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Rep.: Hold commanders responsible for budget

A key member of the House Armed Services Committee wants military commanders “held responsible” for keeping spending in check.

In a letter sent Thursday to the Pentagon, Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., says he wants, at a minimum, the accuracy of financial records for unit commanders. The evaluation should show if a unit’s financial records balance, and if someone spent more than allotted, he said. By law, overspending is a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act that can lead to administrative or criminal action.

A negative comment in a performance review can reduce chances for promotion and for selection to higher-level commands, but it would be less drastic than the potential two years’ imprisonment and fine of up to $5,000 possible under the law.

In addition to serving on the armed services committee, Coffman is chairman of the House Balanced Budget Amendment Caucus and a veteran who served in both the Army and Marine Corps.

In his letter, addressed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Coffman said he doesn’t think the entire Defense Department is serious about an ongoing effort to streamline its financial records so that they can be audited.

“In its current state, fiscal responsibility and detailed accountability procedures remain only the interest of a small force of comptrollers and budget specialties centered within the Pentagon,” he said.

That is not enough, Coffman said. “It is of paramount importance that unit commanders at every echelon be held accountable for the state of their respective financial houses. I believe that this is an issue of command as important as personnel accountability and unit readiness,” he said. “Military commanders must be held responsible for their actions. We must implement a period of professional education to inform them of their responsibilities and then implement a routine system of inspection to just their progress.”

Coffman is not alone in raising concerns about lax attention to budgets. In their Dec. 14 report on the 2012 defense funding bill, the House and Senate appropriations committees ordered a Pentagon inspector general review of overspending after discovering 11 violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act since 2001 just in the Pentagon’s military personnel accounts.

The review, due in four months, is supposed to take a detailed look at why the services violated the law that prevents spending more money than is appropriated, and how to prevent them from doing it in the future. However, the committees make no mention of seeking administrative or criminal action against the senior officials responsible for the accounts that were overspent.