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excerpt <br>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“<em style="margin: 0px;
padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: italic;">Amid
the NSA scandal, the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence —
the committees in charge of oversight — denied stricter reform
attempts to the NSA programs and instead propelled legislation
aimed at restoring their trust</em>,” John Schoffstall of the
Capitol City Project remarked after seeing Shaw’s report. “<em
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;
font-style: italic;">The committees are intended to keep
waste, fraud and abuse in check given most of these programs
are hidden from the general public</em>,” Schoffstall
continued. Despite this, however, “<b><em style="margin: 0px;
padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: italic;">Every
single member on the committees received campaign
contributions from the largest intelligence companies in the
US performing services for the government</em></b><b>,” </b>he
said.</p>
end excerpt<br>
<br>
<br>
Conflict of interest is a serious problem especially in the IG
space.... greater transparency, including of funding/ mandate etc.
would help CS on both legitimacy and effectiveness aspects.<br>
<br>
regards,<br>
Guru<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Lawmakers overseeing NSA receive millions from private
intelligence contractors<br>
<br>
Published time: December 13, 2013 22:31<br>
Get short URL <br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://rt.com/usa/intelligence-contractors-fund-congress-220/"><http://rt.com/usa/intelligence-contractors-fund-congress-220/></a><br>
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<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
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text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">US President Obama said
last week that reforming the NSA in the midst of a major
surveillance scandal could restore confidence in the government.
Newly revealed connections between Congress and the private
sector, however, may not do the same.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Officials from the
executive and legislative branches have expressed an interest in
reforming the NSA, especially in light of the ongoing and highly
damaging leaks disclosed to the media by former contractor
Edward Snowden. But a recent report has shed light on some ties
between those in Washington who watch over the intelligence
community and their financial bankers - the likes of which raise
questions about just how serious lawmakers in the Senate and
House of Representatives are about reigning in the NSA.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A study by Donny Shaw at
the nonpartisan research organization<span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://maplight.org/content/73373" style="margin: 0px;
padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;
transition: color 0.5s, text-decoration 0.5s;
-webkit-transition: color 0.5s, text-decoration 0.5s; color:
rgb(4, 79, 170); outline: none; font-weight: normal;
font-size: 15px;">MapLight</a><span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>was published this week,
and in it he explored the connections between the major industry
players that provide the intelligence community with tools and
the lawmakers that look over the NSA and other agencies.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Seventy percent<span
class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>of the intelligence
budget is used to pay private contractors, Shaw acknowledged,
and the corporations at the top of that list are among those
that have received billions of dollars by the federal government
in awards and contracts.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">At the same time,
however, those very companies and the political action
committees (PACs) they’ve aligned with have long been padding
the pockets of influential members of Congress.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to research
published this week by Shaw, PACs and individuals from the top
20 contractors with ties to the Pentagon have all contributed
significantly to members of the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“<em style="margin: 0px;
padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: italic;">In
total, members of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
have received $3.7 million from top intelligence services
contractors since January 1, 2005</em>,” Shaw reported,
suggesting that lawmakers in those offices may be a bit hesitant
to scale back the nation’s intelligence operations and, in turn,
cut funding to the very contractors that are helping their
campaigns.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">With regards to
contractors who have benefited heavily from government
opportunities, L-3 Communications has been awarded more than $46
billion in federal funds for an array of jobs they’ve undertaken
during the course of their relationship with Washington,
according to the USAspending.gov website. But as of last month,
L-3 has also handed over around $238,145 to the Senate and House
intelligence committees.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Even with more than a
quarter of a million dollars going directly to the lawmakers in
charge of monitoring the intelligence community that relies on
L-3’s products and services, the communications firm is hardly
the most generous. Lockheed Martin has made contributions to
those intelligence committee members in one form or another to
the tune of around $798,901, according to Shaw’s research, and
Northrup Grumman, Honeywell International, and General Dynamics
have each awarded those committee members at least $675k a
piece.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">And how is that money
divvied up? The Maplight research reveals that Rep. Dutch
Ruppersberger (D-Maryland) - the chairman of the House committee
who also represents the district containing the NSA headquarters
- is the largest recipient of intelligence contractor money,
reaping in around $363,600 since 2005.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“<em style="margin: 0px;
padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: italic;">Amid
the NSA scandal, the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence —
the committees in charge of oversight — denied stricter reform
attempts to the NSA programs and instead propelled legislation
aimed at restoring their trust</em>,” John Schoffstall of the
Capitol City Project remarked after seeing Shaw’s report.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align:
baseline; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“<em style="margin: 0px;
padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: italic;">The
committees are intended to keep waste, fraud and abuse in
check given most of these programs are hidden from the general
public</em>,” Schoffstall continued. Despite this, however, “<em
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;
font-style: italic;">Every single member on the committees
received campaign contributions from the largest intelligence
companies in the US performing services for the government</em>,”
he said.</p>
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