Arlington, VA – Today President Trump will unveil his full fiscal 2018 budget to Congress. Early reports indicate that President Trump intends to request $603 billion in defense spending.
Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Policy Director Dan Caldwell issued the following statement:
“Despite comprising such a large chunk of our federal budget, the Pentagon has never been audited and reports of waste, fraud, and abuse within the department are common. In the coming weeks, Congress should demonstrate real fiscal responsibility on defense spending to ensure our military is not being weakened by mismanaged resources and that taxpayer funds are being used wisely. An essential first step is to complete an audit of the Pentagon, and the next step is to start aggressively eliminating waste so funds can be prioritized towards urgent needs.”
CVA has repeatedly called on government leaders to exercise fiscal restraint in our national defense budget. Earlier this year, CVA Executive Director Mark Lucas penned an op-ed in the Washington Times calling on President Trump to strengthen America’s military by eliminating wasteful spending.
Last year, CVA launched a campaign called the Target the Debt project aimed at addressing the threat our growing debt poses to national security. The goal of CVA’s project is to build on growing pressure for Washington to finally enact smart reforms to cut the country’s enormous deficit and to start paying off our $19 trillion national debt.
Last week, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced a defense acquisition reform bill called the Defense Acquisition Streamlining and Transparency Act. This legislation would streamline and modernize the acquisition system, allowing the Department of Defense (DoD) to buy military goods faster and at better prices. CVA has come out in support of this legislation, which will allow the Pentagon to act more like a business, speed up the auditing process, and add oversight to DoD contracts, among other key reforms.
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