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TOO MANY, TOO MUCH?: In an exclusive report, CNN takes viewers to the California desert where some 2,000 M-1 Abrams tanks are sitting, unused, because the U.S. military has no need for them.

In what turned out to be a controversial move, the U.S. Army told Congress that it can hold off on refurbishing or building any tanks for three years, saving the country $3 billion (not a significant share of the defense budget by any means, but still…).

Nonetheless, in April, 173 members of the House from both parties wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urging him to continue producing more tanks, according to CNN.

General Dynamics, which makes the tanks, is one of OpenSecrets.org’s Heavy Hitters, spending millions on campaign contributions and lobbying each year.

In 2011 the company spent $11 million on lobbying, and with $5 million spent in the first half on this year it’s on track to match that.

The General Dynamics PAC had spent $1.5 million on this election by mid-2012, contributing slightly more to Republicans than Democrats. Recipients of the PAC money were many — 212 congressional and 21 senatorial candidates, with the most going to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

COURTING EDUCATION ISSUES: The Supreme Court heard arguments for and against affirmative action Wednesday in a case that could reshape universities’ admissions policies.

In the case, Fisher v. University of Texas, the plaintiff claimed she had been denied admission to the University of Texas on the basis of her race (white).

Like many other large universities, the University of Texas is well-represented in Washington. The school spent $420,000 lobbying in the first half of this year, especially on education — frequently in connection with immigrants — as well as health care issues. The disclosure forms don’t show the university lobbying on anything connected to affirmative action.

Employees from the University of Texas have favored Barack Obama in this election cycle. The education industry is Obama’s second-largest contributor after lawyers and law firms.

RIDERSHIP RECORD ON RAILS: Amtrak announced that it carried more than 31.2 million passengers this year, breaking records for ridership.

House Republicans spent the last year railing against the train system and the approximately $1 billion in subsidies it receives every year.

Yet in spite of Republicans’ anti-Amtrak stance, the railroad industry tends to favor the GOP with its campaign contributions. In the 2012 cycle, it has given $3 million to Republicans in Congress compared to $1.8 million to Democrats.

Amtrak employees themselves almost exclusively have given to Democrats in this cycle, contributing just $250 to a single Republican.

Images: The Supreme Court via flickr user OZinOH

Amtrak car via flickr user Mark Beeson.



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