Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Raytheon Co. executive William Lynn was confirmed today by the U.S. Senate to become the Defense Department’s second-highest-ranking civilian.
The Senate voted 93-4 to approve Lynn, who as senior vice president in Washington for Raytheon, the nation’s fourth-largest defense contractor, is responsible for overseeing its government lobbying. He was a registered lobbyist until March 2008.
Lynn, 55, was granted a waiver from President Barack Obama’s ethics rules, but the Senate Armed Services Committee withheld its approval until members were satisfied he wouldn’t be handicapped by the panel’s conflict-of-interest regulations.
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
From Bloomberg:
As deputy defense secretary, Lynn’s duties will include reviewing major weapons programs and setting defense-spending priorities. The committee’s rules require that Lynn disqualify himself for one year from any decision involving Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon unless the Pentagon general counsel says he can participate.
Kudos to Senators McCain and Grassley for their concerns:
Senator John McCain's office said yesterday that the Arizona Republican will no longer hold up the nomination of Lynn, who came under scrutiny after he was granted a special waiver last month to sidestep the Obama administration's new ethics rules prohibiting former lobbyists from overseeing industries they represented within the previous two years.
Last week, McCain had demanded more information on Lynn's role, ending last July, lobbying on behalf of the Waltham-based defense giant, which receives billions of dollars in contracts each year from the Pentagon. "He received an adequate response from Mr. Lynn and intends to move forward with the nomination process," McCain's office said in an e-mail.
But Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, remains unconvinced. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee wrote to White House budget director Peter Orszag last week to say the selection of Lynn "gutted the ethical heart" of the president's pledge to close "the revolving door" that has commonly allowed former lobbyists to have jurisdiction over the industries they represented in Washington just months before."He would be the final approval authority on most - if not all - contract, program and budget decisions," Grassley wrote. "Surely, a number of Raytheon issues would come across his desk."
http://www.boston.com/...
War profiteering (Common Dreams just after September 11, 2001):
The War Profiteers: How Are Weapons Manufacturers Faring in the War?
by Frida Berrigan
"Afghanistan hasn't had a direct impact on sales yet."
Peter Simmons, Spokesman for Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Georgia plane Companies like General Electric and IBM, which cashed in on the tragedy of September 11th through tax breaks in the Economic Stimulus Bill, have drawn the ire of fiscal conservatives and progressive corporate watchdogs alike. But scant attention has been paid to the biggest war profiteers, the weapons manufacturers and the Pentagon....
http://www.commondreams.org/...
And Raytheon?:
The Lexington, MA based company is best known for its Tomahawk missile. About 100 of these million dollar land-attack cruise missiles have been lobbed at Afghanistan from U.S. Navy ships since October 7th, fifty in the opening salvo alone.
.... Raytheon also makes the "bunker buster" GBU- 28, a 5,000-pound bomb and missiles like the TOW, Maverick and Javelin, all being used in Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition to missiles, Raytheon also builds sensors and radars used on unmanned and manned reconnaissance airplanes used extensively in Afghanistan. This diversity is part of what makes Raytheon the biggest stock percentage gainer since the war began; on September 10th the company's stock stood at $26.85, now it is holding at about $32.80. Raytheon is looking to hire 1,400 new college graduates this year.
.... In the never ending quest for more contracts, Raytheon has been pushing its agenda on Capitol Hill; $677 million to work on the next generation of Patriot cruise missiles and an undisclosed amount to upgrade Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Again, from Common Dreams.
How interesting. While the stock market tanks, Raytheon stock is selling at about $46.00, February 12, 2008.
46.64 0.34 (0.72%) Feb 12 4:00pm ET
Open: 46.22
High: 46.69
Low: 45.43
Volume: 3,407,575
Avg Vol: 3,402,000
Mkt Cap: 19.31B
http://www.google.com/...
Today's stock quote:
Raytheon Company
RTN
Last Price 46.90
Change +0.26
Open 46.75
High 47.32
Low 46.65
Volume 731644
Exchange US
2/13/2009 12:26pm
Quote is delayed at least 20 minutes
http://rpsc.raytheon.com/...
Raytheon, the death deliverer.
How many deaths does a Tomahawk missile deliver?
Or a GBU- 28, a 5,000-pound bomb, essentially a cluster bomb which can deliver deaths for years...
Missiles like the TOW...
Or, how about the Maverick...
Or the Javelin...
The death deliverers.
Raytheon. Deatheon. William Lynn.
The American stock market loves and celebrates the deliverers of death!