GAO says Navy stocks too many spare parts

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A government report says the U.S. Navy is up to its gunwales in unneeded spare parts because of poor planning.

The report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office said the value of the surplus parts averages $7.5 billion and that the overstocking has been a problem since 2001.

The GAO found that some of the surplus could be put to use, but some of it included obsolete components and items that were broken.

The Senate Finance Committee requested the GAO report.

"The idea we are spending many billions of dollars every single year for parts that are not needed or not used by the Navy is absolutely unacceptable," committee member Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., told USA Today.

The newspaper said Wednesday the Pentagon acknowledged the situation and said it had been trying to bring the purchases under better control.