Two key senators said they will introduce a bipartisan bill Tuesday to clamp down on the secretive practice of retired U.S. service members who cash in their military expertise by working as consultants and contractors for foreign governments.
The proposed legislation would also require the federal government to publicly disclose the names, job duties and salary details for all retired service members who receive compensation from foreign governments — something the Pentagon and State Department have long resisted.
The senators said they were acting in response to investigations by The Washington Post and the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight (POGO), which found that more than 500 retired U.S. military personnel — including scores of generals and admirals — have gone to work for foreign governments since 2015, mostly in countries known for political repression.
Under federal law, retired troops are permitted to work for foreign governments if they first obtain approval from their branch of the armed forces and the State Department. But federal agencies have fought to keep virtually all details about the arrangements a secret. The Post had to sue the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain more than 4,000 pages of documents that shed light on the matter.
“The Department of Defense is letting too many retired military officers trade their military service and experience to foreign governments for cash — creating serious risks to our national security,” said Warren, who leads the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel. “This system needs serious transparency and accountability.”
“It’s no surprise that foreign governments would wish to capitalize on the knowledge and expertise of retired U.S. military members, but it’s critical to our national security that we be judicious in how we allow other countries to leverage their skills and experience,” added Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen that the current safeguards aren’t sufficient.”
Among the other findings of The Post investigation: almost two-thirds of the foreign jobs taken by U.S. veterans have been in the Middle East and North Africa. The government’s approval for such posts is almost automatic, with the Pentagon and State Department granting authorization about 95 percent of the time.
Warren and other lawmakers have said they are especially bothered by the high approval rate. “That percentage strikes me as really troubling,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in April during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing on the issue. “It just seems to me like that is a symptom of something that is wrong.”
Officials at the Pentagon and State Department have said that they jointly conduct a thorough review of all foreign employment requests and have wide latitude to deny any applications that “would adversely affect the foreign relations of the United States.”
At the hearing in April, however, lawyers representing the Defense Department and each branch of the armed forces said they were revisiting their policies and would report their findings to Congress in July. “We think we can improve,” said Sean Coffey, general counsel for the Navy. “We are looking at that.”