Lawmakers Launch Bill to Prevent More ‘Accounting Errors’ at Pentagon After $6.2 Billion Flub

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attends a press conference at State Department in Washington on April 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have introduced legislation to prevent further accounting errors at the Department of Defense (DOD) after a “valuation error” came to light recently at the Pentagon amounting to over $6 billion.

The draft bill (pdf) aims to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Pentagon to use accounting methods that capture the true cost to taxpayers of sending weapons to other countries from U.S. stockpiles.