|
Lawmakers have $196M invested
in defense industry
ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated
Press
Friday, April 4, 2008
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have as much as $196 million
collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense
Department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war,
according to a study by a nonpartisan research group.
Not all the companies in which lawmakers invested are typical
defense contractors. Corporations such as PepsiCo, IBM, Microsoft
and Johnson & Johnson have at one point received defense-related
contracts, notes the report by the Washington-based Center for
Responsive Politics.
suggests that members' holdings could pose a conflict
of interest as they decide the fate of Iraq war spending. Several
members earning money from these contractors have plum committee
or leadership assignments, including Democratic Sen. John Kerry,
independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman and House Republican Whip Roy
Blunt.
(Article continues below)
The study found that more Republicans than Democrats hold stock
in defense companies, but that the Democrats who are invested
had significantly more money at stake. In 2006, for example, Democrats
held at least $3.7 million in military-related investments, compared
to Republican investments of $577,500.
Overall, 151 members hold investments worth $78.7 million to
$195.5 million in companies that receive defense contracts that
are worth at least $5 million. These investments earned them anywhere
between $15.8 million and $62 million between 2004 and 2006, the
center concludes.
It is unclear how many members still hold these investments and
exactly how much money has been made. Disclosure reports for 2007
aren't due until this May. Also, members are required to report
only a general range of their holdings.
Full
article here.
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
