Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
President Obama's nominee for Army Secretary has requested $40 million in earmarks to be added to the defense appropriations bill. Rep. John McHugh, a Republican congressman from New York, called for $4.7 million for the Lockheed Martin aviation corporation, which has contributed $35,000 to his congressional campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. "Rockwell Collins, Inc., a defense contractor with a facility in upstate New York would receive $2 million under the requests. ... Rockwell Collins until this year had been a client of PMA Group lobbying firm, which closed after it was the target of an FBI investigation into campaign finance violations. PMA’s political action committee, its employees and its clients gave $160,250 to McHugh’s congressional campaigns." McHugh is the top Republican serving on the House Armed Services Committee.