来自密苏里州的共和党参议员乔希·霍利（Josh Hawley）和马萨诸塞州的民主党参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦（Elizabeth Warren）共同提出一项法案，要求主要国防承包商在履行由纳税人资金支持的合同、交付武器方面优先于回报股东，并对这些公司设置更严格的监管和监督机制。
他们提出的《2026年国防合同中优先保障作战人员法案》（Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting Act of 2026）规定，除非公司满足五角大楼合同中的绩效标准，否则将限制股票回购、股息发放和高管高薪。
[特朗普全面改革美国武器销售，优先扶持关键盟友并保护美国武器生产]
来自密苏里州的共和党参议员乔希·霍利（Josh Hawley）和马萨诸塞州的民主党参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦（Elizabeth Warren）联手提出法案，打击表现不佳的国防承包商。(Al Drago/Getty Images; Rick Kern/Getty Images for Vox Media)
“美国的国防承包商应专注于扩大生产，而非充实自己的利润底线，”霍利在致福克斯新闻数字版的声明中表示，“但即便这些公司创下创纪录利润，一些企业却将巨额资金投入股票回购、股息支付和过高的高管薪酬。”
议员们指出，多年来，国防承包商在按时、按预算或足量交付武器系统方面屡屡受挫，却将流入其金库的巨额纳税人资金挥霍一空，而非投入能加速这一进程的研发。
他们援引美国政府问责局（GAO）去年发布的报告称，国防采购项目饱受延期和超支之苦，仅过去一年，重大项目的延期时间增加了“18个月”，同期总成本估计超过490亿美元。
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2025年10月22日，弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的五角大楼航拍图。(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
自2021年以来，四大国防承包商——洛克希德·马丁、雷神、通用动力和波音——在股票回购和股息上的支出高达890亿美元。沃伦办公室称，其中三分之二来自纳税人资金。
“联邦政府向大型军事承包商投入数十亿美元纳税人资金，而他们的高管却将这些资金用于回购自家公司股票，而非投资于我们的国防，这简直荒谬，”沃伦在致福克斯新闻数字版的声明中表示，“这项两党法案将阻止国防承包商以纳税人代价滥用制度，将国家安全置于华尔街利润之上。”
该法案还赋予五角大楼更多监督工具，用于识别表现不佳的国防承包商，并要求这些承包商提交整改计划。
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2026年3月23日周一，佛罗里达州棕榈滩国际机场，总统唐纳德·特朗普在登上空军一号前与媒体交谈。(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
法案还授权国防部对不符合标准的承包商实施更严格的执法措施，包括暂停合同付款、终止进度付款资格或直接终止合同。
霍利和沃伦的法案还要求五角大楼就受该法律约束的承包商、获得豁免的公司以及违规企业等情况发布公开报告。
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该法案还将把唐纳德·特朗普总统今年早些时候签署的一项行政命令法典化，该命令要求对表现不佳的国防承包商进行类似打击。
“今年早些时候，特朗普总统率先颁布行政命令，禁止表现不佳的国防公司从事此类行为，”霍利说，“现在，国会必须将总统的行政命令转化为法律，确保美国作战人员的利益优先于企业利润。”
亚历克斯·米勒是福克斯新闻数字版负责美国参议院报道的记者。
FIRST ON FOX: An unlikely bipartisan duo is teaming up to force defense contractors to prioritize military readiness over shareholder value.
Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced legislation that would require major defense contractors to prioritize delivering weapons by fulfilling their contracts fueled by taxpayer dollars over rewarding shareholders, with stiffer guardrails and oversight on the companies.
Their bill, Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting Act of 2026, would restrict stock buybacks, dividends and high executive pay unless companies meet Pentagon performance standards in their contracts.
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Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined forces to introduce legislation that would crack down on underperforming defense contractors.(Al Drago/Getty Images; Rick Kern/Getty Images for Vox Media)
“America’s defense contractors should be focused on expanding production, not padding their bottom lines,” Hawley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “But even as they make record profits, some firms have spent big on stock buybacks, dividend payouts and exorbitant executive salaries.”
The lawmakers argued that for several years, defense contractors have struggled to deliver weapons systems on time, on budget or in sufficient quantities for the military, and instead dumped the eye-popping sums of taxpayer money flowing to them into their own coffers, rather than invest in research and development that could speed up the process.
They pointed to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published last year that found that defense acquisition programs were plagued by delays and cost overruns, with delays for major programs increasing “by 18 months” in just the last year, with combined cost estimates creeping over $49 billion during the same period.
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Aerial view of the Pentagon building in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 22, 2025.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Since 2021, the top four defense contractors — Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Boeing — have increased spending and spent $89 billion on stock buybacks and dividends. Two-thirds of that came from taxpayer dollars, according to Warren’s office.
“It makes no sense for the federal government to fork over billions in taxpayer dollars to giant military contractors while their executives buy back their own company’s stock instead of investing in our national defense,” Warren said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This bipartisan bill will stop defense contractors from abusing the system at taxpayer expense and put our national security over Wall Street profits.”
The legislation also gives the Pentagon more oversight tools to identify underperforming defense contractors and require those contractors to submit a remediation plan.
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President Donald Trump speaks with the media before boarding Air Force One, Monday, March 23, 2026, at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
It also grants the Department of War stronger enforcement powers for contractors that aren’t meeting the agency’s standards, including suspending contract payments, ending eligibility for progress payments or terminating contracts altogether.
Hawley and Warren’s bill would also require the Pentagon to provide public reports on the contractors subject to their law, which contractors were granted waivers from the change in requirements and which companies have violated the rules.
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The legislation would also codify an executive order President Donald Trump signed earlier this year that required a similar crackdown on underperforming defense contractors.
“Earlier this year, President Trump led the way with an executive order barring underperforming defense companies from engaging in these practices,” Hawley said. “Now, it’s time for Congress to act by codifying the president’s executive order into law, ensuring that America’s warfighters are prioritized over corporate profit.”
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.