WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Personnel, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, raising concerns over retired military officers working for foreign governments. The lawmakers are following up on a
response to their
November 2022 letter, in which the Department of Defense (DoD) provided a list of former military personnel that had requested permission to work for a foreign government, but redacted the names of many of the approved applicants.
“Congress and the public have a right to know which former DoD personnel have applied for approval to work, or who are currently working, for foreign governments, regardless of their rank,” wrote the lawmakers. “After all, they are using their U.S. government service as the basis to earn money from foreign governments.”
In addition to the redacted names and salaries paid by foreign governments, the response from DoD in March also noted that twelve applications had been denied; however, no other information was provided, such as the reason for the denials. Additional information, including individuals’ ranks, were also redacted from the report. Earlier this month, DoD issued a memorandum ordering an assessment of the department’s current processes.
“We appreciate the steps DoD has recently taken; however, that assessment does not preclude Congress from also receiving the full and complete set of information we requested to independently oversee this process,” concluded the senators.
To crack down on the corrupting influence of the revolving door between senior national security officials and foreign governments, the lawmakers are asking DoD for an explanation for the redactions no later than May 8, 2023.
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