Last week, the Department of Defense revealed that it had failed its fifth consecutive audit. 

The news came as no surprise to Pentagon watchers. After all, the U.S. military has the distinction of being the only U.S. government agency to have never passed a comprehensive audit.

So will the Pentagon manage to get its financial house in order any time soon? It’s possible, if a bit unlikely. 

Despite the long odds, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a bill last year that could help make that happen. The legislation would cut one percent off the top of the budget of any part of the Pentagon that fails an audit. That means that, if the proposal had already passed, 20 of the agency’s 27 auditing units would face a budget cut this year.

The Pentagon fails its fifth audit in a row – Responsible Statecraft