Chuck Grassley: “under the law, DOD was required to start making the matches on checks over $5 million, and then gradually ratchet the…”

“under the law, DOD was required to start making the matches on checks over $5 million, and then gradually ratchet the thresholds down to zero. At the $5-million level, DOD is really just scratching the surface. DFAS/Columbus is where it happens. DFAS/Columbus writes fewer than 1,800 checks per year that are $5 million or more. So what's the big deal? Matchups on 1,800 checks should be a piece of cake. But when it came time to start phase 2 and lower the threshold to the $1 million checks, DOD balked. DOD said ``No''--even though it makes fewer than 11,250 payments over $1 million annually. DOD asked for more time. Making the matchups on 11,250 checks ought to be Mickey Mouse stuff. Banks routinely do 500,000 to 1 million each day. Mr. President, for 11,250 DOD checks versus up to 1 million checks for U.S. banks and DOD can't do it. Why can't the Pentagon do it--with all its technological know-how? Mr. President, I can't help but think that, maybe, the Pentagon bureaucrats don't want to clean up the books. They like the mess. That way no one knows what is really going on, including them, and no one gets in trouble. Well, thanks to the committee's determined leadership last year, our legislative reform effort is back on track. We regained some momentum. DOD must now make matchups on all checks over $3 million, starting next month--June 30.”