Pentagon contractors play a critical role in providing the tools necessary for our national security. That doesn’t mean taxpayers should foot the bill to ramp up manufacturing while fat cat executives stuff their pockets. As Congress works to finalize the Pentagon’s annual policy bill, lawmakers have a golden opportunity to score a win for taxpayers.

President Trump took on the fat cats earlier this year with an executive order aiming to stop Pentagon contractors from buying back their own stock and issuing dividends to shareholders — two financial tools that companies use to boost profits for executives — if they are overbudget or behind schedule on major military programs, which many, if not most, of them are. Since then, the military industry has begun curtailing stock buybacks to avoid the president’s wrath, but that’s been largely voluntary and may be temporary, as the executive order lacks the legal authority necessary to force their hand. Meanwhile, the dividends have continued unabated, and taxpayers are still being asked to pick up the tab for industrial........

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