Roscoe Bartlett Campaign Financing -- Maryland 6th Congressional District

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Republican Roscoe Bartlett, in his campaign for Maryland's 6th Congressional District appears to have had a skeet shoot last week, requesting $5,000 contributions from political action committees (PACs) and $2.500 contributions from individuals.

OpenSecrets.Com provides information on contributions to his campaign which appears to be up to date:

The largest attributed contribution to his campaign, totaling $40,000, comes from the Rogers Group, a Real Estate Investment and Property Management Company in North Carolina. Why is this group spending so much money to elect a Maryland congressman?

The second largest individual donor is attributed to Loeb Partners, $13,000. The Loeb Partners website provides no information on the New York firm. Wikipedia states:

Loeb Partners Corporation was founded by Thomas L. Kempner in 1982 to focus on managing assets for the Loeb family, wealthy clientele and institutions. Kempner, a grandson of Carl M. Loeb, was the final chairman of Loeb, Rhoades, serving from 1978 until the sale of the company in 1979. Loeb Partners launched the Loeb Arbitrage Fund in 1988 as an investment vehicle for the Loeb family and other family office clients. In 2008, Loeb Partners Corporation was renamed Loeb Capital Management.

Why was this contribution made to a Maryland congressman?


Congressman Bartlett is on the Armed Forces and Science, Space and Technology Committees (as well as on the Small Business Committee). Among the largest industrial contributors to his campaign are: Defense Aerospace $56,600; Misc Defense $31,500; and Defense Electronics $22,000. Lockheed Martin is reported specifically to have contributed $7,000.

A recent report from U.S. News states:

The report by the Washington, D.C.-based Project on Government Oversight details how Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor that produces the $79 billion jet fleet, has provided each member of the Tactical Air and Land forces subcommittee on average $6,130 in campaign contributions since last year, well above the average for the rest of Congress. 

In Thursday's hearing, the subcommittee debated whether the jet was suitable to fly after problems with its oxygen system have caused pilots to pass out during flight and experience oxygen deprivation, or hypoxia. The hearing's witnesses, including Air Combat Command operations chief Maj. Gen. Charles Lyon, insisted to the committee members that the $350 million jet was safe to fly. 

"These are very subjective things," subcommittee's chairman and Maryland Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett said in regards the health problems pilots have reported. "If you think there's going to be a problem, the least little thing will … cause the pilot to believe he has exactly the symptoms of the thing that he dreaded, hypoxia." 

The POGO report says Bartlett has received $8,000 in campaign contributions from Lockheed Martin just in the last 12 months. 

"It was kind of a pro forma hearing. As someone who's looking for legitimate oversight of the F-22 it was disappointing," said Ben Freeman, national security investigator for POGO. "The result of this hearing was largely that the House bought into what the Air Force was saying about the F-22."

OpenSecrets.Com also reports that Bartlett's campaign has received $65,000 from leadership PACs, $32,400 from lobbyists, and $21,000 from Candidate Committees. He apparently has not contributed himself to his own campaign.

Bartlett's campaign has made the claim that his congressional votes are independent. I note the following from a Washington Post article published just after Bartlett won the primary race in April:

Bartlett survived a crowded Republican primary Tuesday in his redrawn district, winning with 44 percent of the vote against seven challengers. Bartlett was helped by the fact that, while he is not a prolific fundraiser compared to most incumbent House members, he did take in a lot more cash than any of his primary opponents. And he had some help. 

In total, Bartlett received $63,000 in contributions from the campaign accounts or political action committees of 28 different House Republican colleagues since Jan. 1, according to Federal Election Commission records. That represents roughly a quarter of the total amount Bartlett raised over the period. 

Members of the party leadership were particularly generous. House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) gave Bartlett $14,000 from two different accounts, while House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (Ill.) kicked in $5,000 apiece. Bartlett also got donations from the chairmen of the House Appropriations, Budget and Armed Services committees. And fellow Maryland GOP Rep. Andy Harris gave Bartlett $4,000. 

Beyond the cash from individual lawmakers, Bartlett also got $5,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s official campaign arm, as well as donations from two different groups devoted to electing moderate Republicans — the Tuesday Group and Republican Main Street Partnership PACs.