A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finds problems in how the Department of Defense (DoD) calculates cost-of-living payments for service members. Across reporting by Military Times, Air Force Times, and Navy Times, the GAO says the DoD uses “unsound sampling practices” and “inconsistent processes” when determining the payments. The sources describe the review as focused on the methods the department uses to gather and select information that feeds into cost-of-living calculations, and on whether those methods are applied consistently. The articles characterize the findings using the same “beans and rice diet” phrase, reflecting criticism of the approach’s limited or simplistic basis, though the underlying conclusion across outlets is that the process lacks soundness and uniformity. The reporting indicates the GAO’s assessment centers on the reliability of the inputs and the consistency of the procedures used to set cost-of-living pay, rather than on the existence of the payments themselves. The outlets agree that the watchdog’s findings raise concerns about whether the methodology supports accurate and consistent cost-of-living compensation for military personnel.