Courtney Named to Bipartisan Fiscal Management Panel to Address Waste, Inefficiencies at Department of Defense

Press Release

Congressman Joe Courtney today was selected to serve on a special bipartisan panel to address the ongoing challenge of financial management in the Pentagon. Courtney was named to the panel by Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA). The panel will be led by Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ).

"Since I was elected to Congress, I have worked hard to eliminate wasteful spending, including the F136 alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter," said Congressman Courtney. "Against the backdrop of tightening budgets, it is critical that we streamline our budgets, eliminate redundancies and ensure that our resources address our military's true needs. I look forward to working with Congressmen Conaway and Andrews in this effort, which will create a more efficient military, and pass the savings along to the American taxpayer."

The DOD's financial management systems have been a source of concern for some time, with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) placing it on its "high risk" program list since 1995. Further, the statutory deadline for the DOD to be able to complete a full audit has been delayed several times, to 2017 currently.

The panel will address broad issues surrounding Defense Department financial management including: the extent to which financial management systems deliver timely, reliable, and useful information for decision making and reporting; the ability of the Department to identify efficiencies and waste utilizing financial management systems; the proficiency of financial management personnel in financial and budgetary accounting in order to manage defense resources; and the effectiveness of the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) plan.

"I look forward to working with Congressman Courtney to eliminate DOD waste and save taxpayer dollars," said Ranking Member Smith. "At this critical time, this panel will play an important role in that ongoing effort. Congressman Courtney has been valuable member of our committee, and I appreciate his service in this new role."

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