What do Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., have in common?
All are senior members of congressional committees that oversee defense budgets and all are recent recipients of campaign contributions from competing manufacturing powerhouses vying for a military contract worth upwards of $100 billion.
The Air Force in February is set to award a contract for one of the most lucrative U.S. military manufacturing projects in years: a winner-take-all deal to build the service’s next fleet of aerial refueling tankers known as the KC-X.
The rivalry pits Boeing Co. against a joint venture of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, manufacturer of Airbus, and Northrop Grumman Corp. Both teams are carpet-bombing Congress with campaign contributions while at the same time cranking up their lobbying machines.
Chicago-based Boeing and Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman are the nation’s No. 2 and No. 3 largest defense contractors, respectively, while the European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. (EADS) is the largest military contractor in Europe.
Although the Air Force will make the selection between the competitors, there is plenty of opportunity for Congress to influence the outcome. Because lawmakers appropriate money each year for the project, they can halt a program , speed it up or direct that the contract be split among competing aircraft manufacturers.
It just so happens that Airbus/Northrop Grumman supporters on Capitol Hill - mainly lawmakers from Alabama where the Airbus/Northrop Grumman jet would be assembled - are pushing for the aerial tanker to be divided up between the two competitors.
For Boeing, Northrop Grumman and EADS, the campaign contributions include money to Republicans and Democrats who play key roles on influential congressional committees that help shape spending priorities.
Political action committees for Boeing, Northrop Grumman and the North American unit of EADS all have contributed to the re-election campaign of Abercrombie, who chairs a House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees aviation projects.
Those PACs also donated to Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which also oversees military spending. Levin is up for re-election in 2008.
The Boeing and Northrop Grumman PACs gave money to the re-election campaign of John Murtha, chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, and to Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Both congressional panels carry huge influence on defense spending priorities.
The Boeing PAC also wrote checks to the campaign of Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young, R-Fla., senior Republican on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Majority Leader, and Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House appropriations committee.
Overall, the Airbus team has the edge in political giving in the 2008 election cycle.
The PAC administered by the U.S.-based unit of EADS has provided lawmakers $75,600 towards their 2008 election efforts. Northrop Grumman’s PAC, meanwhile, has given $669,000 so far towards 2008 congressional elections, bringing the Airbus team’s political contributions to $744,600 in this cycle.
The latest Federal Election Commission reports show that the Boeing PAC has contributed $525,500 to congressional campaigns from Jan. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30.
When it comes to lobbying Congress, the tanker teams have enlisted old hands from key congressional committees and retired Air Force officials to press their causes.
Boeing, for example, has paid $100,000 in 2007 to the PMA Group for lobbying services, according to the most recent federal lobbying records through June. The PMA Group is run by Paul Magliocchetti, formely a top adviser to John Murtha.
The company also has paid $72,000 to Etherton & Associates, a lobbying firm run by Jon Etherton, formerly a top staffer for the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Among the firms EADS has hired for lobbying this year is the Spectrum Group, bankrolling it for $100,000 through June. The Spectrum Group lists on its payroll 11 retired Air Force officials, including senior civilians from Air Force headquarters at the Pentagon and senior officers.
They include retired Gen. James B. Davis, former chief of U.S. Air Force units in the Pacific, and Lt. Gen. Richard Brown, former assistant vice chief of staff at the Air Force. Retired Air Force Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, onetime commander of the U.S. Northern Command, and Gen. Michael P.C. Carns, former Air Force vice chief of staff, are listed as members of the Spectrum Group’s advisory board.
Overall, the Airbus/Northrop Grumman tanker team is the big spender in lobbying, with a combined total of $7.6 million paid to in-house and outside lobbyists so far this year, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Public records show that that Boeing has spent about $5.6 million thus far in 2007 for both in-house and hired lobbyists.
Spokesmen for the tanker competitors said that their companies did not keep track of how much money they dedicated to lobbying on behalf of their respective tanker proposals.
Steven Schooner, co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at George Washington University, said it is difficult to quantify the influence campaign contributions and lobbying have over major projects such as the KC-X.
“It would be great if I could say as an academic that none of these contributions makes a difference because the system is intended to be fully objective,” Schooner said. “But the companies obviously don’t believe that, or they wouldn’t invest the money.”
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