Two amendments introduced by Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-01) have been included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. These provisions aim to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Department of Defense (DoD), focusing on financial audits and weapons inventory management.
“The Pentagon has failed every audit since 2018 and remains unauditable, despite operating with a nearly $900 billion discretionary budget,” said Rep. Schweikert. “Artificial intelligence can already track, list, and locate Department of Defense assets. It is time we put that technology to work.”
Amendment 620 instructs the DoD to use AI in auditing its financial statements. This builds on previous legislation from Rep. Schweikert, H.R. 7603, which seeks to help the department achieve a clean audit for the first time. Although Congress mandated a comprehensive audit framework in 2010 with a goal for readiness by 2017, the DoD has not met this target. In 2022, an unsuccessful audit cost taxpayers $900 million—half spent on conducting the audit and half on correcting issues identified during the process.
Amendment 621 requires the DoD to use AI for managing its weapons inventory systems, addressing longstanding inefficiencies and inaccuracies. A report from 1990 indicated that between 1981 and 1984, the DoD returned over eight percent of materials it had over-procured. More recent findings show that critical care deficiencies affect two-thirds of stored weapons systems and that nearly $1.3 billion in inventory was improperly stored.
Further data suggests these problems have worsened over time; about 58 percent of Pentagon material holdings are now considered unnecessary, with instances such as the Navy losing track of $3 billion in equipment over three years and significant backlogs at some facilities.
“Without accurate inventory data, the Pentagon cannot make responsible procurement decisions,” Rep. Schweikert added. “This amendment ensures that taxpayer dollars are being used to produce the tools we actually need to defend this country, not funding more waste and backlog.”
Rep. Schweikert’s ongoing efforts focus on modernizing federal operations through technological innovation while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
In recent elections, David Schweikert secured his position by defeating Amish Shah in 2024 with approximately 52% of the vote and Jevin Hodge in 2022 with just over half of all votes cast.
