Overview
- The Open The Books report tallies $93.4 billion in Pentagon grants and contracts in September 2025, the largest month-end surge the group has tracked since at least 2008 under use-it-or-lose-it budget rules.
- More than $50 billion was obligated in the final five business days of the fiscal year, highlighting the concentrated year-end push to commit remaining funds.
- Line items flagged as questionable include $225 million for furniture, $2 million for Alaskan king crab, over $60,000 for premium Herman Miller chairs, and $1.8 million for musical instruments such as a $98,329 Steinway piano.
- Nearly $6 billion went to information technology, including $3.5 billion for cable TV and technical support and $2.4 billion for laptops and software, while $6.6 billion was spent with foreign governments and businesses for services and goods like computer chips and firetrucks.
- Open The Books CEO John Hart criticized the spree as unacceptable, and Sen. Joni Ernst rebuked the spending while pushing the RECEIPTS Act to require a clean audit by 2028 and proposing legislation to curb September surges.