WASHINGTON (AP) - Lockheed Martin Corp. spent $9.22 million lobbying on its own behalf in 2007 on aerospace issues, including funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The defense contractor, based in Bethesda, Md., spent $4.94 million to lobby on these issues in the second half of the year, according to a form posted online Feb. 14 by the Senate's public records office.
The world's largest defense contractor also hired a number of outside lobbying firms in 2007 for representation on a range of defense issues, including Defense Department spending, foreign military sales and the Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization program, according to disclosure forms.
Coast Guard officials have identified a number of equipment, systems and structural problems with ships being built by a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Corp. for the Deepwater program.
Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches under a federal law enacted in 1995.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.