Defense contractor donations surge to key U.S. lawmakers

Following an announcement by the U.S. Army that it had reached sufficient levels of a specific armored vehicle model, Congress secured funding to continue procurement of the “excess” vehicles. In the weeks following the passage of this year’s appropriations bill, employees and the PAC of defense contractor AM General donated over $58,000 to committees associated with key appropriations committee members, including Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Representative Ken Calvert (R-Calif.).

While Senator Collins is currently facing separate scrutiny regarding an FBI investigation into an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving a different ex-defense contractor, there is no indication that the donations from AM General are linked to that investigation. However, records show that Collins had not received campaign funds from AM General or its parent company’s employees in more than a decade prior to the Army’s announcement regarding the vehicle surplus.