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A Lot of People Want War, the Most Profitable Business on Earth…
The defense industry spent millions lobbying the federal government last year, but they weren’t the only ones urging the country toward more war.
SOURCE: Israel,_Saudi_Arabia,_Defense_And_Oil_Spent_Nearly_One_Trillion_Urging_DC_For_More_War_In_2015
Countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia, and even oil and computer industry representatives, also got in on the act.
According to OpenSecrets, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics, the defense and aerospace industries spent a combined total of $56,272,948 on D.C. lobbying efforts last year. That’s down from the all-time high in 2013, when the industry spent over $78 million on lobbying [for more war].
In all, the defense industry employed 376 lobbyists on behalf of 42 clients, with 249 of those lobbyists, or about 66 percent, considered “revolvers” by OpenSecrets.org — lobbyists that were formerly employed in the defense industry and able to potentially use their insider knowledge and connections for more influence.
However, when it came to influencing Congress over defense-related issues, lobbyists came from a wide variety of industries, everything from technology to healthcare, with 1,086 clients getting involved in military topics. With computers becoming a key part of modern warfare, OpenSecrets even noted lobbying visits on behalf of corporations like Oracle Corp. and supercomputer maker Cray Inc. Medical industry corporations like UnitedHealth Group got involved, too.
