Elizabeth Warren Gets It on the Military Industrial Complex

The coziness between defense lobbyists, Congress, and the Pentagon tilts countless decisions, big and small, away from legitimate national security interests and toward the desires of giant corporations that thrive off taxpayer dollars. 

These giant contractors have deployed an extremely profitable strategy: First, recruit armies of lobbyists from former Pentagon officials and congressional staffers. Then, get those former officials to use their relationships, access, and influence to secure lucrative contracts. 

It’s time to cut our bloated defense budget. 

And that influence is a big part of how we ended up with a Pentagon budget that'll cost more this year than we spend on education, medical research, housing, disaster relief—everything else in the discretionary budget put together. 

It’s wrong, wasteful, and bad for our national security. 

We have to call this what it is: corruption—plain and simple. I’ve already introduced a sweeping anti-corruption bill. 

Today, I introduced the Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act. 

It’s Time to Reduce Corporate Influence at the Pentagon 

My plan will: 

—Shut the revolving door between giant contractors and the Pentagon 

—Ban DoD officials from owning contractor stock 

—Limit foreign government hiring of American national security officials 

—Expose defense contractor lobbying