H.R. 10046: Defense Expenditure Planning for Optimizing Throughput and Sustainment Act

This bill would give the Secretary of Defense the authority to remove certain internal accounting charges tied to military depots and arsenals when those facilities have been changed so they no longer generate revenue because of a mission change directed by the federal government.

What it would do

• Allows the Department of Defense to write off or eliminate depreciation and internal debt recorded in its own accounts for certain depots and arsenals.
• Applies only when those accounting balances are tied to capital assets affected by mission realignments that stopped producing revenue.
• Requires that any write-off be handled so that previous cash outlays from a revolving fund are recovered.
• States that this authority applies only to balances within Defense Department or military department accounts, not to amounts owed to outside commercial contractors.
• Allows the Secretary of Defense to delegate this authority to the Secretary of a military department.

Plain-English effect

In practical terms, the bill would let the Pentagon clean up its books when a depot or arsenal has been repurposed and is no longer earning money the way it used to. Instead of keeping obsolete internal charges on the books, Defense officials could erase them from government accounts, while still making sure any prior spending from revolving funds is accounted for.

What it would not do

• It would not cancel debts owed to private companies.
• It would not directly provide new funding for depots or arsenals.
• It would not change the mission of any depot or arsenal by itself; it only changes how certain related accounting items are handled.

Relevant Companies

None found.