According to How to Succeed on K Street Without Really Trying, Roll Call, 6/16/05:
The dirty little secret of lobbying is that if you get your client everything they want, youGÇÖll suddenly be out of a job. While lobbyists are loath to say so for the record, their most reliable business comes from efforts that fall short of success, but come close enough year after year that the client remains willing to pay the bills.
Tom Davis is exploiting this dirty little secret. My last diary discussed how Tom Davis strong-armed $1.33 Million in PAC contributions from the players and lobbyists affected by postal reform. This diary traces how Tom Davis sacrifices the information technology security of our agencies and our country for his own self-enrichment. After jeopardizing national security and personal data, Davis uses the campaign contributions to barter for power in the Republican Party. He has used it to fund over 100 races around the country. Follow the money and the corruption to your state on the flip.
Introduction
IGÇÖve said before where Davis began plying his expertise in the NRCC with Jack Abramoff
Abramoff became rich playing pro- and anti-gambling interests off one another, and Davis, his right hand man with Tom DeLay at the RNCC, worked side by side with Abramoff during their concurrent rise 1998-2002. Both men tested how much lobbyists and their clients will pay while their legislation languishes.
The industries have passed DavisGÇÖs tests with flying colors while their initiatives idle uselessly. Davis has been able to command millions from them, and the Republican leadership has been using those millions to fund other races for 10 long years. Davis uses his millions to continue the work of Abramoff, and to lock in the corrupt House leadership of Dennis Hastert, Mark Foley, Bob Ney, and others.
How does GÇ£ChurningGÇ¥ Work?
For information on GÇ£churning, GÇ£my first diary explained how legislation is delayed in order to provide time and motivation for the affected parties to contribute to the Davis campaign. Davis and the GÇ£Do Nothing Congress has perfected how to slow and stop legislation, with a mere 80 days in session this year, scheduled around long vacations paid for by lobbyists, in order to churn money from lobbyists and their clients. Postal Reform players donated $1.33 million to Tom Davis since 1997. Davis has also GÇ£churned for telecommunications contracts. HeGÇÖs done it as a partner in the gambling interests of Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Bob Ney. HeGÇÖs done it with construction contracts for Iraq and Hurricane Katrina, and by using influence over the give-aways to big oil, pharma and banking.
This diary lists one example that affects your pocketbook and your security: the safety of your personal information in government databases, and the integrity of data held by the government.
The Government Reform Committee, which Davis Chairs as a reward for RNCC fundraising, is supposed to oversee legislation and contracts that affect the efficiency and accountability of government agencies like Homeland Security, FEMA and the Departments of Treasury and Transportation. To voters all over the country, the issues languishing before DavisGÇÖs Committee evoke leadership, ethics, and billions of tax dollars in plumb contracts. He claims to be an expert on information technology but he has turned his talents to fundraising instead. To Davis, oversight authority is merely a prime opportunity for self-enrichment.
Churning from Telecom and Networx
Information security is a critical issue. Obviously, it is related to national security. Of the 24 departments and agencies audited by the Office of Management and Budget as recently as March 2006, 13 received Fs for their I.T. systems including Homeland Security and Department of Defense. More commonly, information is compromised by common thieves who steal laptop computers containing personal and health information of veterans and other citizens. When this has happened, it makes national news. Individuals have been fired, when the truth is the drives contain so much information in part because the involved agencies demand the employees work on travel and from home even though the agency has no secure access for information.
Networx is meant to provide this needed telephone and information services. The contract for Networx \will be the largest contract ever to be awarded by the General Services Administration. It is the grand prize in federal communications work. . GSA plans for Networx to be a multiple-award contract worth as much as $20 Billion over their expected 10-year span. The contract is intended to take over for the Federal Telephone Service. It is already 5 years late, due to start in 2001. It is a perfect opportunity for an unethical politician to engage in churning.
Angela Styles replaced with criminal with Davis connections
At the GSA, Angela Styles was the OMB acquisition officer who slowed down DavisGÇÖs demands that agencies award Networx contracts to Davis donors with little to no oversight. According to the Washington Post. Davis apparently contributed his influence to assure Styles was ousted from the project. Her boss at GSA told WaPo, GÇ£If Davis had a problem with Angela, I suppose it was because she understood the issues too well.GÇ¥
The person who took over for Styles on this contract was David Safavian. Before his conviction for lying about influence peddling by lobbyists including Jack Abramoff, it was up to Safavian, under DavisGÇÖs oversight, to develop the Networx contract. SafavianGÇÖs wife, Jennifer, is a staff attorney at DavisGÇÖs Government Reform Committee.) The Project on Government Oversight has raised lots of questions about the Safavian connection.
Huge Donations from Networx Bidders
The Networx contract has attracted bids from groups led by AT&T Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. Davis has had plenty of chances to churn money from them for Networx. The time for them to pay has even been extended -- just recently, GSA announced Networx contract awards would be postponed, again, this time until 2007. The Post reported that no specific reason was given for the delay.
If there is any doubt that these PAC contributions from Networx bidders are for access and favors, they seem dispelled by the accounts in Government Executive magazine.
