# 119-s-5185: Audit the Pentagon Act

119-s-5185, Audit the Pentagon Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5185
- As of: 2026-10-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5185
- Congress: 119
- Title: Audit the Pentagon Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-30
- Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT)
- Cosponsors: 13
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-08

## Summary

**Automatically cut funding by 2.0 percent for any Defense Department component that fails to earn an unqualified audit opinion.** The bill ties clean financial audits to funding and directs withheld money into the Treasury for deficit reduction. - If a department, agency, or element of the Department of Defense does not receive an unqualified opinion for the calendar year ending during a fiscal year after fiscal year 2024, its available funding for that fiscal year would be reduced by 2.0 percent. - The amount withheld would be applied on a pro rata basis across every program, project, and activity of that department, agency, or element. - The Secretary of Defense must deposit the withheld amounts into the general fund of the Treasury for the purpose of reducing the federal deficit. *This would channel withheld Defense funds into the Treasury to reduce the deficit.*

## Cosponsors (13)

- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] (R-KY), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2026-08-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- 2% cut for unaudited Defense units: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary of Defense reduce by 2.0% the amount available to any Defense department, agency, or element that did not receive an unqualified opinion on its full financial statements for the calendar year ending during that fiscal year. The 2.0% reduction would be ta…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.
- 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California.

## Sources
- [119-s-5185 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5185)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5185 (as of 2026-10-08).