eighth audit in a row last year and has aimed to achieve an “unmodified” audit opinion by 2028. It is the only federal department to consistently fail its audit since they were mandated annually in 2018.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.