The Politics of Contracting - General Electric
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General Electric (GE) is a Department of Defense (DoD) contractor whose work spans from jet engines, to power generation and security. GE is currently under contract to produce the Entryscan3 (a.k.a. "Puffer") that screens passengers boarding trains and other public transportation for explosive devices.
| Money Spent by General Electric to Influence Decisions and Secure Future Federal Contracts 1997 through 2004 |
||||||
|
YEAR |
TOTAL Campaign Contributions |
INDIVIDUAL Contributions |
PAC Contributions |
SOFT MONEY** Contributions |
LOBBYING Expenditures |
CONTRACT AWARDS
(from U.S. Gov't) |
| 2004 |
$725,752
|
$175,076
|
$550,676
|
$0
|
NCA
|
NCA
|
| 2003* |
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$17,280,000
|
$2,842,131,348
|
|
2002 |
$2,147,847
|
$317,551
|
$1,096,484
|
$733,812
|
$13,020,000
|
$1,617,771,000
|
| 2001* |
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$15,570,000
|
$1,770,890,000
|
| 2000 |
$2,119,284
|
$701,959
|
$1,011,650
|
$405,675
|
$16,080,000
|
$1,908,110,000
|
| 1999* |
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$8,010,000
|
$1,584,999,000
|
| 1998 |
$1,181,906
|
$213,056
|
$779,500
|
$189,350
|
$7,360,000
|
$1,381,025,000
|
| 1997* |
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$7,440,000
|
$1,891,961,000
|
|
TOTALS
|
$6,174,789
|
$1,407,642
|
$3,438,310
|
$1,328,837
|
$84,760,000
|
$12,996,887,348
|
*Campaign contributions are reported in two-year cycles.
** In 2002, McCain-Feingold (the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) banned soft money contributions. The United States Supreme Court upheld the soft money ban in 2003.
NCA means Not Currently Available.
|
Senior Government Officials
Turned Current & Former Company Executives for General Electric 1997 through 2004 |
| Francis S. Blake, Former General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency, Former Counsel to the Vice President |
| Benjamin W. Heinemun, Jr., Former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare |
| Maj. General Kenneth V. Meyer, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), Former Director of U.S. Air Force Contracting at the Pentagon |
| Stephen Ramsey, Former Chief of Environmental Enforcement at the Department of Justice |
|
Senior Government Official
Turned Current & Former Board Directors for General Electric 1997 through 2004 |
| Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) |
|
Senior Government Officials
Turned Current & Former Registered Company Lobbyists for General Electric 1997 through 2004 |
| Former Sen. Daniel R. Coats (R-IN), Former Member of the Defense Policy Board (Verner, Liipfert et al.) |
|
Former Rep. Tom Corcoran (R-IL), Former Member of the Defense Science Board (O'Connor & Hannan) |
|
Daniel L. Crippen, Former Director of the Congressional Budget Office (Washington Council, Ernst & Young) |
|
Former Rep. Jack Edwards (R-AL) (Jack Edwards) |
|
Former Rep. Vic Fazio (D-CA) (Clark & Weinstock) |
|
Former Rep. James A. Hayes (R-LA) (Adams & Reese) |
|
Former Rep. Robert L. Livingston (R-LA), Former Speaker of the House (Livingston Group) |
|
Former Sen. James A. McClure (R-ID) (McClure, Gerald & Neuenschwander) |
|
Former Rep. Robert H. Michel (R-IL), Former House Minority Leader (Hogan & Hartson) |
|
Former Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME), Special Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Economic Initiatives in Ireland, Former Senate Majority Leader (Verner, Liipfert et al.) |
|
Former Rep. Lewis F. Payne, Jr. (D-VA) (McGuire, Woods et al.) |
|
Former Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY) (Solomon Group) |
|
Former Rep. Vin Weber (R-MN) (Clark & Weinstock) |
| Former Rep. Alan Wheat (D-MO) (Wheat & Associates) |
|
Firms Registered to Lobby for General Electric
1997 through 2004 |
||
| Accord Group Adams & Reese AFT Associates Allstates Design & Development Co. Alston & Bird Andahazy & Associates, William J. Anderson Pitts Andrews, Michael A. BKSH & Associates Brierre Jr., William V. Campbell Inc., John G. Canfield & Associates Capitol Tax Partners Chlopak, Leonard et al. Clark-Bardes Clark Consulting Federal Policy Group Clark & Weinstock Covington & Burling Cummings, Philip T. Dewey Ballantine |
Disterfano, David Dorsey & Whitney Edwards, Jack Fried, Frank et al. Hand Arendall Hogan & Hartson Hooper, Hooper et al. Jones, Walker et al. Kelly, Black et al. King & Spalding Livingston Group Madden Company, Roger Mayer, Alice Mayer, Brown et al. McClure, Gerald & Neuenschwander McCutchen, Doyle et al. McGuire, Woods et al. Mosher & Associates Moss Company, Kate O'Connor & Hannan Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker |
Piper Rudnick Podesta Mattoon Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre Power Strategies PriceWaterhouseCoopers Reed Smith Robison International Sidley, Austin et al. Skadden, Arps et al. Sneed, Robert D. Solomon Group LLC State Street Partners Stuntz, Davis & Staffier Swidler, Berlin et al. Verner, Liipfert et al. Vinson & Elkins Washington Council Ernst & Young Weil, Gotshal & Manges Wheat & Associates Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering Winning Strategies Washington |
POGO's list of the top 20 government contractors for FY 2002 was compiled by Government Executive magazine (Vol. 35, No. 12, August 2003, p. 24). The dollars for total, individual, political action committee, and soft money contributions, as of December 1, 2003, were provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. Lobbying expenditures were compiled by POGO from information obtained from Political Money Line and the Center for Responsive Politics. Contract award dollars from FY 1997 through FY 2002 were compiled by Government Executive magazine. In February 2004, DOD listed its top 100 contractors in FY 2003 and we provided those DOD contract award figures for completeness.
For more information about the revolving door between the government and federal contractors and about campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures, please see POGO's report "The Politics of Contracting." For more detailed information regarding misconduct by the government's top contractors, see POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database and POGO's report Federal Contractor Misconduct: Failures of the Suspension and Debarment System.
