Bacon sponsors bill to improve U.S. Air Force budget transparency

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) recently introduced a bipartisan bill to improve transparency of the budget of the U.S. Air Force.

“This legislation is critical in order to invest in our Armed Forces to ensure our service members are equipped and capable of protecting our country,” Rep. Bacon said on March 20.

Rep. Bacon on March 12 sponsored the Air Force Budget Transparency Act of 2020, H.R. 6229, with lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).

If enacted, H.R. 6229 would increase transparency of the Air Force budget by discontinuing a practice of “pass-through” budgeting where non-Air Force spending is included in the Air Force budget, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Bacon’s office.

“In fiscal year 2021, 18 percent of Air Force total obligation authority is passed through the Air Force budget to fund non-Air Force programs,” said Rep. Bacon. “No other military branch has a comparable pass-through budget, and this has become a convenient administrative conduit for funding a collection of non-Air Force classified and unclassified programs.”

For many years, the pass-through budgeting items have accumulated and now account for a full 20 percent of the Air Force’s budget, according to Rep. Bacon’s office, which said the result is an inflated overall budget that obscures the true investment levels for the Air Force.

H.R. 6229 has been referred to the U.S. House Budget Committee for consideration