{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pocan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pocan-biggs-introduce-audit-pentagon-act", "Pocan, Biggs Introduce Audit the Pentagon Act", "2026-02-12", "2026", "2026-02", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Mark Pocan", "P000607", "pocan.house.gov", "pocan", "https://pocan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02), co-founder and co-chair of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, and U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (AZ-05) introduced the Audit the Pentagon Act, which aims to increase transparency and accountability in the defense budget.\n\nAs of December 2025, the Pentagon has failed its 8th consecutive audit. According to a recent GAO report, the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to be unable to account for billions of dollars' worth of assets.\n\n\u201cFor a department that gets more than $1 trillion a year, it\u2019s essential that they be able to pass a financial audit,\u201d said Congressman Pocan. \u201cAfter eight consecutive failed audits, the Defense Department remains the only federal agency to have never passed an audit. The Audit the Pentagon Act will create a powerful incentive for the Department to get its fiscal house in order, or otherwise face funding reductions. The Pentagon has a history of little accountability while pouring billions into weapons systems that just don't work properly, and it\u2019s past time they be held accountable for this irresponsible stewardship of taxpayer funds.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor years, the Pentagon has failed audit after audit while Congress continues to write blank checks. That\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d said Congressman Biggs. \u201cThe American people demand accountability for every taxpayer dollar\u2014especially when we\u2019re spending more than $1 trillion on our defense annually, and we\u2019re facing a $38 trillion national debt. The Audit the Pentagon Act imposes tangible consequences for bureaucratic failure. A strong national defense demands both readiness and fiscal responsibility. The era of endless excuses must end.\u201d\n\nThis bipartisan legislation would provide the basis for critical fiscal reforms within the Department of Defense by imposing consequences on agencies and elements that fail audits. Specifically, it would administer a 0.5% cut to the budget of any office at the Pentagon that does not achieve an unqualified opinion on its full financial statements for the first year of the bill\u2019s enactment, then rises to a 1.0% cut for subsequent years. The bill exempts funding for personnel, families, and military healthcare from these automatic cuts. It would also reassure the public that Congress is working to ensure that the Pentagon is held to the same standard as all other federal agencies that are required by law to pass an independent external audit each year.", 1, "2026-06-11T06:38:38Z", "2026-06-11T06:41:07Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pocan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pocan-biggs-introduce-audit-pentagon-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4242820907384157, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}