Voters Want More Government Regulations on Defense Spending
By Tenneth Fairclough II and Lew Blank
Since the early 1990s, when the federal government required all agencies to pass independent audits on their spending habits, the Department of Defense has been the only government agency unable to pass a single audit. Some Defense officials even have found it difficult to audit government property that they own, as some private contractors have not been willing to cooperate with their audit procedures.
This has prompted several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Congress to introduce legislation on this issue, including:
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders introducing the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023, which would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to pass a full, independent audit in fiscal year 2024.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Republican Sen. Mike Braun, and Democratic Rep. John Garamendi introducing the Stop Price Gouging the Military Act of 2023, which would prevent unnecessary price increases made by private contractors to the U.S. military.
Braun and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin introducing the Pentagon Management Oversight Act of 2023 to reestablish a chief management officer to improve management and oversight.
New polling from Data for Progress finds voters overall want stronger laws to monitor defense spending, including the DOD being required to pass an independent audit, bringing back the position of chief management officer to the department, and adding several accountability conditions before private defense contractors can receive advance payments.
When likely voters are asked whether the Department of Defense should be required to pass an independent audit before its budget is increased, 80% believe the department should have this requirement in place. Voters across party lines strongly agree, including 80% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans.
Additionally, a clear majority of voters (81%) support a proposal that would add several requirements before private sector defense contractors are able to receive advance payments on goods and services that they deliver to the U.S. military. These requirements include delivering goods and services on time, and being able to show that they are not increasing their prices unnecessarily. This proposal also enjoys strong support across partisanship, including 82% of Democrats, 85% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans.
According to DOD auditors, the U.S. regularly overpays defense contractors, sometimes paying them more than 100 times more than necessary for their goods and services. This includes paying $71 for a pin that could have been purchased for 4 cents, and $1,700 for a ramp gate roller assembly that could have been purchased for $8.
After learning about these overpayments, an overwhelming majority of voters (83%), including 84% of Democrats, 84% of Independents, and 82% of Republicans, support new legislation that would require private defense contractors to prove that their prices are aligned with what it costs to actually make an item.
Finally, we tested whether voters support bringing the position of chief management officer back to the Department of Defense. This position has historically been responsible for preventing wasteful government spending and fraud, but was abolished in 2021 at the request of the DOD. We find that 83% of voters, including 83% of Democrats, 85% of Independents, and 81% of Republicans, support bringing back this position.
Overall, these findings demonstrate that likely voters support various proposals to increase oversight of the Department of Defense and rein in wasteful spending of taxpayer money. Specifically, overwhelming majorities of voters support requiring the department to pass an audit before increasing its budget, bringing back the position of chief management officer, and placing new requirements on private defense contractors, including requiring contractors to prove their prices are aligned with the actual costs of making an item.
Tenneth Fairclough II (@tenten_wins) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Lew Blank (@LewBlank) is a communications associate at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From September 29 to October 2, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,216 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.