Posted on 11/22/2010 3:35:33 PM PST by Justaham
WASHINGTON — The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the last five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, records show.
L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Last year, the company spent $5.5 million on lobbying.
Its lobbyists include Linda Daschle, a prominent Democratic figure in Washington, who is a former Federal Aviation Administration official.
Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier. It has faced criticism for hiring Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, who has been a prominent proponent of using scanners to foil terrorism. Officials with Chertoff’s firm and Rapiscan say Chertoff was not paid to promote scanner technology. It spent $440,000 on lobbying in 2009.
The government has spent $41.2 million so far on Rapiscan’s machines.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Did you ever notice how any government program to protect or benefit the American people just turns into another opportunity for politicians and their friends to get rich? Do you suppose health care will be handled any differently? /rhetorical question
Body scanner or grab my crotch.....Body scanner or grab my crotch.....Hmmmmm
Maybe they should start by putting warning labels on them like smokes, then see where it goes.
Thanks Linda!!
What about lobbying from OSI Systems Inc, the company that OWNS Rapidscan?
OSI Systems Chief Executive Officer Joins US Presidential Visit to India
HAWTHORNE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)— OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIS), a vertically-integrated provider of specialized electronic products for critical applications in the Security and Healthcare industries, today announced that Deepak Chopra, Chairman and CEO, was selected to accompany US President, Barack Obama, to Mumbai and attended the US India Business Entrepreneurship meeting, which was held by the US India Business Council (US IBC). The goal of the meeting was to promote further trade between US and India.
http://investors.osi-systems.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=530184
Another 10 million reasons why lobbying should be outlawed with severe penalties for lobbyists and any politician caught talking to them.
Time to Fear the Corporate Gubamint Security Complex or what?
wow.. and I always thought this was only so many Hollyweed scripts gone awry.. but a lot of things are falling into place of late..
Does Osama get a cut of this action, by chance? did Soros let him in on it.. or is he just another puppet?
Good point.
That's exactly what they did with millions of dollars allocated to build the border fence. Instead of building an inexpensive but effective low tech fence out of steel, concrete and wire they wasted a fortune on a high tech "virtual fence" using unproven technology.
That way they avoided actually building a real fence to keep out illegals (which neither party wants) while at the same time funneling huge chunks of federal money to their financial supporters.
Boy, there’s a shock. Companies trying to sell products and services to the United States Government are exercising their right to lobby their government. Who wudda thunk it?
L3Com, for example, is a multi billion dollar company. Their sales of scanners is a drop in the bucket, probably didn’t even make a little wiggle in their power point charts. But when scanners are hot, find a scanner story to write.
That's a form of a lie, known as a misrepresenting understatement. Linda Daschle was the HEAD of the FAA, and her husband, Tom Daschle, was Senate Majority leader. The TSA was born OUT OF THE FAA, the managers and technocrats who populated the TSA were from the FAA for the most part.
Linda is an effective lobbyist! Perhaps it is fair to call her the Queen of Kleptocrats, perhaps matching Jamie Gorelick or surpassing her.
During Linda's time the FAA was wholly compromised with beltway cronies working together with corrupt legislators (all Senators, and most Representatives), union management and crony capitalistic corporations like L3 and GE. Homeland Security head Chertoff's corruption only builds on what was established in Linda's era.
Prior to that era, the FAA was very much regionalized and the regions operated almost with a great degree of independence. But the klepocrats got in and sucked all power and authority into the beltway, while promoting "best workplace" practices like Pride Months, Diversity Awards and gyms and day care centers open to Federal Employees only. In other words they changed the mission of the FAA, and by inheritance the TSA. These agencies are not about flying, or transportation system security. They are today about two things:
(1) A mechanism for crony capitalism and empowerment of a beltway elite. What Ike predicated would be the danger of a Military-Industrial-Complex became instead a Beltway-Industrial-Complex, of a far greater danger.
(2) A patronage and do-nothing job bank for the middle and lower-middle class, similar to sinecures of the Middle Ages.
In any case Linda Daschle is near or at the center of the corruption, not a mere ex-official.
You are reading it wrong. You work for L3, right?
In any case you have some engineering experience and know the function of a pilot valve. A nexus point, a thing that is tiny yet which by levered effect is very potent.
The scanners and baggage checking equipment are like that in the devastation of corruption they result in. Perhaps because it is a market that is only created by lobbying of the most vicious sort. There is no other market for the scanners, and other systems except that created by fear-mongering, in creating a surveillance police state ethos in decision makers in government.
[It seems that “Intellectual Property” is becoming a similar crony capitalism business area, just a vicious in the negative impact on freedom and corruption of legislators. A side track.]
Someday, hopefully, we’ll learn that both parties are in on this. W’s boy Chertoff is making millions. He was all for the scanners when he was head of TSA then he went to work for the company that makes them. The pat downs are nothing more than to get you to use the machines so Chertoff can sell more to the taxpayer.
Plus they want us used to this crap so when martial law is implemented all the sheeple will fall in line. This country is on it’s last leg.
I don’t work for L3. Never have, never will. We have a small company that has to fight the big boys for every scrap that we get and can’t spend a penny on lobbying.
But, lobbying is a right and the reason that big companies spend so much money exercising their right is that politicians can be bought. How many people become multi-millionaires on $175K a year? I guess they have a very good 401K.
The market is there because the magnetometers are useless. You could have a Chucky the Clown doll at the gate with a nose that blinks randomly and be just as effective. I did evaluate scanners for use by DoD and DoS in Iraq and Afghanistan. We didn’t think much of the Rapidscan system, and procured the L3 system which has actually detected and neutralized real live Habib the suicide bombers. Rapidscan has made big contributions to Obama and has Michael Chertoff hawking their wares. So, what government officials intervened to influence the DHS decisions and what was in it for them?
The problem isn’t the technology, it seldom is. Its the goons and morons using it.
Precisely. The TSA had no requirements document, they had no test and evaluation program except for a safety review that they mostly got from DoD. They picked the Rapidscan which DoD found unsuitable for personnel screening and only used for vehicle screenings. I wonder if the fact that Michael Chertoff works for the parent company of Rapidscan has anything to do with their choice.
Oops, forgot to mention. We don’t make anything, we are in the test and evaluation business and could not do that if we were manufacturers. Some of us have to obey the rules.
At last we get to the truth. Millions for Obama’s buddies and lobbyists of our corrupt Congress.
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