WASHINGTON (AP) — Airplane maker and defense contractor Boeing Co. spent almost $4.1 million in the first quarter lobbying the government on space issues, pilot training, and other aerospace and defense issues.
Boeing gets about half of its revenue from defense work and space exploration. Its lobbying included NASA funding, funding for the International Space Station, commercial spaceflight and science education.
It also lobbied on commercial aviation issues including aviation safety, foreign repair stations, and a revamped, satellite-based system for air navigation. Boeing also took an interest in funding for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Another topic for Boeing lobbyists was the U.S. Air Force tanker program. On Feb. 24 Boeing won a contract to make the next aerial refueling tanker for the Air Force, after years of intense competition with Airbus. Both the Boeing and Airbus tankers would have benefited different Congressional districts, so each program had backing from different members of Congress.
Boeing, a major exporter, lobbied on foreign relations with several countries including Russia, Turkey, Pakistan and Vietnam. It also lobbied on State Department funding.
The lobbying bill disclosed in a filing with the House clerk's office on April 19 was about the same as for the same period a year earlier.
Boeing lobbyists included John T. Blazey, who had been a clerk on House appropriations committees, Arthur E. Cameron, a former clerk and staffer for a Senate committee, Tillie A. Fowler, a former chief of staff in the House; and Willard G. Fallon, a former administrative assistant and legislative assistant in the House.
Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.
