Republican Congressman, Hal Rogers Benefits From Homeland Security Spending
As chairman of the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) holds enormous influence over the Department of Homeland Security. Since 2003, a hometown security institute and a consortium of colleges and universities he set up in his home state have received $34 million from the department for security projects.
"As a small start-up company in Massachusetts sought to become a major player in the business of homeland security, it hired a lobbyist and attended a fundraiser for one of the most powerful members of Congress.
The company was Reveal Imaging Technologies Inc. The congressman was Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (R-Ky.). The fundraiser, held Oct. 22, 2003, brought in $14,000 from Reveal and was the beginning of a mutually beneficial association.
Reveal had just received a government grant to develop smaller, cheaper explosives-detection machines to scan baggage at the nation's airports. Rogers, who chairs the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, said he wanted the machines to improve security while saving taxpayers money.
In the end, Reveal received a federal contract from the Transportation Security Administration worth up to $463 million. Rogers achieved his goal of launching the next generation of machines. In the process, he received $122,111 in donations to his leadership political action committee from Reveal executives and associates -- and a pledge from the company to move $15 million worth of work to Rogers's poor Appalachian congressional district".
Rogers's Homeland Security Consortium
As chairman of the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) holds enormous influence over the Department of Homeland Security. Since 2003, a hometown security institute and a consortium of colleges and universities he set up in his home state have received $34 million from the department for security projects.
