Congress holds 25 hearings throughout 1959 to investigate the revolving door between defense contractors and senior military officials, marking the first systematic examination of conflicts of interest in weapons procurement. General Omar Bradley, who served as the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs …
U.S. CongressGeneral Omar BradleyDepartment of DefenseDefense Contractorsrevolving-doormilitary-industrial-complexdefense-contractsconflict-of-interestcongressional-oversight
Congress passes the Renegotiation Act on April 28, 1942, establishing a process to recapture “excessive profits” from war contractors. While presented as a check on war profiteering, the act’s weak enforcement mechanisms and industry-friendly implementation allow most excessive …
President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the War Production Board (WPB) to coordinate wartime production, staffing it with corporate executives as ‘dollar-a-year men.’ This establishes a precedent for corporate-government partnership where business leaders shape government policy while …
Franklin D. RooseveltDonald NelsonWar Production BoardDefense contractorsWilliam Knudsencorporate-government-fusionwar-profiteeringrevolving-doordefense-industryinstitutional-capture
Senator Harry S. Truman establishes the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (Truman Committee) after witnessing widespread waste and profiteering in war production. Over the next four years, the committee will save an estimated $10-15 billion by uncovering fraud and …
Harry S. TrumanU.S. SenateDefense contractorswar-profiteeringcongressional-oversightdefense-industryinstitutional-accountability