Mikulski earmarks go to top campaign contributors -- baltimoresun.com
Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski has added tens of millions of dollars to a defense spending measure in earmarked grants for her top campaign donors, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.
All but one of Mikulski's 16 funding requests were approved, making her the champion defense earmarker for the state. Final numbers won't be available until Congress completes action on the spending legislation later this fall.
Included in the senator's $42.1 million total is a combined $10.5 million for three companies, Northrop Grumman, Thales Communications and L-3 Communications, whose executives and political action committees have been among her most generous contributors.
Northrop Grumman officials and the company's PAC gave $57,900 to Mikulski's campaign and her political committee between 2005 and this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political money.
That makes Northrop Grumman the largest source of contributions to Mikulski's re-election, according to the center's figures. The other two companies, Thales and L-3, also ranked among her top 15 donors.
The Senate bill contains $4 million for a Northrop Grumman radar system being developed by the defense giant at its Electronic Systems division in Linthicum. Another $4 million went to a radio project for Thales, a French company whose U.S. division is headquartered in Clarksburg. Mikulski also obtained $2.5 million for an L-3 Communications division in Lexington Park that is working on an antenna project for unmanned drones.
Mikulski, who is seeking re-election next year, said campaign contributions have no impact on her decisions.
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