A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for answers on the Army's handling of meal funds as questions mount over the apparent misallocation of tens of millions of dollars intended to feed soldiers.
The scrutiny follows a Military.com investigation revealing that the Army cannot account for more than $151 million deducted from troops' paychecks -- funds meant to cover meals. On Tuesday, 21 lawmakers penned a letter to Hegseth on the matter and about concerns over access to nutritious food.
At the heart of the issue is the Army's Basic Allowance for Subsistence, or BAS, a roughly $460 monthly stipend for soldiers meant to offset food costs. For many junior enlisted troops living in barracks, much of that allowance is automatically deducted to fund dining facilities. Lawmakers, however, are questioning whether those deductions are being used effectively and appropriately.
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"Our service members are the best among us and expect fair compensation from their government," Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who is leading the oversight effort, said in a statement. "If a service member is losing money from their paycheck because they are being given a meal, it is reasonable for them to expect that funding will be used only to cover the costs of providing it and to ensure it is of the highest possible quality."
Financial data from 11 of the Army's largest bases, reviewed by Military.com, revealed that only about 40% on average of the funds collected from soldiers for food was actually spent on meals, though at some bases the gap was more significant.
Officials have declined to provide figures for nearly 100 other Army garrisons, likely violating the service's own transparency rules, meaning the issue may be much more significant. Data reviewed by Military.com accounts only for 2024, yet the issue has been going on for years and across several administrations.
The publication also found numerous instances of dining facilities abruptly closing or changing hours, making it difficult for troops to access food. The Army has increasingly relied on grab-and-go kiosks, a shift away from college campus-style dining facilities. But these kiosks primarily offer snacks and prepackaged meals, many of which fall short of the Army's own nutrition standards.
Lawmakers also want Hegseth to explain how the Army is providing nutritious options for soldiers, and whether the Defense Department needs additional resources for food options.
"Through your experience as a junior officer, you can empathize with the importance of a reliable, nutritious dining facility, and its importance to morale," lawmakers wrote to Hegseth. "You are now ultimately responsible for the welfare of these service members."
Service officials interviewed by Military.com were unable to answer detailed questions on how the Army decides food budgets, noting only that budgets are based on the volume of soldiers using the dining facilities. But that data does not take into account the number of soldiers eligible to use the facilities or how many are on base at a given time.
Army officials declined to comment for this story.
"They haven't given a clear explanation on what's being done with food; some of their responses have been really confusing," one congressional staffer told Military.com on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, referring to behind-the-scenes conversations between the Army and Capitol Hill on the matter. "There's some fundamental confusion of how money works."
Head count numbers do not account for long-term training events or deployments, when troops are away from base facilities -- sending a false signal to Army planners that troops are choosing not to use their meal entitlements.
A 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office found that the services, with the exception of the Air Force, do not adequately track how often troops make use of dining facilities.
"We found that Army food program officials do not track the extent to which service members with a meal entitlement use the entitlement and do not have plans to do so," the report noted.
Senators who signed the letter to Hegseth include Warnock; Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.
House members who signed onto the effort include Reps. Rob Wittman, R-Va.; Jen Kiggans, R-Va.; Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.; Don Bacon, R-Neb.; Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.; Sanford Bishop, D-Ga.; Seth Moulton, D-Mass.; Abraham Hamadeh, R-Ariz.; John McGuire, R-Va.; Lance Gooden, R-Texas; Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.; Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; Don Davis, D-N.C.; and Salud Carbajal, D-Calif.
Related: Over $151 Million Taken from Soldiers' Paychecks for Food Costs Spent Elsewhere by the Army
