Many in Congress are calling for a drastic reduction in government spending. But whether and how deeply Pentagon contracting will be affected is up for grabs. Procurement projects spread across Congressional districts, buttressed by campaign contributions and well-connected lobbyists, help ensure that even budget hawks in Congress often vote to keep money flowing to weapons systems that the Department of Defense does not want.  

A panel at Open Society Foundations Washington, DC, office will examine the nexus of political finance and pork-barrel politics in a time of deficit politics. The discussion centers around the book Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex by William Hartung, which has just been reissued in paperback. 

Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight, one of Washington’s most effective proponents of cleaning up DOD contracting practices, and R. Jeffrey Smith of the Center for Public Integrity, a Pulitzer Prize–winning former reporter for the Washington Post, will discuss how Congress and the executive branch can reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in military contracting.

Panelists

• William Hartung, Director of the Arms and Security Project, Center for International Policy
• Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight
• R. Jeffrey Smith, Managing Editor, National Security Reporting, Center for Public Integrity.
• Lora Lumpe, Senior Policy Analyst, International Policy, Open Society Foundations (moderator)

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.