Northrop tops lobbying expenditure list

By Alice Lipowicz

| August 30, 2007

Northrop Grumman spent $5.6 million to lobby the federal government in the first six months of 2007, the most spent among the largest federal IT contractors, according to the latest disclosure forms filed with the Senate.

The contractors named the House and Senate, and federal departments and agencies as the target of their lobbying.Topics covered include appropriations budgets and major programs, such as the Coast Guard's Deepwater acquisition, as well as programs in defense, aerospace, foreign policies and tax policy. Northrop and Lockheed, whose joint venture was awarded the Deepwater contract in 2002 and recently won an extension of the contract, both reported lobbying the Coast Guard and House and Senate officials on the program.

Northrop Grumman Corp. spent $5.6 million to lobby the federal government in the first six months of 2007, the highest amount spent among the largest federal IT contractors, according to the latest disclosure forms filed with the Senate.

The mid-year disclosure forms, filed with the Senate on or before Aug. 14, provide information on total lobbying expenses, topics and agencies covered and the names of the lobbyists hired.

Overall, eight of the 10 largest contractors on Washington Technology's Top 100 list for 2007 spent $23.7 million from Jan. 1 to June 30. Two contractors who ranked among the 10 largest ? KBR Inc. and Science Applications International Corp. ? are not included in the calculation because their mid-year disclosure forms are not yet available from the Senate.

The lobbying disclosure forms show these amounts spent over the six-month period:

$4.3 million by Lockheed Martin Corp.;
$.4.1 million by Boeing Co.;
$2.4 million by Raytheon Co.;
$3.1 million by General Dynamics Corp.;
$1.9 million by L-3 Communications Corp.;
$1.8 million by EDS Corp.; and
$300,000 by Fluor Corp.

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