Insisting “it would play a critical step in securing accountability and avoiding waste, fraud, and abuse in defense spending,” two congressmen from Central Florida are championing a proposal to have “Inspectors General to create reports evaluating the net financial benefit of budget oversight investigations to crack down on the billions of unaccounted for taxpayer dollars being given to the DoD and military contractors with insufficient accountability.”
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, D-Fla., introduced the “Defense Spending Oversight Act” with U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., co-sponsoring it. The two congressmen showcased the bill this week.
“In 2022, the Federal Times reported that the Pentagon officials recovered $13.2 million in just six months from a hotline that helped uncover wrongdoing from private contractors. A figure which underscores the need for Frost and Mills’ bill to further support the critical work of Inspectors General who aid in auditing government agencies and recuperating these funds,” Frost’s office noted.
“Waste, fraud, and abuse in defense spending is too common,” said Frost. “Congressman Mills and I both know that adequate funding to ensure our national defense is entirely different from writing a blank check at the cost of Florida’s taxpayers. Our bipartisan bill is an important part of cracking down on wasteful spending and recouping our tax dollars to hold bad actors accountable in the long run.”
“The American people have a right to know their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being used effectively,” said Mills. “I’m pleased to join my colleague, Rep. Frost, in this bipartisan effort to ensure there is proper transparency and spending oversight of the DOD. We must strive towards eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse from our federal agencies.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Armed Service Committee. So far, there is no companion bill over in the U.S. Senate.
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