Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote a letter to the Department of Defense expressing concerns about the lack of necessary measures to prevent conflicts of interest within DOD’s newly created Office of Strategic Capital.
In December, DOD formed OSC to help technology developers find the capital they need to bring platforms to the military and national security markets.
Warren noted in the July 9 letter that OSC hired as special government employees individuals who continue to work for defense consulting and investment firms, the senator’s office said Monday.
“Their positions provide them access to non-public political intelligence information, which ‘can be collected through briefings, meetings, committee hearings, public or non-public documents, personal conversations, and other communications between an employee of a political intelligence firm and an executive branch employee, a Member of Congress, or a legislative branch employee,’” the senator wrote in the letter.
The lawmaker asked Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of Defense for research and engineering and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, to respond by July 28 to a list of 18 questions with regard to how the newly established office works to prevent conflicts of interest.
