Sen. Bernie Sanders challenges Pentagon official over defense contractor CEO pay

Amanda Macias | @amanda_m_macias
Published 11 Mins Ago
CNBC.com


Excerpts:

Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to know why so much of taxpayer money goes to the CEOs of defense companies.

The CEOs of the top five defense contractors in the U.S. earned a combined total of $96 million in compensation last year.

Lockheed Martin takes the lion's share of DoD funds with nearly 90 percent of revenue coming from the federal government.


"I think the elephant in the room here is the relationship of the DoD to defense contractors. I think that's the area that needs the most research," Sanders said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing Wednesday on the Department of Defense's business operations.

The Pentagon requested one of the largest budgets in history with its recent proposal of $686 billion and an additional $30 billion for non-defense agencies including the Department of Energy, which maintains the country's nuclear weapons.

"It is essential that the Pentagon demonstrates that it is trustworthy and accountable with taxpayer dollars and that has not been the case," Sanders said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/07/bernie-sanders-slams-defense-contractor-ceo-pay.html