Hoyer Statement on Reducing Wasteful Defense Spending

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today regarding wasteful defense spending:
“Today, Christopher Shays and Mark Thibault, co-chairs of the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, previewed their commission’s findings in a Washington Post op-ed. Among their most sobering conclusions: ‘At least one in every six dollars of U.S. spending for contracts and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade, or more than $30 billion, has been wasted.’ This alarming finding is just one more reason our nation needs stronger oversight of defense spending—so that taxpayer dollars can be spent efficiently on keeping our country safe and fulfilling our military’s missions. As the bipartisan select committee on deficit reduction begins its work, it is essential that the committee’s members focus on all of the contributors to our deficit, on both the revenue and spending sides. The findings detailed today remind us that all of our nation’s spending, including defense spending, deserve to be closely scrutinized.”



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