Defense contractors working on the Sentinel nuclear missile program have increased political spending over the past two years as the initiative to modernize intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) has soared in costs and drawn renewed criticism.
A report from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft says the 11 contractors have donated $87 million since 2018 to Congress, including a nearly 20% increase over the past two election cycles. During that period, Sentinel’s prime contractor, Northrop Grumman, donated $3.8 million to members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, where important decisions on nuclear weapons are made.
The 11 Sentinel contractors also spent $226 million on lobbying since 2018, according to the Quincy report, which was based on publicly available data on political spending. The contractors also have hundreds of other contracts with the Pentagon and the U.S. government, and Quincy did not attempt to differentiate spending on specific programs.
Bill Hartung, author of the Quincy report and a senior fellow at the institute, said “there is a strong economic component” to the Sentinel program that makes it difficult to restrict the $141 billion program, especially considering the number of jobs it creates. and around military installations.
But Hartung said the money has a vast influence on decision-making on Capitol Hill, beyond those whose constituencies will see a direct benefit.
“Certainly some members have an ideological and strategic idea, but I think money and jobs reinforce them,” he said, and “there are a lot of members who don’t have that kind of connection in terms of jobs. in your state, who are also being persuaded to support the program, not necessarily with a full understanding of whether it strategically serves our interests.”
Congress remains generally united behind Sentinel, and efforts to restrict the controversial program, including earlier this year in the House Armed Services Committee’s latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act, have met resistance from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. of the corridor.
Senators receiving relatively large shares of the funds include lawmakers from states that host ICBM missiles or work on Sentinel-related projects: Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), one of those senators, said the world was becoming increasingly dangerous and that it was vital to modernize nuclear weapons.
“It’s important as a matter of policy and as a matter of policy,” he said of the Sentinel. “I’m a strong supporter of that, I always have been. If I didn’t get a single dollar from Northrop Grumman or anyone else, any of their subcontractors, I would still be a strong supporter of deterrence, because it’s just so important.”
Sentinel is a major new program that will replace the more than 50-year-old Minuteman III ICBMs spread across rural western states.
Most of the missiles and related infrastructure for the project are housed at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
The project, which began around 2014, is expected to be completed in the early 2030s, but delays and cost increases could derail that schedule.
Coastal increases have been a major obstacle to the program, rising this year to $140.9 billion, an 81% increase from 2020 and even more from 2015 estimates, which cost about 60 billion dollars.
Sentinel hit a Nunn-McCurdy breach in January that required the Pentagon to step in and review the program. Pentagon officials authorized the program’s continuation in July, saying it was vital to national security, although they are pushing to restructure the program to save costs.
According to the Quincy report, as of 2018, the top five spending lobbyists working on the Sentinel program include Honeywell, which spent about $20 million on lobbying; Lockheed Martin, with almost US$19 million; Northrop Grumman, with US$18.2 million; and General Dynamics for US$13 million.
Top lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee who have received contractor money since 2018 include Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Donald Norcross (DN.J.), Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), Donald Bacon ( R. -Neb.) and Joe Wilson (RS.C.).
On the Senate side, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has taken full advantage of Sentinel contractors since 2018, the report says. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) were also key recipients.
The Hill reached out to each of the lawmakers mentioned in the report.
Sentinel is part of a more than $1 billion nuclear modernization upgrade that the US is pushing to complete. ICBMs are a part of the nuclear triad, along with bombers and submarines, of which the Pentagon is also working to acquire new versions.
But amid rising costs, some critics have questioned whether ICBMs are necessary, arguing that they are immediate targets without the speed or stealth benefits of bombers and submarines.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) led calls criticizing the program on Capitol Hill, including plans to hold a hearing on the issue with the Congressional Nuclear and Arms Control Working Group.
Garamendi has accepted money from defense companies with Sentinel contracts since 2018, according to the new report, as has Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has also publicly criticized the program.
Hartung said an “extraordinary” lobbying wave on Capitol Hill points to companies pushing for “absolutely no changes” to the Sentinel program.
“In many cases, this is reinforced by the fact that the triad, in the minds of some members, is something of a sacrosanct. It’s been around for a long time,” he said. “The strategic arguments don’t fully hold up, and the economy and money create a base of support that makes it difficult for congressional critics to make much progress.”
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