Replace the people
Administrations changed. Parties changed. Agency heads changed. The documented outcome did not.
The Pentagon has never passed an audit
Congress required audited financial statements from federal agencies in 1990 Exhibit 1275. GAO's 1995 high-risk overview listed Defense financial management as a problem area Exhibit 1276. In each of fiscal years 2018 through 2025, the Defense Department Inspector General issued a disclaimer of opinion on the department-wide financial statements.
| Fiscal year | Issued | Presidential term (party) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 15 Nov 2018 | 2017–2021 (R) | Exhibit 275 |
| 2019 | 15 Nov 2019 | 2017–2021 (R) | Exhibit 276 |
| 2020 | 16 Nov 2020 | 2017–2021 (R) | Exhibit 277 |
| 2021 | 15 Nov 2021 | 2021–2025 (D) | Exhibit 278 |
| 2022 | 16 Nov 2022 | 2021–2025 (D) | Exhibit 280 |
| 2023 | 15 Nov 2023 | 2021–2025 (D) | Exhibit 281 |
| 2024 | 28 Feb 2025 (report) | 2025– (R) | Exhibit 282 |
| 2025 | 18 Dec 2025 | 2025– (R) | Exhibit 283 |
A disclaimer means the auditor could not gather enough evidence to give an opinion. The Audit sets out what the department could and could not account for.
The drug reviewers are paid by the drugmakers
Congress created the prescription drug user-fee program in 1992 and has renewed it six times. Presidents of both parties signed all seven laws.
| Law | Approved | Presidential term (party) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 29 Oct 1992 | 1989–1993 (R) | Exhibit 1277 |
| 1997 | 21 Nov 1997 | 1993–2001 (D) | Exhibit 1278 |
| 2002 | 12 Jun 2002 | 2001–2009 (R) | Exhibit 1279 |
| 2007 | 27 Sep 2007 | 2001–2009 (R) | Exhibit 987 |
| 2012 | 9 Jul 2012 | 2009–2017 (D) | Exhibit 1280 |
| 2017 | 18 Aug 2017 | 2017–2021 (R) | Exhibit 1281 |
| 2022 | 30 Sep 2022 | 2021–2025 (D) | Exhibit 1282 |
GAO reported that user fees paid 7 percent of FDA's drug and biologic review obligations in fiscal year 1993 and nearly 50 percent in fiscal year 2001 Exhibit 1283. FDA reports 73 to 77 percent for fiscal years 2020 through 2024 Exhibit 127. The share rose under presidents of both parties.
The food-additive loophole stays open
Congress exempted substances "generally recognized as safe" from food-additive review in 1958 Exhibit 558. A company can decide that its own ingredient qualifies. The record on whether FDA must be told runs from 1997 to 2026.
| Date | Presidential term (party) | What the document records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Apr 1997 | 1993–2001 (D) | FDA proposes a notification procedure and states that the decision to submit a notice is voluntary. | Exhibit 560 |
| Feb 2010 | 2009–2017 (D) | GAO reports that FDA has no information about GRAS determinations companies do not submit, and that the 1997 proposal was never finalized. | Exhibit 562 |
| 17 Aug 2016 | 2009–2017 (D) | FDA finalizes voluntary notification and states it lacks express statutory authority to require notices. | Exhibit 561 |
| 10 Mar 2025 | 2025– (R) | HHS states that industry can self-affirm GRAS use without notifying FDA, and directs rulemaking to close the pathway. | Exhibit 569 |
| 11 Aug 2026 | 2025– (R) | FDA states that an unknown number of substances are marketed under the GRAS provision, and proposes mandatory notification. The rule is not final. | Exhibit 570 |
Contractors hire the officials who oversaw them
GAO counted former senior and acquisition officials at major defense contractors in 2008 and again in 2021. Both times, GAO's count exceeded the count the contractors reported to it. In 2008, GAO found 2,435 former officials at 52 contractors, where the contractors reported 1,263 Exhibit 353. In 2021, for 10 contractors, GAO found 1,149 where the contractors reported 816 Exhibit 1285. The two reports cover different contractors and different years. In both, the contractors' counts were lower than GAO's.
Afghanistan: the same finding in three terms
| Date | Presidential term (party) | What SIGAR reported | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Jul 2010 | 2009–2017 (D) | SIGAR lists impediments including inadequate attention to metrics and sustainability, and reports that all infrastructure audits identified operations and maintenance problems. | Exhibit 1286 |
| 30 Jan 2019 | 2017–2021 (R) | SIGAR reports that early economic gains were largely due to foreign spending and were not sustainable. | Exhibit 1287 |
| Aug 2021 | 2021–2025 (D) | SIGAR reports that the U.S. government often failed to ensure its projects were sustainable over the long term. | Exhibit 925 |
What the record shows
The documents show that the outcome persisted. They do not show a single cause. They show that the outcome did not depend on who held office.
A remedy that depends on better people has been tried at every level in these records: new presidents, new parties, new agency heads, new Congresses. Each reauthorized or left in place the arrangement that produced the result.
Why It Runs Itself explains why organizations drift toward the interests of whoever runs them, and Failure Pays shows what followed the findings.