While other Arizona politicians were focusing on the Iran nuke deal, on Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Flake was silent. Perhaps it was because he was busy sending a letter to the Pentagon calling for the release of all Department of Defense (DoD) sports marketing contracts after the agency claimed that previously requested data on taxpayer-funded payments to sports teams for honoring U.S. military service members would be unavailable until March 2016.
Flake, who has not been an advocate for the military or Arizona’s military bases, also requested a meeting with Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Brad Carson, to discuss the inquiry.
Taxpayer-funded payments to sports teams for honoring U.S. military service members was uncovered in April 2015. A subsequent investigation found a number of marketing, advertising and promotional contracts between branches of the military and professional sports teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, a NASCAR speedway and National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic departments.
In June 2015, Flake joined U.S. Sens. John McCain and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to successfully amend the Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 to prohibit the practice going forward.
Flake’s letter reads:
July 14, 2015
The Honorable Brad Carson
Acting Under Secretary of Defense
1300 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Dear Acting Under Secretary of Defense Carson,
I write to you to express deep concern about your July 9th response to my May 11th letter requesting information about Department of Defense contracts related to marketing, advertising, and promotion activities with professional sports teams associated with paid salutes for armed service members.
The answers provided were unfortunately insufficient and wholly unsatisfactory. It is troubling, given that this topic has been the subject of considerable attention nationwide, that nearly two months after the original request for information, the Department of Defense finally responded and yet provided no additional information beyond what was already uncovered and available in the public domain. In fact, through a mere search of government websites, my office was able to uncover contract information far more detailed than the overall budget numbers that you provided.
Notwithstanding any unrelated or additional oversight investigations that may be on-going related to these practices, I reiterate the request to be provided copies of Department of Defense contracts with professional sports teams. I request that your office provide copies of all Department of Defense contracts that relate to sports marketing, advertising, and promotion with professional sports teams. Further, I request that such contracts be made available as they are received by the Department as a result of this specific inquiry.
Additionally, I request a meeting with Acting Under Secretary of Defense Carson to discuss the response to this request for information. Given the prominence of this issue, I ask that this meeting happen as soon as possible.
Thank you for attention and prompt response to my request, in strict compliance with all ethical rules, regulations, and guidelines.
Sincerely,
JEFF FLAKE
U.S. Senator