Congress

Pentagon Says It ‘Failed' Its First, Massive Audit — as It Expected

Congress first required the Defense Department to undertake a comprehensive audit in 1990

The Defense Department has failed an audit almost three decades in the making, the Pentagon's No. 2 official said Thursday. But the results were expected and showed what the agency already knew — that "more work lies ahead of us."

Congress first required the Defense Department to undertake a comprehensive audit in 1990, but the agency didn't manage to get around to it until late last year, NBC News reported.

"Everyone was betting against us that we would even do the audit," Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters, adding: "It was an audit on a $2.7 trillion organization. The fact we did the audit is substantial."

Contact Us