{"id":235325,"date":"2023-05-15T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=235325"},"modified":"2023-05-13T06:06:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T05:06:50","slug":"senate-report-nearly-700-former-high-ranking-pentagon-and-other-government-officials-now-work-at-the-top-20-defense-contractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/05\/senate-report-nearly-700-former-high-ranking-pentagon-and-other-government-officials-now-work-at-the-top-20-defense-contractors\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Report: Nearly 700 Former High-Ranking Pentagon and Other Government Officials Now Work at the Top 20 Defense Contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ideally, Warren\u2019s report would precipitate a much larger congressional investigation of the military-industrial complex modeled after the 1934 Nye Committee hearings.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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[Source: rosecoveredglasses.com]<\/p><\/div>\n

12 May 2023 – <\/em>At the end of April, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, released an investigative report<\/a>: \u201cPentagon Alchemy: How Defense Officials Pass Through the Revolving Door and Peddle Brass for Gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

It reveals, not surprisingly, that nearly 700 former high-ranking and other government officials now work at the top 20 defense contractors, and highlights the need to close the revolving door for ex-government and military officials hired to executive board and lobbyist positions at large defense contractors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen government officials cash in on their public service by lobbying, advising, or serving as board members and executives for the companies they used to regulate, it\u00a0undermines public officials\u2019 integrity and casts doubt on the fairness of government contracting,\u201d\u00a0Warren wrote. \u201cThis problem is especially concerning and pronounced in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States\u2019 defense industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

To combat the situation, Senator Warren has introduced the\u00a0Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act<\/em>,\u00a0which would \u201climit the influence of contractors on the military, constrain foreign influence on retired senior military officers, and assert greater transparency over contractors and their interaction with Department of Defense (DoD).\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Elizabeth Warren [Source: truthout.org<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warren\u2019s bill would certainly be a step in the right direction if it passes, though it is not enough.<\/p>\n

What is needed, more broadly, is a) a fundamental shift in the election campaign financing structure; b) an outright bar of Pentagon officials from working in private military industry; c) much stricter regulations on lobbying; and, ultimately, d) the nationalization of the arms industry, which would take the profit out of war once and for all.<\/p>\n

The Revolving Door<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The major findings of \u201cPentagon Alchemy\u201d are that:<\/p>\n