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February 25, 2021
This week in money-in-politics
Capitalizing on conflict:
How defense contractors and foreign nations lobby for arms sales
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Defense companies spend millions every year lobbying politicians and donating to their campaigns. In the past two decades, their extensive network of lobbyists and donors have directed $285 million in campaign contributions and $2.5 billion in lobbying spending to influence defense policy. To further these goals they hired more than 200 lobbyists who have worked in the same government that regulates and decides funding for the industry.
The defense industry's business prospects are tightly controlled and in many ways entirely decided by official decisions made in Congress and the Pentagon in a way that other industries don't have to contend with. Despite those restrictions, business is undeniably good both at home and abroad. Foreign sales delivered an average of $12 billion worth of arms per year between 2016 and 2018, according to Security Assistance Monitor data analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics.
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** Trump raised record money for state parties, then his RNC took it back
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Republican state parties across the country are condemning GOP lawmakers who go against Donald Trump after putting their financial fortunes in the hands of the former president. Republican state committees in Wyoming and South Carolina censured their own U.S. representatives for voting to impeach Trump, while GOP committees in North Carolina and Louisiana censured their U.S. senators for voting to convict the former president over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. State party committees were once considered influential groups with their own unique goals. But in recent elections, they’ve increasingly ceded control over strategy and finances to national parties.
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** Democrats want to revive earmarks — will they further empower lobbyists?
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Democrats plan to revive congressional earmarks after a decade-long moratorium on the funding practice. In a call with House Democrats, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) promised that any move to bring the practice back to life will attract bipartisan support, Politico reported. Earmarks, known officially as congressionally directed spending, are provisions written into bills that designate specific contractors for federally funded projects. Proponents argue that returning to the practice would make it easier for Democratic and Republican lawmakers to collaborate on legislation by cutting deals to entice lawmakers from across the aisle to support legislation that includes projects for their district.
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** Alaska has a new election system. Could it protect Murkowski from pro-Trump backlash?
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Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent. Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances. “This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
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UPCOMING CRP CO-SPONSORED EVENT
Arms Sales to Conflict Zones
Business as Usual: How major weapons exporters arm the world’s conflicts
Hosted by the Forum on the Arms Trade and sponsored by the World Peace Foundation, Center for Responsive Politics, and Program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
11:00 AM-12:30 PM EST / 4:00-5:30 PM GMT
For more information and to sign up ** register here ([link removed])
.
This event is part of a joint CRP-WPF research program, “Defense industries, Foreign Policy, and Armed Conflict,” support for which was provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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OpenSecrets in the News
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
* ** Big Tech Employees Opened Wallets for Biden Campaign (The Wall Street Journal) ([link removed])
Like Clinton and Obama before him, President Joe Biden benefitted from generous contributions from tech interests. His 2020 campaign received at least $15.1 million (combined) from affiliates of Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Facebook.
* ** With GOP back at the helm, Montana renews push to sniff out welfare fraud (Great Falls Tribune) ([link removed])
Montana is considering becoming the latest state to intensify its hunt for welfare overpayments and fraud, a move expected to remove more than 1,500 people from low-income health coverage at a time when the pandemic has left more people needing help.
* ** K Street eyes a return of earmarks to boost business (Roll Call) ([link removed])
Overall lobbying revenue dipped in 2011, after hitting a peak in 2010—That drop, which has since rebounded, was likely due to a combination of factors, including the demise of formal earmarks.
** The New York Times ([link removed])
** The Washington Post ([link removed])
** The Guardian ([link removed])
** The Financial Times ([link removed])
** The Daily Dot ([link removed])
** Politico ([link removed])
** New Jersey Advance ([link removed])
** The Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Energy News Network ([link removed])
** Mashable ([link removed])
** The Sun ([link removed])
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4 star rating for 8 consecutive years
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