151 Congressmen Profit From War

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Who profits from the Iraq war? More than a quarter of senators and congressmen have invested at least $196 million of their own money in companies doing business with the Department of Defense (DoD) that profit from the death and destruction in Iraq.

According to the latest reports, 151 members of Congress invested close to a quarter-billion in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. These companies got more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the watchdog group OMBWatch.

Congressmen gave themselves a loophole so they only have to report their assets in broad ranges. Thus, they can be off as much as 160 percent. (Try giving the IRS an estimate like that.) In 2004, the first full year after the present Iraq war began, Republican and Democratic lawmakers—both hawks and doves—invested between $74.9 million and $161.3 million in companies under contract with the DoD. In 2006 Democrats had at least $3.7 million invested in the defense sector alone, compared to the Republicans’ “only” $577,500. As the war raged on, so did the billions of profits—and personal investments by Congress members in war contractors, which increased 5 percent from 2004 to 2006.

Investments in these contractors yielded Congress members between $15.8 million and $62 million in personal income from 2004 through 2006, through dividends, capital gains, royalties and interest. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who are two of Congress’s wealthiest members, were among the lawmakers who garnered the most income from war contractors between 2004 and 2006: Sensenbrenner got at least $3.2 million and Kerry reaped at least $2.6 million.

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees which oversee the Iraq war had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DoD contracts.

War hawk Sen. Joe Lieberman (IConn.), chairman of the defense-related
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had at least $51,000 invested in these companies in 2006.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who voted for Bush’s war, had stock in defense companies, such as Honeywell, Boeing and Raytheon, but sold the stock in May 2007.

Of the 151 members whose investments are tied to the “defense” (war)
industry, as far as we know, not one of them offered to donate their bloodstained profits to the national treasury to offset the terrible debt they have imposed. Has one of them even offered to donate one cent of their war profits to lessen the debt that increases more than $1 million a minute?

When our boys and girls are wounded the government bills them to return their reenlistment bonus. They have to return any pay they received while they were hospitalized. They have to pay for their helmets and uniforms that are destroyed in the hell of war. But they keep on fighting for these politicians’ right to keep their war profits.

• Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) $3,001,006 to $5,015,001
• Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $250,001 to $500,000
• Rep. Kenny Ewell Marchant (R-Tex.) $162,074 to $162,074
• Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) $115,002 to $300,000
• Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) $115,002 to $300,000
• Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) $100,870 to $100,870
• Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) $65,646 to $65,646
• Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) $50,008 to $227,000
• Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) $50,001 to $100,000
• Rep. Stephen Ira Cohen (D-Tenn.) $45,003 to $150,000

With thanks to http://www.roguegovernment.com/

Have Your Say: 151 Congressmen Profit From War
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12 Responses to “151 Congressmen Profit From War”

Janice A. Henry
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 1:40 am

This report is unconsciencable. Tom Harkin,
Ms. Maloney? I always thought highly of them before this article, especially Ms. Maloney whose husband was killed on a train by a gunman. How can she accept profits from
a war of blood and of a lie.?

sickening; I will not fall for the “false flags alerts.” Let be a dictator all BY HIMSELF. He is not going to boss me around.

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michael hall
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 1:42 am

General Butler was right: “War is a Racket” All those who sanction war, support war,profit off war are nothing more than criminals. If murder is a crime, then serial killing is mass murder and isn’t that against our law, our code, our creed our God?

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jcat
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 1:57 am

Carolyn B Maloney is the congress person from the 14th district of Manhattan.
The woman whose husband was murdered is from long island.

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Robert B Godwin
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 3:27 am

The article would have been even more useful if roguegovernment.com had included a link to whatever source(s) identified the “War Profiteer” Senators and Representatives - State by State.

As a citizen of Washington State, it would be important to know if Senator Maria Cantwell and Representative Adam Smith are included in this list (I assume Senator Murray, “The Senator from Boeing” has long been on the list).

Keep up the muckraking. We need such avid stirrings-up if we are to question our elected representatives about what the hell they are doing in Congress “in our name.”

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Doubtom
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 5:29 am

One of the biggest mistakes American voters make, repeatedly, is to suppose that millionaires will represent them in Congress.
We have been calling the Senate “the Millionaires’ Club” for as many years as I’ve been around and yet the voters never seem to get it.
It is close to stupid to expect that rich people give a damn for the poor–they didn’t amass their riches worrying about anyone but themselves.
To use the parlance of the day, how many millionaires do any of you get to hang with? That should serve as a clue.

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elainealliance
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 5:52 am

If this isn’t conflict of interest, I don’t know what is. And that makes it not only unconscionable but ILLEGAL! Why aren’t they being prosecuted to the fullest?

Totally disgusting!!

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Carolyn Scarr
Posted: May 1st, 2008 at 5:48 pm

I wanted to see the representatives, particularly Nancy Pelosi.
Do you have a link to the entire list?

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pingback:
Posted: May 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm

Amerikanska krigsprofitörer i kongressen : Motbilder

[...] amerikanska kongressledamöterna fortsätter att profitera på Irak-kriget. Enligt de senaste rapporterna så har 151 kongressledamöter investerat nära 250 [...]

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pingback:
Posted: May 6th, 2008 at 6:39 am

Wanderings » Blog Archive » 151 Congressmen Profit from War

[...] Rinf.com When our boys and girls are wounded the government bills them to return their reenlistment bonus. [...]

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pingback:
Posted: Jun 20th, 2008 at 12:50 am

Who is really profiting from the war in Iraq? - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum

[...] # With thanks to ROGUEGOVERNMENT.COM - EXPOSING GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER 151 Congressmen Profit From War Well if you were to listen to the anti war crowd and liberals it would only be Bush, Cheney and [...]

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pingback:
Posted: Jul 11th, 2008 at 9:30 pm

War profiteering « some things need saying

[...] lots of members of congress have invested in the “defense” industry. almost $200 milllion in personal investments [...]

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Jon
Posted: Sep 17th, 2008 at 12:44 am

One should also look at who voted for and agains profiteering from the War in Iraq. Notice only those from the “D” party voted against it. See: http://iraqforsale.org/senate.php

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