Government Accountability Office investigations of the Department of Defense Government Accountability Office investigations of the Department of Defense are typically audit s in which the Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) , the United States Congress ’ investigative arm , studies how the Department of Defense spends taxpayer dollars . Since the GAO is accountable only to the legislative branch , it is in a unique position to investigate the military ; no other agency can audit Federal departments with the same degree of independence from the President . However , the GAO is still subject to influence from powerful members of Congress . Two examples of major GAO investigations in the 2000s were the audits of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Defense Department airline reimbursements . Major investigations . Operation Iraqi Freedom . GAO investigations into Operation Iraqi Freedom revealed a number of accounting problems , ranging from the mundane to the severe . Pay irregularities were a chronic problem . According to a GAO report cited in " Computerworld " , 450 of the 481 Army National Guard soldiers from six Special Forces units had at least one pay problem associated with their mobilization . The report found , " DOD ’ s inability to provide timely and accurate payments to these soldiers , many of whom risked their lives in recent Iraq or Afghanistan missions , distracted them from their missions , imposed financial hardships on the soldiers and their families and has had a negative impact on retention " . The investigation also uncovered questionable procurement arrangements with Halliburton . According to a United Press International article published in " The Washington Times " , the Kuwaiti - owned Timimmi Company had been serving hot meals to troops stationed in Iraq for $ 3 a meal . The contract was later reassigned to Halliburton , which raised the price to $ 5 a meal , subcontracted the meal services back out to Timimmi , and kept the 40 % difference . GAO Analyst Neil Curtain exposed the problem in a Congressional hearing , noting , " Certainly that ’ s unfair to the taxpayer " . As the investigation into Iraqi Freedom progressed , it began turning up worse and worse procurement problems . GAO auditor s caught the Department selling new chemical and biological protective garments on the Internet for $ 3 each . At the same time , the Pentagon was buying identical garments elsewhere for more than $ 200 apiece . Other accounting snafus resulted in the Army losing track of 56 airplanes , 32 tank s , and 36 Javelin missile command launch - units . The GAO found that the waste encountered in Iraq is symptomatic of a wider inventory - control problem . More than 200 inventory - control systems at the Defense Department still are not integrated . The GAO notes , " Poor communication between services within the Department of Defense and improper accounting results in the disposal of needed spare parts and the purchase of duplicative parts worth millions of dollars " . Airline reimbursements . A more recent GAO investigation revealed $ 100 million in wasted airline fees . The Associated Press notes that the Defense Department spent an estimated $ 100 million for airline tickets that were not used over six years and failed to seek refunds even though the tickets were reimbursable . The Department also reimbursed employees for airline tickets that had been purchased by the Department . To demonstrate how easy it was to have the Pentagon pay for airline travel , the investigators posed as Defense employees , had the department generate a ticket and showed up at the ticket counter to pick up a boarding pass . The GAO also uncovered several incidences of airline - related fraud . One DOD traveler used a Department account number to pay for more than 70 airline tickets totaling more than $ 60 , 000 . He then sold them at a discount to coworkers and family members for personal travel . Another employee admitted to " accidentally " claiming reimbursement for $ 10 , 000 worth of airline tickets that had been paid for by the Department . GAO influence over Defense Department reform . Defense Department responses to investigations . There is evidence that GAO investigations are encouraging the Department to reform . The Halliburton contract was re - negotiated and assigned directly to Timimmi . And Dov Zakheim , chief financial officer for the Pentagon , said , " We are overhauling our financial management system precisely because people like < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > GAO Comptroller General < nowiki > ] < / nowiki > David Walker are rightly critical of it " . These audits appear to have been more effective at prompting reform than the Defense Department ’ s own initiatives . In 1989 , the Department began attempting to unify more than 2 , 000 overlapping systems used for billing , inventory , and personnel . But after spending $ 20 billion , the initiative was abandoned . Gregory Kutz , director of GAO ’ s financial management division , noted the Pentagon ’ s weak fiscal control over its subsidiaries – the Army , Navy , Air Force , and Marines – saying , " The Pentagon ’ s inability to even complete an audit shows just how far they have to go " . Threats to GAO independence . Scholars believe , however , that the GAO ’ s authority could be undermined in the wake of a landmark case , Walker vs . Cheney . This Federal lawsuit pertained to a GAO investigation into the Bush Administration ’ s Energy Task Force . Richard Cheney refused to disclose which individuals and groups met with the Task Force , prompting Walker to sue for the information in Federal court . In December 2002 , the court ruled for Cheney . Congressional pressure persuaded Walker to abandon appeals . Having vowed to " go to the mat , " he originally planned to pursue the case further . But according to OMBWatch , " Sen . Ted Stevens ( R - AK ) , chairman of the Appropriations Committee , met with GAO Comptroller General David Walker earlier in the year , and sources have reported that sharp cuts in the GAO $ 440 million budget were threatened if the lawsuit was pursued further " . The GAO was designed to be independent , and Walker cites several factors insulating his agency from political pressure . In a Roll Call op - ed , he remarks , " To begin with , our location in the legislative branch gives us some distance from the executive branches we audit and oversee . Moreover , the head of GAO serves a 15 - year term , which gives the agency a continuity of leadership that is rare in the federal government . GAO ’ s independence is further safeguarded by the fact that its workforce consists of career civil servants hired on the basis of their knowledge , skill , and ability " . However , the GAO , like all federal agencies , is subject to Congress ’ budgetary power . According to The Hill , " Walker did say . . . that several lawmakers have threatened in the past year to cut agency funding if it persisted with the controversial lawsuit . He also said the budget threat was among a number of factors that tipped his Feb . 7 decision to halt litigation " . It is difficult to tell whether curtailed GAO independence will threaten Defense Department reform . Some aspects of Defense Department accounting have resisted reform for decades . Danielle Brian , director of the nonprofit Project on Governmental Oversight , says , " Waste has become ingrained in the Defense budget because opposition to defense spending is portrayed as unpatriotic , and legislators are often more concerned about winning Pentagon pork than controlling defense waste " . But even Representatives who generally support Defense spending seem to be getting fed up with the problem . Representative Thomas M . Davis , R - Virginia , asked the Pentagon to present 11 documents relating to contracts in Iraq , among them papers that would prove whether Halliburton benefited from its association with Cheney . And Rep . John Duncan , R - Tenn . , of the House Committee on Government Reform recently said , " I ’ ve always considered myself to be a pro - military type person , but that doesn ’ t mean I just want to sit back and watch the Pentagon waste billions and billions of dollars " . Supporters of the GAO investigations like to point out the disparity between the GAO budget and military expenses . The GAO ’ s Fiscal Year 2004 annual budget was $ 463 . 6 million . In contrast , GAO reports show that the Defense Department ’ s 2 , 200 overlapping financial systems cost $ 18 billion a year to operate .