BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 29 – With the United States on track to spend more than $1 trillion on the military this year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today released the following statement about the rampant price gouging of major defense contractors and the transfer of taxpayer dollars to wealthy shareholders:
Since Putin began this brutal war, Congress has appropriated $174.2 billion in emergency funding to help Ukraine defend itself against Putin’s aggression. I strongly support getting the Ukrainians what they need to defend their country.
What I do NOT support is the war profiteering of major defense contractors, who are making huge profits on the weapons systems they produce. The result: Our taxpayers pay more than they should, and Ukraine receives less weaponry than it needs.
Companies like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and RTX (Raytheon) are increasing prices for many weapons systems while paying out huge dividends and engaging in massive stock buybacks. Since Putin’s invasion, these three companies have taken in $255 billion in taxpayer money while returning more than $52 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks, all while saying they need emergency supplemental funding to ramp up production for the war effort.
The greed of these companies is fleecing the American taxpayer and killing Ukrainians. Congress must investigate.
