After a two-year absence, the Department of Defense’s Anti-Corruption and Ethics Act returned to Congress, this time to the House of Representatives. Legislator Andy Kim (D-NJ) reintroduced the bill that targets conflicts of interest and corruption in the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Pentagon.
The legislation had been introduced in the Senate by Elizabeth Warren in 2021. However, it stalled in the Armed Services Committee, which at the time had equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Two years later, it returns to Capitol Hill hoping to make it to President Joe Biden’s desk.
“This bill is meant to reinforce those values and make sure that Americans know our defense force has their backs. I’m proud to introduce this bill as a companion to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bill in the Senate and urge members of both houses to support this bill and help restore Americans’ trust in their government,” Kim said.
From his time in national security, Congressman Kim knows how important it is that across our federal government, duty and service comes first.
With @SenWarren he intro’d a bill to root out conflicts of interest and restore Americans’ trust in government.https://t.co/K6GgEtUGKt
— Rep. Andy Kim’s Office (@RepAndyKimNJ) August 29, 2023
What does the Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act do?
According to the congressman’s website, the bill seeks to “limit the influence of contractors on the military, restrict foreign influence on retired senior military officers, and assert greater transparency over contractors and their interaction with the Department of Defense (DoD).”
In addition, it would impose a four-year ban on defense contractors who hire senior Pentagon officials and impose a four-year ban on former Defense Department employees who manage their contracts. It would also expand an existing ban on former military generals lobbying the DoD, require annual public reports on hiring, and reject senior government officials from owning shares of major defense contractors that receive more than $100 million in Pentagon revenue.
As for foreign influence, it would prohibit senior national security officials from working on behalf of foreign governments, as well as military and civilian intelligence personnel from working on behalf of foreign governments or private entities from operating predominantly on behalf of a foreign government.
An investigation published by The Washington Post in 2022 found that more than 500 veterans, including generals and admirals, have been hired worldwide since 2015, notably by countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Persian Gulf states.
