The Pentagon Is Giving Billions to Corporate Criminals
As the Senate considers defense budget cuts, a new government report says the Pentagon is giving billions to companies “cited for willful or repeated safety, health or fair labor standards violations.”
The Defense Department has been funneling hundreds of billions of dollars to corporations that regulators have “cited for willful or repeated safety, health or fair labor standards violations.”
As the Senate today considers Bernie Sanders’s legislation to reduce the Pentagon budget, a new government report shows that the Defense Department has been funneling hundreds of billions of dollars to corporations that regulators have “cited for willful or repeated safety, health or fair labor standards violations.”
Nearly one out of every $10 spent on Pentagon contracts has gone to such corporations, reports the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a study of contracts between 2015 and 2019.
While those 727 companies represent only about 1 percent of all firms doing business with the Pentagon, they receive $208 billion worth of contracts — or 12 percent of all the department’s contract obligations. The companies “represent a range of industries, including manufacturing; professional, scientific, and technical services; and construction,” according to GAO.
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