Pookie,
You apparently misunderstood the post, a passage was misleading, or you don't understand the wonderful ways some of our government entities spend your money. The post was not intended to imply that the Corps wrote the check to the lobbyist(s) involved. The Armed Services don't need to do that. They simply snap their fingers, and the lobbyist swarm on congress like flies on rotten fruit. That finger snap comes in the form of a Request for Proposal, or RFP. That is, a proposal for the design or/and delivery of a system, weapons platform, facility, etc. As soon as the word (through the RFP or otherwise) is out, all the major civilian contractors who want a piece of the action, will jump through the required registering hoops, and start the process to win the contract. It is the likes of Halliburton, Oshkosh Corp., or general Dynamics, who will - in their own self-interest - represent the respective leg of the armed services in the halls of congress in the form of MASSIVE lobbying. Just the top 10 defence contractors alone, spent close to $200 million in lobby expenses last year. When the Pentagon needs lobby action on Capitol Hill, there is almost no end to the means at their disposal. A simple word from the USACE to one of the firms who has something at stake in coming contacts, and a skilled lobbyist convinces (through whatever means) a House committee member to act on behalf of the of the Corps. Far from "ludicrous" - it's how the game is played...
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