People think we're sending a big check to Ukraine. It's really not the case. 80% of that money is going to be spent right here in the US and it's going to go to replace stockpiles of whether it's High Mars or

whether it's Patriots or missiles. Those are American jobs it's going to create.

It's not welfare to the Ukrainians.

CEO of RTX Greg Hayes at the business roundtable in

Washington DC, a conversation spanning global defense and war in Europe. The

Ukrainians are fighting an existential battle for their existence.

And we have a moral obligation to defend that democracy. It's an existential threat to

democracy, but one that we can afford. Funding, securing federal contracts, and using AI for defense.

Quite frankly, I hate to say this, as much as we spend on defense, which is about 3% of GDP,

is at a relatively historical low given the challenges that we face geopolitically.

Plus the defense CEO weighs in on the U.S US economy and on America's future.

When you have 3.7% unemployment in this country, there are not nearly enough workers

for the jobs and that's putting upward pressure on wages and

it's upward pressure on the interest rates I think. I'm C. NBC producer Cameron

Costa. Squack Pod reports from the business roundtable

RTX CEO Greg Hayes begins right now. Today we're bringing you interviews from the Business Roundtable's Spring Meeting in DC.

The Business Roundtable, or BRT, is a group of over 200 American CEOs who advocate

in Washington for policies that they think support a thriving U.S. economy. Those CEOs include Jamie Diamond of

JP Morgan Chase, Mary Barra from GM, Apple's Tim Cook, United Airlines Scott

Kirby, Cities, Jade Frazier, and so many others, including

Conoco Phillips CEO Ryan Lance, who's on the other Squawk Pod episode today.

Make sure you scroll down in your feed

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