Business as usual in DC.
http://maplight.org/content/73373
Intel Contractors Give Millions to Lawmakers Overseeing Government Surveillance
In response to documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor
Edward J. Snowden, the congressional committees in charge of overseeing the
government's intelligence operations have come to the defense of the
surveillance and data collection programs, and the agencies that administer
them. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence have rejected attempts to reform the programs
while advancing legislation to bolster their legal status and providing a
funding boost to the National Security Agency (NSA) to protect their secrecy.
The U.S. intelligence budget for 2013 is $52.6 billion. According to the
Washington Post, "top secret spending" is divided into four main spending
categories: data collection, data analysis, management, facilities and support,
and data processing and exploitation. Seventy percent of the intelligence
budget is used to pay private contractors. Several of the companies receiving
intelligence contracts are major donors to members of the intelligence
committees, including L-3 Communications, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin,
Northrop Grumman, and Honeywell International.
Data: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions from political action
committees (PACs) and individuals from the top 20 intelligence services
contractors working with the Department of Defense, ranked by total value of
contracts received, to members of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Data source:
Federal Election Commission from January 1, 2005 - October 4, 2013. Department
of Defense intelligence services contracts source: USASpending (contract totals
as of September 26, 2013)
• In total, members of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have received $3.7
million from top intelligence services contractors since January 1, 2005.
• Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from Maryland -- home of NSA
headquarters -- led the committees in money received from top intelligence
contractors. Representative C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-Md., is the largest
recipient, having received $363,600 since January 1, 2005. Senator Barbara
Mikulski, D-Md., is the second largest recipient, having received $210,150.
• Republican members of House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have received
$1.86 million since January 1, 2005, while Democrat members have received $1.82
million over the same time period.
• Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have
received $2.2 million since January 1, 2005 from top intelligence services
contractors, while members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have
received $1.5 million.
• Lockheed Martin has given $798,910 to members the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence since January 1, 2005, more than any of the other top 20
intelligence service contractors. Northrop Grumman has given $753,101, the
second highest amount, and Honeywell has given $714,913, the third highest
amount.
Ronald Deibert
Director, the Citizen Lab
and the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies
Munk School of Global Affairs
University of Toronto
(416) 946-8916
PGP: http://deibert.citizenlab.org/pubkey.txt
http://deibert.citizenlab.org/
twitter.com/citizenlab
[email protected]
--
Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable on Google. Violations of
list guidelines will get you moderated:
https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech. Unsubscribe,
change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at
[email protected].
