Put Penalties Behind the Pentagon Audit Deadline

Defense spending reached about $1 trillion in FY2026 and the FY2027 request is $1.5 trillion, yet the Pentagon has failed every audit it has taken, the only major agency never to pass.

A letter to your members of Congress. Facts checked September 23, 2026.

The explainer behind this letter Military-Industrial Complex How defense contractors, the Pentagon, and Congress feed each other

The Letter

Subject Add audit penalties to this year's defense bill

Congress has pushed defense spending to about $1 trillion a year once last year's reconciliation money is counted, and the administration now wants $1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, the Pentagon failed its financial audit for the eighth year in a row in December. It is the only one of the government's 24 major agencies that has never passed. Auditors found 26 material weaknesses in a department reporting about $4.7 trillion in assets.

You cannot control spending you cannot track. The Pentagon says it will pass an audit by 2028, but nothing happens if it misses again. That is how a deadline becomes another promise.

The money keeps growing for a reason. Five companies took $771 billion in Pentagon contracts from 2020 to 2024. The defense industry spent $159 million lobbying in 2024. And 26 of the 32 four-star officers who recently retired went to work for the arms industry. The people writing the budget and the people profiting from it are too often the same.

A strong military and an honest budget are not in conflict. Our troops deserve gear that works at a price that is accounted for.

Please put automatic budget penalties for failing the 2028 audit deadline into this year's defense bill.

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Call Your Representative

U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

I'm calling about the Pentagon budget and accountability.
Defense spending is now about $1 trillion a year, and the Pentagon just failed its eighth straight audit. It's the only major agency that has never passed.
The Pentagon says it will pass by 2028, but there's no penalty if it misses.
Please put automatic budget penalties for missing that deadline into this year's defense bill.

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The Facts Behind the Ask

8th consecutive failed Pentagon audit (2025); the only one of 24 major federal agencies never to pass (source)
26 of 32 four-star officers who retired after mid-2018 went to work for the arms industry (source)
$771B in Pentagon contracts went to just five firms from 2020 to 2024 (source)

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