Posted on 02/17/2011 6:33:20 PM PST by jazusamo
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.
Mr. Dicks, who at one time described himself as the third best tennis player in Congress, helped push for a 7,500-seat tennis stadium in the late 1980s in Rock Creek Park on National Park Service land for one of the two beneficiaries of the tournament, the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF).
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.
Dicks spokesman George Behan said the congressman "adheres to all the ethics rules" and added that Mr. Dicks does not solicit contributions for charities.
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. After Republicans took control of the House in January, he became the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee and its parent, the House Appropriations Committee.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Dicks needs to go.
In his late 60’s, Dicks is still the best linebacker in Congress; might be capable of playing somewhere.
Agreed...He is almost as bad as Murtha was and probably learned from him.
Defense contractors are as big if not bigger maggots than that wall street crowd.
Defense contractors are as big if not bigger maggots than that wall street crowd.
"Appropriations Ranking Member Norm Dicks to Retire"
http://www3.atr.rollcall.com/appropriations-ranking-member-norm-dicks-to-retire/
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