Arlington, VA — Today both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees will mark up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2018. Current House versions of the bill contain defense spending levels over $60 billion higher than those laid out by the Trump administration earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) outlined the group’s NDAA recommendations for FY2018, which included a mandate that the Department of Defense become audit-ready, an authorization of a new BRAC round, and continued streamlining of the DOD acquisition process. All of CVA’s recommendations have received bipartisan support in the past.
CVA Policy Director Dan Caldwell issued the following statement:
“The Department of Defense is the biggest government agency, but it’s never been fully audited. At a minimum, the FY2018 NDAA should include a mandate that the Pentagon become audit-ready and set a firm deadline for a completion of that audit. Taxpayers deserve to know exactly how the department tasked with protecting their lives is spending their money.
“There are a number of other common-sense items Congress can include in 2018’s NDAA that will strengthen our national security while saving taxpayer dollars. Shutting down empty military bases can save tens of billions of dollars which can be re-directed towards urgent priorities. Ending the Selective Service System — which is designed to create a database for the unlikely event of a draft — will also save millions. The opportunities to improve military readiness by eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies are numerous.
“Our national security is a top priority for Americans across the country, and it’s too important to be handled without proper scrutiny. We strongly urge Congress to review and include our NDAA recommendations in the mark-ups today.”
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