Have some progressive House members received campaign contributions from defense contractors?
By Gus Fisher
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YES
Adam Smith, Donald Norcross, Don Beyer, Ruben Gallego, Rosa DeLauro and Matt Cartwright, all members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, each received more than $40,000 in contributions from aerospace, weapons and military technology manufacturers between 2019 and 2020.
Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, was the top recipient, with $310,120 in contributions from the sector in 2019 and 2020.
According to federal filings compiled by OpenSecrets, contributors included Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, Boeing and Northrop Grumman. All are among the top 10 defense contractors ranked by Bloomberg Government.
“Cutting the bloated Pentagon budget” is part of the “Progressive promise” outlined on the group’s website.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US House of Representatives US House of Representatives: Congressional Progressive Caucus members
US House of Representatives US House of Representatives: The Progressive Promise
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