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151 Congressmen Derive Financial Profit From War

Blood money stains the hands of more than 25% of members of the U.S. House and Senate

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By Ralph Forbes

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

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The_Red_Crayon said:
Glad to see the democrats care so much about Iraq, Itleast when the republicans make a profit they are actually for the war, its disgusting to see democrats making profits off a war they dont agree with (or itleast appear that way). The democrats have to be the biggest liars on earth.

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danknugz81 said:

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The_Red_Crayon said:
Glad to see the democrats care so much about Iraq, Itleast when the republicans make a profit they are actually for the war, its disgusting to see democrats making profits off a war they dont agree with (or itleast appear that way). The democrats have to be the biggest liars on earth.

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stop making it a partisan issue, the republicans are just as guilty of profiting from this war. even more so, in my opinion.

they're all scumbags.

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The_Red_Crayon said:

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danknugz81 said:

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The_Red_Crayon said:
Glad to see the democrats care so much about Iraq, Itleast when the republicans make a profit they are actually for the war, its disgusting to see democrats making profits off a war they dont agree with (or itleast appear that way). The democrats have to be the biggest liars on earth.

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stop making it a partisan issue, the republicans are just as guilty of profiting from this war. even more so, in my opinion.

they're all scumbags.

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Where did I state republicans never profitted from this war, and first of all im not a republican and nor do i support any republican politicians as well as democrats. You dont find it any strange that the party who generally opposes the war in Iraq is making significant profits there?

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The_Red_Crayon said:
Ohhhh ok, thanks for letting me know i've been "lied" too. Oh you who watched a video and suddenly became enlightened.

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The Tourist said:
If anything good can be taken from this fucking mess, it's that more of us have realized that something needs to change in American politics. I think a good place to start is by completely separating money interests, lobbying, corporate ties, etc. from Washington. Enough with this plutocracy BULLSHIT. I don't even think that that's the half of it, but it's a start.

We need to bring back the idea that a democratic government serves the people, rather than the other way around. They do the bidding of the population, period. Being in politics puts you in the area of work designated "public service" for a fucking reason.

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And government is neccesarily a socialist system where the people serve the government. How can you have it any other way?

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The Tourist said:
All corporate and organizational contributions should be banned. Individual ones are fine, and you're right, they should simply be disclosed. The "apathy of the citizenry" is definitely something we can't manipulate.

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And government is neccesarily a socialist system where the people serve the government. How can you have it any other way?

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Well, we could have a democracy.


And who says socialism means the people serve the government?

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And government is neccesarily a socialist system where the people serve the government. How can you have it any other way?

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The Tourist said:
I agree, Seuss.

But I'd like to ask everyone here, what makes your money truly yours? The fact that you possess it? Money belongs to the people who create it and produce, not to the business owners and managers within the hierarchy who enslave their workers as a result of the workers having no alternatives under the current system.

Business and money belong to the workers, and this system of capitalism is simply a way for people with power (the wealthy) to control those in need, those without money.

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