{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-warren-colleagues-lead-legislation-to-limit-waste-and-paperwork-at-the-pentagon", "Grassley, Warren, Colleagues Lead Legislation to Limit Waste & Paperwork at the Pentagon", "2024-10-01", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Chuck Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", "grassley", "https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce wasteful reporting burdens at the Department of Defense (DOD) and enhance congressional oversight of taxpayer dollars. Specifically, the Streamline Pentagon Spending Act would repeal a 2016 statute that requires military chiefs of staff and commandants to provide Congress a list of unfunded priorities on top of annual budget submissions.\n\n\u201cStrengthening national security ought to be our strict focus, and I\u2019m always working to support robust military capabilities. But my longtime oversight shows the Pentagon can\u2019t even balance its books, so why do our laws demand the Defense Department seek even more taxpayer dollars?\u201d Grassley said. \u201cOur bill strikes down the unfunded priorities mandate to help cut back on paperwork and wasteful spending.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe budget process is all about making tough decisions and setting clear priorities \u2013 requesting billions of dollars in vague \u2018unfunded priorities\u2019 undermines that process. We need to get rid of the requirement to provide these wish lists in order to cut down on wasteful spending,\u201d Warren said.\n\n\u201cOur crushing national debt is a national security threat. Defense is the most important thing we do, and if we\u2019re going to get our service members the best equipment, we need a stable budgeting process. Unfunded priority lists may have started with good intentions, but as Congress\u2019s budget dysfunction has gotten worse it has morphed into another budgeting gimmick with negative results such as non-necessities being included in the budget and critical necessities ended up on a wish list. The nation and our military deserve a stable budgeting process, which this legislation will be a step toward,\u201d Braun said.\n\nDownload bill text HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Streamline Pentagon Spending Act would repeal the unfunded priorities list requirement for: top military officers; combatant commanders; the Missile Defense Agency; the National Nuclear Security Administration; and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.\n\nUnlike agencies\u2019 annual budget submissions, unfunded priorities lists often fail to consider the long-term costs of these investments over the future years defense plan. DOD in 2023 supported getting rid of the lists, saying they have \u201cno necessary connection to the [Defense] Secretary\u2019s global priorities.\u201d\n\nGrassley\u2019s Work to Address DOD\u2019s Troubling Financial History:\n\nDOD is the only federal agency to have never passed a financial audit. Grassley has conducted oversight and led bipartisan legislation to improve the agency\u2019s controls. He has additionally spearheaded multi-year investigations into price gouging practices by DOD contractors. The Streamline the Pentagon Act complements Grassley\u2019s longstanding efforts to cut waste and abuse across DOD\u2019s financial systems.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "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://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-warren-colleagues-lead-legislation-to-limit-waste-and-paperwork-at-the-pentagon"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.493504038080573, "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"}