Subcommittee on Government Operations Chairman Pete Sessions and Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume are scrutinizing the Department of Defense’s (DOD) financial management practices, focusing on its path toward achieving a clean audit. The lawmakers have sent a letter to DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting a bipartisan briefing on updated efforts to address any outstanding issues related to the Department’s financial management. They aim for progress toward a clean audit by December 2028, with a plan expected by the end of June 2025.
“DOD spending comprises nearly half of the federal government’s discretionary spending and its physical assets make up more than 70 percent of the government’s physical assets. The failure to fully account for these assets and spending results in gaps in DOD’s operational readiness and the financial strength of the entire federal government,” said Sessions and Mfume. “Experts from the DOD Office of the Inspector General, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) detailed the challenges that DOD faces and necessary actions to increase the likelihood of achieving a clean audit opinion by the mandated deadline of December 31, 2028.”
This scrutiny is part of a broader investigation into DOD’s discretionary spending and ineffective financial management that has hindered them from obtaining a clean audit. A hearing was held on April 29, 2025, to monitor DOD’s progress. Since being required to achieve a clean audit in 1990, DOD has failed seven audits, with only the U.S. Marine Corps obtaining a clean opinion. The department’s history of poor financial management makes it vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.
“In correspondence received in lieu of attendance, we were assured ‘that working towards a ‘clean audit’ is among the Department’s top priorities.’ As stated in previous hearings, if DOD is to achieve a clean audit opinion by December 2028, significant progress must be made by fiscal year 2026. Based on testimony before the Subcommittee, there is still a lot of work ahead for the Department. To assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter, we request a briefing on DOD’s efforts to address outstanding issues related to financial management and plans for achieving a clean audit opinion for the Department, by June 27, 2025,” concluded Sessions and Mfume.
