Calls coming from Congress for Pentagon to pass audit as Trump eyes bigger military budget

Congress wants the Pentagon to be able to fully account for its spending by 2028, something the department hasn't been able to do despite years of work.

"Financial transparency is critical for the military," U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said. "And its critical for the American people to know that they have the confidence that it is being well-managed."

Sessions led the Subcommittee on Government Operations to discuss the issues and how to move ahead.

Asif Khan, a director of financial management assurance at the Government Accountability Office, said the Pentagon is the only major U.S. agency that hasn't been able to pass an audit.

"DoD spends over $1 trillion annually to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of the United States. DoD's spending makes up almost half of the federal government's total discretionary spending, and its physical assets make up about 82% of the federal government's total physical assets," he told the subcommittee. "Without having sound financial management practices and reliable, useful, and timely financial information routinely available, DoD risks being unable to effectively and efficiently manage its budgets and assets and ensure accountability and stewardship over its extensive resources."

Khan noted that the Pentagon is the only agency subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 "that has never obtained an unmodified or 'clean' audit opinion on its financial statements, primarily due to serious financial management and system weaknesses."

Brett Mansfield, the deputy inspector general for audit at the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, said the Pentagon has "weaknesses in internal controls that are so significant that they could prevent management from detecting and correcting a material misstatement in the financial statement in a timely manner."

Sessions said work needs to be done so the Pentagon can fully account for every dollar it spends.

"Last Congress we were told that for DOD to achieve a clean opinion by December 2028, they need to make significant progress by 2026. This is why we are here, having this discussion," he said.

The Pentagon previously said it will be able to accurately account for its spending by 2027.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the Pentagon could soon have an even bigger budget. Trump said the Pentagon's annual budget could soon pass the $1 trillion mark.

"$1 trillion, and nobody's seen anything like it," Trump said. "We have to build our military, and we’re very cost conscious, but the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong, because you got a lot of bad forces out there now."