"The Corporate War Machine"
(Spending Millions, Making Billions:
Foreign Military SalesRevenues and Campaign Spending
by Major U.S. Arms Exporting Companies, 1995/96)
Subsidized arms exports of the kind that they are now pushing in East
and Central Europe are a lucrative business for U.S. military contractors.
Many of the subsidies were created as the result of vigorous lobbying and
large campaign donations by major weapons makers. This table illustrates
the return these companies are getting on their political "investments"
in a compliant Congress that signs off on big-ticket items like NATO expansion:
Company | Foreign Military Sales | Campaign Spending |
Boeing/McDonnell Douglas | $ 7.8 billion | $ 1.3 million |
Lockheed Martin | $ 5.2 billion | $ 2.3 million |
Raytheon/Hughes | $ 2.2 billion | $ 1.6 million |
United Technologies | $ 885 million | $ 738,000 |
Northrop Grumman | $ 438 million | $ 864,600 |
Source: Pentagon data tapes, analyzed by Eagle Eye Services of Vienna, Virginia; and Federal Elections Committee data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Note on data: The data reflects the effects of recent military industry
mergers such as Boeing's purchase of McDonnell Douglas, Raytheon's purchase
of Hughes Defense, and Lockheed Martin's absorption of Loral's military
business. For these companies, arms sales revenues and campaign spending
for 1995/96 have been grouped together under the umbrella of the new merged
company.
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