WASHINGTON DC (June 28, 2019) — Senator Charles "Chuck" Grassley released the following statement on the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The annual funding bill provides critical resources for national defense, military readiness, and support for the nation’s military men and women.
“National defense is the number-one responsibility of the federal government, so ensuring our defense and military efforts receive the appropriate resources is critical to the safety of our country,” Sen Grassley said. “I’m disappointed that my amendment to increase transparency and accountability in the contracting process was not included, but I will continue to conduct robust oversight to help decrease wasteful government spending.”
Sen Grassley introduced several amendments to the Fiscal Year 2020 NDAA legislation that would have increased transparency by requiring the DOD to report to Congress on contracting practices, including a report on when contractors refuse to provide requested pricing data. The Grassley amendments were a product of his oversight work of contracting practices occurring at the DoD.
Earlier this year, Sen Grassley sent a letter to then-Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M Shanahan asking for more information about how the DoD contracts with businesses and other entities in overpricing, specifically citing TransDigm. Additionally, Sen Grassley asked about DoD’s process to collect cost-data from those entities and how Congress can help DoD to stop price-gouging practices. Sen Grassley also critiqued DoD’s contracts with TransDigm in a floor speech and an op-ed.
Sen Grassley has been a watchdog against waste, fraud and abuse at the DoD for nearly four decades. Sen Grassley’s extensive oversight work throughout his career has included a dogged pursuit for answers from the Pentagon over decades of wasteful spending and its inability to produce a clean financial audit. Most recently, Sen Grassley pressed the DoD on why it was purchasing cups that cost $1,280 each. Last year, Sen Grassley sent a letter to Department of Defense Principal Deputy Inspector General Glenn A Fine seeking answers on why the department was wasting $14,000 of taxpayer money on individual toilet-seat covers. Sen Grassley has also worked to hold the Defense Department accountable for its excessive and largely unaccounted-for spending in Afghanistan, including a $43 million gas station.
