Lawmakers Making Big Dollars From Iraq, Afghanistan Wars

Lawmakers–Republican and Democrat alike–have a vested financial interest in continuing military operations in Iraq. Lawmakers Making Big Dollars From Iraq, Afghanistan WarsBy Cliff Montgomery – May 7th, 2008One major reason the false war on Iraq still rages has never been fully disclosed by the corporate media, and probably won’t be anytime soon. American lawmakers–Republican and Democrat alike–have a vested financial interest in continuing military operations in Iraq, according to studies of their accounts by a number of government watchdog groups.Over 150 Congressional members–at least one-fourth of all lawmakers–have personally invested between $78.7 million to $195.5 million in corporations providing various goods and services to American armed forces through Pentagon contracts worth $5 million or more, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).”In all, these companies received more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the budget watchdog group OMB Watch,” stated the CRP study.Thus members of Congress who are charged with overseeing Defense Department contractors own stock in the very firms they are supposed to police.The offending lawmakers include vocal critics of the Iraq War.Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who built much of his 2004 presidential run around his apparent opposition to the Iraq War, tops the congressional investor list. As of Dec. 31st, 2006, Kerry’s holdings in Pentagon-related firms stood at between $28.9 million and $38.2 million, according to data from FedSpending.org.Sen. Kerry currently sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and is Chairman of the Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee–a job which apparently includes overseeing all Senatorial matters pertaining to Iraq and Afghanistan.Other leading congressional investors include Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), who enjoys Defense-related holdings of between $12.1 million to $49.1 million; Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC), with holdings between $9.2 million and $37.1 million; Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), between $5.2 million to $7.6 million; and Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), between $2.7 million and $6.3 million.Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, has invested about $2 million in Defense contractors, according to CRP.Nor is Sen. Rockefeller the only Congressional committee chairperson who has invested in corporations doing business with the Pentagon.Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Republican who pretends he’s an ‘Independent’, currently chairs the Senate land Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Lieberman–a firm supporter of the Iraq War–had, by 2006, invested at least $51,000 in corporations working in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, holds at least $30,000 of investments in Defense firms. This includes between $1,001 to $15,000 of holdings in the defense company Raytheon–which happens to have a major facility just outside Rep. Berman’s district.A Berman spokeswoman told CRP that the Raytheon investments are in a trust fund which the California Democrat inherited from his mother and father.”It’s a couple thousand dollars,” spun the Berman spokeswoman.”We’re not talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s a teeny investment, and he inherited it. He didn’t make it,” she added.Yes, Rep. Berman, that makes all the difference…According to her personal financial reports, recently-declared ‘non-elitist’ Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) held stock in a few Pentagon-related companies, including Honeywell, Raytheon and Boeing, before selling those stocks in May 2007.Neither of the other presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ), declared such holdings in their financial reports.The war-related investments from lawmakers yielded a total of $15.8 million to $62 million in dividend income, royalties, interest and capital gains from 2004-2006, according to the CRP report.Of course, there is a little problem with congresspeople getting rich from the U.S. war machine in Iraq and Afghanistan. Owning stock in corporations under contract with the Defense Department may prove “problematic for members of Congress who sit on committees that oversee defense policy and budgeting,” declares the CRP study.We at The Spark couldn’t agree more.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!