The Nation - News from Oct. 27, 1986

The billions of dollars the government is spending on President Reagan’s “Star Wars” defense program are going to a handful of well-positioned defense contractors and laboratories, a study said. More than 90% of the Strategic Defense Initiative contracts awarded in fiscal 1985 and 1986 went to contractors in states with senators who sit on two key Senate committees that vote funds for the program, said the study by the Council on Economic Priorities. The study by the New York-based research group concludes that the top 20 contractors and laboratories have received awards totaling $5.7 billion since fiscal 1983, or 75% of the total $7.7 billion awarded.