By Dan Froomkin Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/defense-industry-budget_n_929932.html?view=print&comm_ref=false Facing the possibility of actual defense spending cuts for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the nation’s biggest defense contractors have put aside their traditional hyper-competitiveness and joined forces in a messaging and advocacy blitz under the slogan “Second to None.” The campaign’s website, secondtonone.org, warns that […]
Read MoreLobbyists Take Aim at the Supercommittee: Special interests hire powerful Washington firms to protect them from budget cuts 0
By Richard Rubin and Bennett Roth Bloomberg Businessweek: http://www.businessweek.com/printer/magazine/lobbyists-take-aim-at-the-supercommittee-08112011.html Washington lobbyists, who usually spend their days and nights tracking the progress of dozens of bills and chasing after hundreds of members of Congress, will have a single place to focus their attention this fall: the 12-member “supercommittee” charged with finding ways to reduce future budget deficits by $1.5 trillion over […]
Read MorePosted in: ADI, American Defense International, Inc., Defense, Lobbying, Michael Herson
Analysis: Health and defense lobby groups ready for super fight 0
By Anna Yukhananov and Jim Wolf Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/11/us-usa-debt-lobbying-idUSTRE77A5ZG20110811 WASHINGTON | Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:17pm EDT (Reuters) – With as much as $1.5 trillion in federal funds hanging in the balance, the mammoth healthcare and defense industries are scrambling to lobby a special congressional committee tasked with slashing the deficit — but in markedly different ways. The 12-member bipartisan […]
Read MoreAs Defense Industry Lobbies Against Cuts, Rhetoric May Overshoot Reality Comments Off on As Defense Industry Lobbies Against Cuts, Rhetoric May Overshoot Reality
Posted in: HuffingtonPost.com By Dan Froomkin froomkin@huffingtonpost.com First Posted: 8/18/11 08:44 AM ET Updated: 8/18/11 08:53 AM ET Facing the possibility of actual defense spending cuts for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the nation’s biggest defense contractors have put aside their traditional hyper-competitiveness and joined forces in a messaging and […]
Read MoreLobbyists Take Aim at the Supercommittee 0
Posted in: Bloomberg Businessweek By Richard Rubin and Bennett Roth Washington lobbyists, who usually spend their days and nights tracking the progress of dozens of bills and chasing after hundreds of members of Congress, will have a single place to focus their attention this fall: the 12-member “supercommittee” charged with finding ways to reduce future […]
Read MorePosted in: ADI, American Defense International, Inc., Defense, Lobbying, Michael Herson
Contractors Brave War Zones To Sell Weapons To U.S. Military 0
Brook Reinhold was riding in an armored truck last July with soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when the vehicle’s gunner stood to look out of the turret. As he moved into position, the gunner inadvertently stepped on an antenna cable, shorting out the vehicle’s radio.
Read MorePentagon’s Worst Nightmare 0
The Daily Beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/03/pentagon-braces-for-steep-defense-budget-cuts-after-debt-deal.html During a decade of warfare, the Pentagon mostly had its way with budgets, as Congress was reluctant to turn down many spending requests for troops in the field. There was billions here for IED-detection and billions there for weapons like the F-35 joint strike fighter, the Virginia class of submarines, or […]
Read MoreNew Jockeying in Congress for Next Phase in Budget Fight 0
Republicans and Democrats maneuvered for advantage on Wednesday in the next battle over federal spending, trying to influence the choice of members and frame the agenda for a powerful “supercommittee” that is supposed to recommend at least $1.5 trillion of additional deficit reduction measures.
Read MorePanel May Trigger Lobbying Bonanza 0
Roll Call: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_18/panel-may-trigger-lobbying-bonanza-207939-1.html Two of the biggest spenders on lobbying, the health care and defense industries, might end up working against each other in a furious four-month campaign focused on the deficit reduction committee-to-be. The tension between the two heavy hitters centers on the provision of the debt ceiling agreement that triggers $1.2 trillion in […]
Read MoreContractors Assess Default 0
The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903635604576472380486091522.html?KEYWORDS=NATHAN+HODGE U.S. defense firms and government contractors are starting to prepare for the unthinkable: The possibility that the U.S. government, the ultimate reliable customer, may not be able to pay its bills on time. As the clock ticks down in debt ceiling talks, defense industry officials say they are contemplating a […]
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