Did the Pentagon Just Make a $3 Billion Accounting Error – Or Did it Do Something Even Worse?

May 22, 2023

The Pentagon’s “accounting error” will allow President Joe Biden to send an extra $3 billion in military aid to Ukraine without congressional approval. Was this deliberate?

by Jordan Cohen and Jonathan Ellis Allen Reason.com

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Pentagon has overcounted the value of the weapons it sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion. The Defense Department had cited what newly produced weapons would cost, but Washington has primarily sent Ukraine older excess weapons from U.S. stockpiles.

The Pentagon says this means it has an additional $3 billion to spend on military aid to Ukraine—spending that wouldn’t require congressional approval. While Congress has the power to set limits on the value of weapons the president can send using this method, the White House has the authority to choose which weapons to send and how to calculate their value.

This is convenient for Kyiv, which has continued to request assistance from Washington on top of the astronomical amount of aid it has already received.