Though retired Rep. Buck McKeon is barred from lobbying his ex-colleagues on Capitol Hill until 2016, the former chair of the House Armed Services Committee has already inked a major client— a former campaign donor — to his new lobbying firm.
Continue readingGood Jobs First identifies government’s favorite corporations
Good Jobs First's Subsidy Tracker 3.0 is an amazing resource that sheds light on the benefits corporations derive from government — and a reminder that who benefits from Washington largesse isn't always obvious.
Continue readingFixed Fortunes update: Big donors score as 113th Congress sunsets
Before shutting up shop on Tuesday, the least productive Congress in recent memory managed to produce some goodies for some very special interests.
Continue readingFixed Fortunes: Biggest corporate political interests spend billions, get trillions
Between 2007-2012, America’s most politically active corporations spent $5.8 billion on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. A Sunlight Foundation analysis suggests, however, that what they gave pales compared to what they got: $4.4 trillion in federal benefits.
Continue readingStar Wars: Major Players in Space Industry Battle Over Launch Pad Lease
The biggest challenges that commercial space flight companies Blue Origin and Spacex face this fall may not take place outside of the stratosphere, but rather right here on Earth.
As reported by the Waco Tribune, these two players of the fledgling industry are the sole competitors for a NASA contract to lease the historic Launch Pad 39a -- a part of the John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida that was the point of departure for dozens of Space Shuttle missions. A review of the influence profiles of these companies points to a heavyweight showdown, as both groups have serious financial ...
Continue readingDarkmarks: Are largest defense contractors benefiting from programmatic requests?
Of the roughly 1,040 Pentagon procurement programs–the $99.3 billion part of the Defense budget devoted to purchasing new equipment–some 212... View Article
Continue readingTop government contractors spend less than a penny on politics for every dollar at stake in sequester
With the sequestration deadline rapidly approaching, one set of companies has more at stake than any other, at least in terms of sheer dollars: big government contractors. By our count, the ten biggest government contractors would stand to lose roughly $13.6 billion in contracts if the across-the-board 9.4 percent cuts to discretionary defense spending cuts were applied equally across their 2012 contract award amounts. Compare that to the $115 million they spent on lobbying and campaigns, and that investment in politics starts to look like a bargain. And if that political investment helps to avoid the proposed cuts and keep these companies' contracting revenues stable, that would amount to a 125-to-1 return for these 10 companies, on average.
Big PACs contribute $83,000 to super committee members
The political action committees of Lockheed Martin, the National Association of Realtors, Pfizer and Chevron all reported making contributions to members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction--better known as the super committee--in the roughly 20 days of August after House and Senate leadership appointed them to the panel.
PACs for 19 of the biggest political donors in the country, as determined by Center for Responsive Politics, have reported contributing more than $83,000 to 10 of the 12 members of the super committee or their leadership PACs, Federal Eelection Commission filings show. It's the first glimpse available ...
Continue readingThe Pentagon’s Big Contractors Lobby Big and Get in Big Trouble
Recently, the Pentagon released the list of its top 10 contractors for 2010, all which spent significant amounts of money... View Article
Continue readingDaily Disclosures
A roundup of what we’re noticing in the Reporting Group as we dig into government data and disclosures: Milestone: Outside... View Article
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