David Norquist, the brother of long-time Republican tax foe Grover Norquist, vowed Tuesday that if the Senate confirms he to be the Pentagon comptroller that he will finally audit the department by ratcheting up pressure on employees.
Norquist told senators he would prod the federal government’s biggest bureaucracy to a clean audit by “calling out” individuals who create weaknesses in the financial reporting.
“Well, somebody inside the Pentagon can say, ‘I don’t contribute really,’ but that’s because it’s such a large thing,” Norquist said. “But if you see yourself called out, the answer is, well, can you fix the two problems within your control.”
Components with problems would be put in a red box and expected to improve, he said.
The nominee’s brother Grover became famous and powerful in politics for convincing many Republican candidates to sign pledges agreeing not to raise taxes once elected.
Defense officials have been under pressure to perform a Pentagon audit for decades, but have still not started the process.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other members of the Armed Services Committee pressed Norquist over whether he could get it done. Norquist was the chief financial officer at the Department of Homeland Security when that agency performed its audit.
“Starting an audit is a matter of driving change inside a bureaucracy that may resist it,” Norquist told the senators.
The lack of an audit is a “very public, continuing failure” of senior management at the Pentagon, McCain said.
But McCain, referring to Norquist’s tax-activist brother, also joked that “We’re very happy your brother is not here today.”
