Defense Contractors Aid Congressman’s Charity

Some of the nation’s top defense contractors have helped sponsor an annual congressional charity tennis tournament in the nation’s capital that is a pet project of Rep. Norm Dicks, senior Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

The Washington state lawmaker is an avid tennis player and helped create the tournament, in which corporate sponsors and invited members of Congress can play tennis with professional tennis legends while raising money for charity.

Northrop Grumman Corp., the country’s second-largest defense contractor, spent $25,000 as one of two top sponsors of the 2010 tournament in September, which it said was to honor Mr. Dicks, according to House lobbying records. General Dynamics Corp., the nation’s No. 5 defense contractor, was the other top sponsor, but a company spokesman declined to specify how much money it gave.

Both firms have given previously to the annual event, with General Dynamics’ donations dating back to 2006, according to the spokesman.

At the time of the 2010 tournament, Mr. Dicks was chairman of the powerful House Appropriations defense subcommittee, which oversees billions of dollars in funding for the Defense Department, including the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the CIA.

Other top defense firms that have given to the tournament through the years include Lockheed Martin Corp., the No. 1 defense contractor, and Boeing Co., No. 3. Other donors include the Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), No. 7, as well as the PMA Group, a now defunct lobbying firm whose owner, former superlobbyist Paul Magliocchetti, was sentenced in January to 27 months in prison on his guilty plea of making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions.

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