Adding Hundreds of Billions to Pentagon Budget Wastes Taxpayer Dollars Without Making Us Safer 

Washington, DC — In response to the White House’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request for the 2027 fiscal year, an unprecedented $500 billion increase, Greg Williams, director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), issued the following statement:

“Taxpayers count on the government to handle their money responsibly and invest it in programs that make their lives safer and easier. This budget request would do the opposite. Rather than further our national security interests, a budget of this size would simply lead to greater waste of tax dollars and higher profits for defense company executives.

“After years of failed audits and reckless spending, the Pentagon doesn’t need another blank check. It needs rigorous oversight. This is especially true as the administration continues to fund a war that has no legal backing, no clearly stated strategy, and low support from the U.S. population.

“If the administration was really serious about cutting waste and ensuring tax dollars go toward programs that actually help Americans, then it would spend its time looking for ways to right-size the Pentagon’s bloated budget. Investing in our national security is important — which is why there should be greater oversight to ensure our defense budget is actually protecting us and our tax dollars. Until the administration offers a clear, compelling explanation of why this funding is necessary and provides a real exit strategy to the illegal war in the Middle East, Congress should not allow the president to put one more taxpayer dollar toward an already out-of-control defense budget.”