Government Contractors Are Making Political Contributions, Despite Longstanding Ban

Recent post-general disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) revealed at least two political contributions from contractors, and several other such contributions were identified by campaign finance watchdog group Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and by money-in-politics reporters earlier in 2018.

The reason for the ban, as explained by the CLC’s federal reform program director, Brendan Fischer, is to prevent pay-to-play in the contracting process. “Handing out taxpayer-funded government contracts to political contributors not only looks bad, but it warps government priorities,” Fischer said. “Federal contractors have a lot to gain by making large contributions to super PACs, and decisions about which private companies are handed taxpayer money should be based on the public’s interest, not what’s in the interest of a politician’s biggest donors.”

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