The new Congress, under Nancy Pelosi, is set to take on the task of reducing corruption in government. Ethics is a concern when considering appointments to committees. A "culture of corruption" has developed which is strong enough to disturb the voters and undermine their confidence in Congress. Powerful special interests historically pull hard on legislators, particularly from the "military industrial complex." Arms manufacturers make campaign contributions, but far more important is their leverage they exert on the Congressional spending of taxpayer money.
In Ronald Reagan's 1985 State of the Union address, he said, "We must not relax our efforts to restore military strength. You know, we only have a military-industrial complex until a time of danger, and then it becomes the arsenal of democracy."
The Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex
The man who introduced the phrase "military industrial complex" to the publicaly was President Eisenhower, a Republican and a former General. He warned: "This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence - economic, political, even spiritual - is felt in every statehouse; in the councils of government we must guard against the acquistion of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
What is less known is that in his original draft, Eisenhower referred to the "miliary-industrial-congressional complex." He did not use the full phrase in his valedictory speech, as he did not feel it was "fitting" for the President to criticize the Congress. Yet the unedited phrase makes sense. Defense contractors can only force up the military budget if politicians owe them favors and have constituents to placate.
Some legislators bristle at publicly-funded welfare programs but have no problem with giving a handout to the arms dealers and manufacturers. For example, between 1978 and 1998, the Air Force requested five Lockheed Martin C-130 transport aircraft. Congress, several of whom had consultants from Lockheed Martin, gave them 256 C-130s.
U.S. procurement policy has a corrupt history, during the Cold War as well as our current battles. We have heard much about no-bid contracting and disappearing funds (eg. Halliburton). We have lived under a system where politicians had close business ties to the recipients of contracts and tax monies. Politicians need to stop clinging to the pork barrel and we need to make them stop.
(Photo from Lockheed Martin. Quotations and figures from the hard copy of "Idiot Proof: Deluded Celebrities, Irrational Power Brokers, Media Morons and the Erosion of Common Sense," by Francis Wheen.) Additional sources related to corrupt arms procurement: "Cut the Budget Deficit? You Must Be Joking, by Martin Walker, Guardian, July 10, 1989, and "Costs a Bundle and Can't Fly: Dubious Weapons Systems Reap a Bush Budget Bonanza," by Jason Vest, The American Prospect, Vol. 14, No.5, March 11, 2002.
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