Letter: Explanation of Pentagon spending is needed

President Donald Trump has requested a $54 billion increase in Pentagon spending in 2018 to increase military readiness and modernization. It is not clear to many of us that additional funding is needed. Actually, it is not possible for anyone to know if this additional funding is needed.

The Department of Defense has refused to open it books to auditors despite being ordered to do so by the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990. Except for the Department of Defense, all of the other 23 federal department and agencies have complied with these mandatory audits.

Congratulations to Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. Our senators have identified the Pentagon's lack of compliance to be a threat to our national security. The have formed a bipartisan group that is calling on the Department of Defense to comply with mandatory audits. This group understands Congress and the American people need confirmation our tax money being spent on the military is being properly managed.

Increasing the Pentagon's budget has little chance of achieving Trump's stated goals because without regular audits there is little to guard against fraud, waste and abuse. Fifty-four billion dollars is a great deal of money, particularly when the budgets of our state government departments and agencies as well as our universities are being cut.

George Bergus

Iowa City