Add your name: Let’s shut the revolving door between giant contractors and the Pentagon and crack down on corruption

Let me tell you why I went to Northern Virginia last week.

I hosted a town hall not too far away from the Pentagon — and not too far away from the big, shiny offices of the biggest defense contractors.

It’s no surprise that these companies have clustered around the Pentagon, sometimes within walking distance.

At our town hall, we talked about a real problem: Too many of our defense contractors don’t just want a seat at the table. They want to own the table.

Coziness between defense lobbyists, Congress, and the Pentagon  —  what Dwight D. Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex  —  tilts countless decisions, big and small, away from legitimate national security interests and toward the desires of giant corporations that thrive off taxpayer dollars.

I’ve got a plan to fix it: My new Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act. It would 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, and expose defense contractor lobbying.

Add your name to become a citizen co-sponsor. Help show Washington that there’s a grassroots movement ready to fight against corruption.

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

It’s past time to cut our bloated defense budget and address a big hunk of the root cause: corruption. Here’s my plan to fight back:

1. Slam Shut the Revolving Door Between Giant Contractors and the Pentagon.

My plan would ban giant defense contractors from hiring senior DoD officials and generals and flag officers for four years after they leave the Department. It would also require contractors to identify the former DoD officials who work for them and what they’re working on. To fully eliminate the opportunity for conflicts of interest, a former employee or executive of a defense contractor who joins the government would be totally banned from working on anything that could influence their former bosses.

2. Ban DoD Officials from Owning Contractor Stock.

This one is a no-brainer. My plan would ban all senior DoD officials from owning or trading any stock of giant defense contractors. And it would ban all DoD employees from owning or trading stock if they’re in a position to influence that contractor’s bottom line.

3. Limit Foreign Government Hiring of American National Security Officials.

Former senior national security officials shouldn’t get paid big bucks to work for foreign governments  —  especially when that work undermines U.S. interests. My plan would make it illegal.

4. Expose Defense Contractor Lobbying.

Defense contractors should be required to disclose the true scope of their lobbying activities  —  including who they’re meeting with at the DoD, what they’re lobbying about, and what (unclassified) information they’re sharing. And federal open records laws should apply to private defense contractors so the public can understand what they’re doing.

this fight is personal for me. All three of my brothers went off to join the military because, like tens of thousands of uniformed and civilian employees and officers at the Defense Department, they wanted to serve their country.

We should all be grateful for that kind of service and sacrifice. You know how we can demonstrate that gratitude? Let’s make sure that national security decisions are driven only by what best keeps Americans safe. Not by private profits. Not by foreign interests.

I’ll keep fighting to crack down on corruption in every corner of Washington, but I can’t do it alone. Will you add your name to become a citizen co-sponsor of our new Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act?

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth