Ilhan Omar: “My amendment mandates reporting on the financial costs and national security benefits of the Department of Defense's…”

“My amendment mandates reporting on the financial costs and national security benefits of the Department of Defense's operations overseas. This includes the cost of operating, improving, and maintaining military infrastructures both on our permanent bases and installations and at short-term contingency locations. In order for Congress to properly conduct its oversight and appropriation rules, we need to have a transparent explanation of how much each of these operations cost. We also need a transparent justification for how each of these operations contribute to keeping Americans safe. We hear a constant drumbeat from the other side of the aisle on the need for fiscal responsibility when it comes to our domestic spending, but when it comes time to fund the Pentagon, no amount is too much, and no project is too expensive, even though we spend more on the military than the next 10 countries combined. When we talk about fiscal responsibility and wasteful spending, the Pentagon must not be above reproach. We have to ask what is actually necessary for our national security and what is part of an outrageously bloated budget that lines the pockets of defense contractors. So this amendment is an important step in accountability for the Pentagon spending. It is necessary for the department that cannot pass an audit.…”