GOP GOING ALL IN ON DEFENSE MEGA-ACQUISITIONS?
As the CDA continues to educate the American people about the dangers of anti-competitive acquisitions, the Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne merger remains one of the most concerning proposed acquisitions on the horizon.
Unsurprisingly, we are starting to see conservative voices weigh in on the issue, using classic corporation-friendly language to defend this impending acquisition.
Don Nickles, former Republican Oklahoma Senator, wrote an op-ed in POLITICO saying the merger will be a “boon for U.S. innovation”. What he fails to address, however, is that consolidation like this propose merger, limits competition and with it innovation.
Another prominent GOP voice, former Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, pointed to the Northrop/Orbital ATK merger as reason for the Lockheed/Aerojet merger to go through. In his Defense One piece, McKeon writes, “It promotes competitiveness by giving the company the kind of deep resources that its main competitor, Orbital ATK, already enjoys with the backing of Northrop.” Yet he is not telling the full story. Missing from that example is that the Northrop/Orbital ATK merger is currently under investigation by the FTC for the exact antitrust reasons this current acquisition should be denied.
Not only are these GOP supporters ignoring the very blatant antitrust concerns of this acquisition, but they are trying to mislead the American people in an effort to serve corporate interests.
While many Democrats rightful continue to focus on Big Tech and the very real antitrust concerns in that industry, it’s important we apply that same standard to the defense industry, where the stakes are just as high.
This is an issue that all Americans — including our progressive allies — should stand together on; we must oppose this anti-competitve acquisition that will waste taxpayer dollars and pose a serious challenge to innovation in the defense industry.
