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Fla. senators get funds for military companies, many of them donors

By WES ALLISON and ANITA KUMAR
Published March 11, 2006

WASHINGTON - The biggest winner in the appropriations requests, or earmarks, made by Florida's U.S. senators is the defense industry. And in the game of fundraising, the senators have won big from the defense industry.

Republican Sen. Mel Martinez and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson each helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for military projects, mostly in Florida, in the 2006 federal budget.

Much of it will go to defense contractors like Boeing, Honeywell, General Dymanics and Armor Holdings of Jacksonville, which together have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the senators' campaigns.

Both senators assure that the funding requests they endorse are unrelated to who contributes to their campaigns.

Martinez's office said his Florida-based defense earmarks total $316-million for 2006. The Times found that political action committees and employees of at least eight companies Martinez helped with earmarks made contributions totaling more than $33,000 since 2003, according to federal records.

Because of his seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Nelson was especially prolific, helping to obtain $916-million for defense projects, about two-thirds of which will be spent in Florida, his staff said.

The Times found that since 2003, Nelson has received $108,750 from 13 companies he has received money for.

The senators' offices say they ask for funding for projects based on merit, not donations. Florida has 21 major military installations, and Enterprise Florida estimates that defense-related spending totals $44-billion each year - nearly 10 percent of the state's economy. But major beneficiaries also are major contributors. A sampling:

Employees of Armor Holdings, which got $351-million for Humvee armor this year, have given Nelson $13,000.

Honeywell got $13-million for ballistic missile range safety. Its PAC has given Martinez $8,000 and Nelson $6,000.

Martinez and Nelson helped get $1-million for radar upgrades at Eglin Air Force Base through a contract to BAE Systems North America. Its PAC has given Martinez $5,000 and Nelson $10,000.

Boeing's PAC and employees have given $5,370 to Martinez and $10,500 to Nelson. The two secured $2-million for Boeing for Florida-based projects this year.

Martinez spokesman Ken Lundberg said the spending requests for at least five of those eight companies came directly from the military. "The senator is proud of the work he has done in securing funding that is critical to the protection of our country and that helps to create jobs in Florida," he said.

Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said all requests for funding are vetted by staffers, then considered by the senator.

"At no time do any outside political activities of the boss enter that process," McLaughlin said.

Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report.

[Last modified March 11, 2006, 01:43:19]