EXCLUSIVE — The chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requesting more information and a staff-level briefing on the multi-billion dollar accounting error involving military aid to Ukraine.
In late June, the Pentagon announced it had overestimated the value of the military aid it had provided to Ukraine by $3.6 billion in fiscal 2023 and $2.6 billion in fiscal 2022, a $6.2 billion overestimation. These recently uncovered funds are eligible for the administration to use for additional aid to Ukraine.
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Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY), sent a letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, requesting more information and a briefing on how these accounting errors occurred and on “how (Department of Defense) is ensuring stockpiles vital for our national security are being properly replenished.” They request the briefing happens no later than July 21.
Comer said the accounting errors raise “more concerns about DOD’s ability to protect taxpayer funds” and that ensuring DOD is able to account for its assets “is vital to ensuring military readiness and effectiveness, not only for our Ukrainian allies, but for our own services.”
“The Committee would like to know how the Pentagon plans to use the $6.2 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds now available due to the discovery of the ‘accounting error,’” the letter reads. “As demonstrated by previous conflicts the U.S. has engaged in, spending money quickly with little diplomatic strategy has resulted in overspending and high risks of corruption. The Committee seeks insight into what accountability mechanisms are in place within DOD to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and similar errors do not occur in the future.”
The letter sent by the committee follows the announcement of a joint hearing by the Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, and the Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce that was announced on Thursday, where they plan to examine the financial management practices of the DOD.
Testifying at the joint hearing is the deputy inspector general for audits at the DOD, Brett Mansfield, and Asif Khan, the director of financial management and assurance at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
“For too long the Department of Defense has operated on its own terms and has clearly failed to ensure taxpayer dollars are not lost to waste, fraud, or abuse,” Subcommittee Chairmen Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Glenn Grothman (R-WI) said in a statement. “The Oversight Committee has a responsibility to prevent the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds. It’s time to examine how a lack of accountability within DoD has resulted in failed audits and consider meaningful solutions to make sure DoD has the tools necessary to ensure fiscal responsibility.”
The department uncovered the mistake in March but disclosed it in mid-May, after it was reported by Reuters.
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The department had unintentionally been tallying the equipment provided to Ukraine as much more expensive than it should’ve been because officials were referencing the cost of the more sophisticated weapons they were getting to replace the cheaper weapons they had been providing to Ukraine.
Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said last month the mistake “in no way limit or restricted the size” of the aid packages provided to Ukraine.
