,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #geee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #ab1       
#bjbf,mr4 ,pocan 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,biggs of ,arizona1 ,ms4 ,omar1 ,ms4    
,simon1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mrs4 ,ramirez1
 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4   
,de,saulnier1 ,ms4 ,stansbury1 ,mr4     
,nadler1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,pennsylvania1    
,ms4 ,moore of ,wisconsin1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 
,mrs4 ,foushee1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 
,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,davis of
 ,illinois1 and ,ms4 ,jayapal7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to ensure that   
the ,department of ,defense achieves a  
clean audit opinion on its financial    
statements1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,audit the ,pentagon ,act of #bjbf4
  #b4 ,findings  7#a7 ,the ,pentagon    
failed its #hth consecutive audit in    
,december #bjbe4  7#b7 ,in ,november    
#bjbc1 upon failure of its #fth         

consecutive audit1 the ,pentagon was    
unable to account for hundreds of       
billions of dollars1 accounting for #fc 
percent of its nearly #d trillion in    
assets4  #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is 
the sense of ,congress that--  7#a7 as  
the overall defense budget is cut1 the  
congressional defense committees and the
 ,department of ,defense should not     
endanger the ,armed ,forces by reducing 
wounded warrior accounts or vital       
protection 7such as body armor7 for     
members of the ,armed ,forces serving in
 harm's way2  7#b7 the valuation of     
legacy assets by the ,department of     
,defense should be simplified without   
compromising essential controls or      
generally accepted government auditing  
standards2 and  7#c7 nothing in this    
,act should be construed to require or  
permit the declassification of          
accounting details about classified     
defense programs1 and1 as required by   
law1 the ,department of ,defense should 
ensure financial accountability in such 

programs using proven practices1        
including using auditors with security  
clearances4  #d4 ,department of ,defense
 spending reductions in the absence of  
an unqualified audit opinion  7a7 ,in   
general  7#a7 ,reductions ,if1 during   
any fiscal year after fiscal year #bjbe1
 the ,comptroller of the ,department of 
,defense fails to certify to ,congress  
that a department1 agency1 or other     
element of the ,department of ,defense  
has achieved an unqualified opinion on  
its full financial statements1 the      
amount available for such department1   
agency1 or element shall be reduced--   
7,a7 for the fiscal year during which   
such determination is made1 by an amount
 equal to #j4e percent2 and  7,b7 for   
any subsequent fiscal year during which 
such determination is made1 by an amount
 equal to #a4j percent4  7#b7           
,application of reductions ,for any     
fiscal year for which a reduction is    
made pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 for a   
department1 agency1 or element1 the     

amount of the reduction shall be applied
 on a pro rata basis against each       
program1 project1 and activity of such  
department1 agency1 or element for that 
fiscal year4  7#c7 ,use of reduced      
amounts ,the amount of any reduction    
made under paragraph 7#a7 shall be      
deposited in the ,general ,fund of the  
,treasury and shall be available for    
purposes of deficit reduction4  7b7     
,accounts excluded ,the following       
accounts are excluded from any          
reductions under subsection 7a73 7#a7   
,military personnel1 reserve personnel1 
and ,national ,guard personnel accounts 
of the ,department of ,defense4  7#b7   
,the ,defense ,health ,program account  
of the ,department of ,defense4  7c7    
,waiver ,the ,president may waive       
subsection 7a7 with respect to an       
account if the ,president--  7#a7       
certifies that the application of such  
subsection to that account would-- 7,a7 
negatively affect the national security 
of the ,united ,states or members of the

 ,armed ,forces who are deployed in     
combat zones2 or  7,b7 affect the       
,defense ,health ,program account2 and  
7#b7 submits to the ,committee on       
,appropriations and the ,committee on   
the ,budget of the ,house of            
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,appropriations and the ,committee on   
the ,budget of the ,senate a report on  
such waiver that includes a description 
of the specific activities that would be
 affected and why such activities are   
essential to the national security of   
the ,united ,states4  7d7 ,report ,not  
later than #fj days after a reduction   
takes effect under subsection 7a71 the  
,director of the ,office of ,management 
and ,budget shall submit to ,congress a 
report specifying each department1      
agency1 or other element of the         
,department of ,defense subject to      
reduction and the amount of the         
reduction4  7e7 ,definitions ,in this   
section3  7#a7 ,the terms financial     
statement and external independent      

auditor have the meanings given those   
terms in section #ceba7;e7 of title #ca1
 ,united ,states ,code4  7#b7 ,the term 
unqualified1 with respect to the audit  
status of a financial statement1        
includes the characterizations clean and
 unmodified4