Four senators, two parties: Pentagon may lack cost data on 60% of contracts, they say

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) wrote to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg on Oct. 20 asking how the Pentagon will obtain contractors' cost and pricing data, including on contracts below $10 million. The senators' press release is dated Oct. 21, and Federal News Network also reported on it.

What the senators say

The letter responds to an Aug. 18, 2026 Pentagon directive on "Supplier Cost and Pricing Transparency," which the senators welcomed. They say the department's policy applies a $10 million threshold for obtaining certified cost and pricing data, and that this gap "could leave the Department without access to critical information for more than 60 percent of its contracts." The release names no independent source for that figure; it is the senators' characterization, and we have not seen the underlying analysis or the letter's full text.

What they ask for

• Apply the new directive to lower-value contracts.
• Use existing authority to make contractors ineligible for awards when they refuse to provide requested data.
• Support Warren's Stop Price Gouging in the Military Act and the Transparency in Contract Pricing Act in the FY2027 defense authorization bill.
• Explain how the department will obtain data from refusing companies, oversee compliance consistently and hold non-compliant companies accountable.

The senators asked for a response by Nov. 3, 2026. We have seen no Pentagon response and did not contact the department or any contractor.

Why the threshold matters

Certified cost or pricing data is information contractors generally must submit and stand behind when negotiating contracts above a dollar threshold, giving contracting officers a way to test a proposed price. Below the threshold, officers lean more on other price evidence, and contractors can decline to hand over cost detail. The senators' argument is that a $10 million line leaves most contracts outside the requirement. They name the 60% figure but not its source, so we cannot say whether it counts contracts or dollars.

Federal News Network reported that the letter also asks whether the department will stop negotiating with companies that refuse to provide data, whether it will report contractors that fail to meet price notification requirements, and whether it will pursue terminations or modifications when required cost data is not submitted after award. It also reported that the August memo pointed toward application programming interfaces to pull cost data directly from contractors.

What it does and does not show

Missing cost data is not proof of overcharging. Contract structure and lawful exceptions matter, and the share of contracts affected by dollar value is a different question from the share by count. The letter is a request for answers, not a finding.

For small contractors and suppliers, the practical question is whether pricing-data requests will reach contracts below $10 million. That depends on the Pentagon's answer and on whether Congress writes the requirement into the authorization bill.

Sources: Office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Oct. 21, 2026; Federal News Network, Oct. 21, 2026. Claims about the data gap are the senators' own. This is a news brief, not investment advice.