A (very) brief note on a disparity in campaign financing

Speaking Security Newsletter | Advisory Note for Organizers and Candidates, n°34 | 11 August 2020

The defense industry receives over twice the amount obligated for US military personnel. For example, in 2018, out every 1 taxpayer dollar 24 cents were appropriated to the military. Of that, 12 cents went to contractors, 5 to personnel.

This disparity manifests itself in defense industry campaign contributions, even amongst the powerful subcommittee chairs within the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Below, find the corresponding amount in defense industry campaign contributions (2020 cycle) for each HASC subcommittee chair. The chair of the “Military Personnel” subcommittee took in far less than the other chairs (that are more strongly connected with weapons procurement).

N.B.: On average, House Democrats accepted $26,034 each before voting on the latest defense authorization bill. Between the subcommittee chairs and HASC Chair Adam Smith, the average is $126,180.

Thanks for your time,

Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)

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