Some contractorsGǪ still believe in the power of lawmakers and senior agency officials to give them an edge, if only because they can influence how the competition is structured and whether it mandates small business awards. STG's [VP for government contracts Dennis] Groh says he hopes to be one of the winners in the Networx procurement, which he says will be determined by program and contracting officials at GSA - "and hopefully extra interest and leverage from Mr. Davis or Mr. [former GSA administrator Stephen] Perry."
To read more detail, the newspaper Federal Computer Week has kept a close eye on Networx and its delays; stories are here and here.
Davis often touts that he is an expert and friend to hi-tech in the region and the government; however, agencies continue to be crippled by the lack of secure communication. Agencies that have provisions for companies to submit information electronically may not yet have a secure server. Information must continue to be submitted on paper. Employees expected to work while on travel and at home still have to download confidential information to do the work.
Treasury, tired of waiting, tried to fly out on its own until Davis clipped its wings
One agency tried to circumvent DavisGÇÖs delaying tactics and get their own contract, and Davis stomped on the effort. The Treasury system currently has the largest encrypted network among its 850+ locations of any civilian agency. The new contract was known as the Treasury Communications Enterprise (TCE), and the contract renewal was predicted to be worth up to $3 billion over its potential 10-year lifespan. Tired of waiting for a better system, FCW reported on December 6, 2004 that the Department awarded its own contract to build a new telecommunications system to AT&T Corp. However, the Agency incurred DavisGÇÖs wrath.
Davis, an opponent of Treasury's desire to create its own contract rather than use existing vehicles and the forthcoming General Services Administration Networx contracts, told reporters at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that he might try to end the contract's funding.
Davis spokesman Drew Crockett confirmed Davis' threat to cut its funding in a prepared statement.
Within a week, Davis donors Northrop Grumman Information Technology Inc., Qwest Government Services Inc. and Broadwing Communications LLC protested the award to GAO. Within another week, Davis and Safarian quashed the coup. Safavian signed an agreement with officials about how the Treasury Department would procure the telecommunications services from the private sector, according to an administration official, allowing only a temporary contract until Networx is established.
The contest made the news here, here, here, here and here.
The Networx effort is now 6 years late. Davis, his PACs, and his wife continue to churn profits with contributions from AT&T, Northrop Grumman Information Technology Inc., Qwest Government Services Inc., Broadwing Communications LLC, and the other companies bidding on Networx.
Communic/Electronics- - - - - - - PAC
Industry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - contributions
1997-98------------------------ $ 29,000
1999-00------------------------- $84,704
2003-04------------------------- $144,197
2001-02------------------------- $122,360
2005-06------------------------- $86,500
* (last reporting period ended June 30, 2006; not yet updated from Oct 15 filing.)
According to OpenSecrets.org, as of the last cycle (prior to October 15, 2006) the largest individual PAC contributors are AT&T/SBC ($420,000/$7,000) and MCI/Verizon/WorldCom ($32,500/$8,000/$16,525), companies who found funds to donate tens of thousands of dollars to Davis even as AT&T was beset by bankruptcy proceedings (it was bought by SBC Communications, which kept the AT&T brand) and MCI WoldCom endured financial scandals. Northrop Grummon PAC also donated $36,500 to Davis since 1997.
DonGÇÖt Stop Donating Just Because You Reach the Federal Limit!
Recall that Davis has two PACs of his own, and heGÇÖs set up his wife in politics. With no limits to these funds in Virginia, according to VPAP.org, the interested PACs contributed to DavisGÇÖs PACs and to his wifeGÇÖs campaign. For example,
GÇó AT&TGÇÖs PAC gave DavisGÇÖs Federal Victory Fund $55,000
GÇó MCI gave $5,000 to the Federal Victory Fund
GÇó AT&TGÇÖs PAC gave DavisGÇÖs wife $1,350
The grand total from Networx churning from PACs alone GÇô not including individual donations - comes to over half a million dollars: over $528,000 by June 2006.
Beyond the Examples
DonGÇÖt forget, Davis has stymied lobbying and ethics reform. He escaped Ethics Committee rebuke only because members were fired for admonishing DeLay for the same offense. Davis voted with Bush 90% of the time, and argued that it is his Penchant for Pork that earns him the right to return to the seat in 2007.
The current situation can change. Virginia's 11th can be represented by the tireless Andrew Hurst. Here he is with John Edwards, Hurst's political inspiration, earlier in October.
As a member of a Democratic Congress, Hurst is committed to put the teeth back to the paper tigers that are the Ethics and Reform Committee. On October 11, the Washington Post discussion wrote hopefully on the hearings that might be held if Democrats take over DavisGÇÖs impotent Committee:
Charles Babington reported that if the Democrats win the majority in 2006, " GÇ£I would look for hearings into how pre-war intelligence was used, and how the post-war coalition was run, who got contracts, who listened to the generals' suggestions on troop strength, etc.GÇ¥
Davis has donated his millions to over 100 races, in 40 states. (Click to find the candidate in your district You owe it to your state to help defeat him, no matter where you're from. Luckily, he no longer continues in office unchallenged. Donate to and volunteer for Andy Hurst today.