Northrop spends millions to save multibillion-dollar B-2 project.

Northrop spends millions to save multibillion-dollar B-2 project

Northrop Corp. has spent millions of dollars to save its B-2 project by lobbying Jewish groups, establishing a grass-roots telemarketing plan, operating a toll-free information line and transporting members of Congress across the country to see the plane, industry experts said last week.

Earlier this year the U.S. House of Representatives, like it did last year, voted to kill funding for the B-2 project, which employs about 12,000 Northrop workers in Palmdale and Pico Rivera and accounts for more than 50 percent of the company's annual revenues. Later this month the Senate will vote on the project. The Senate debate over B-2 funding could begin today. July 8, in the Senate Arms Service Committee.

In an effort to keep the B-2 project alive, Northrop has sent out by overnight delivery service 10,000 packets of information on the controversial bomber to anyone who requested one. And company representatives phoned thousands of Americans around the country urging them to write their U.S. representatives and senators to support continued funding of the project, according to Washington, D.C.-based analysts and members of Congress.

Other lobbying activities have included producing hundreds of miniature models of the controversial aircraft, many of which sit on the desks of representatives and senators, and coffee mugs that have a disappearing image of the stealth-technology aircraft.

Northrop, which is based in Century City, denied it has sought the support of any single group and a spokesman said he was unfamiliar with any company-sponsored trip from Washington to Palmdale for members of Congress and journalists.

"We have not targeted Jewish groups or any other religious organization. That is not to say that some of those groups may have been contacted but there has been no concerted effort to gain their support," said Ed Smith, a Northrop spokesman.

He refused to say how much money Northrop has spent on lobbying for the B-2 and said he did not immediately have information on other aspects of the company's promotional campaign.

The campaign includes personal visits to representatives and senators by Northrop executives and the company's paid lobbyists, who bring with them models of the B-2 and the coffee mugs. The models of the B-2 end up on the desks of the elected officials but just as often end up collecting dust in a closet or are passed on to a constituent or young relative as a toy, the analysts said.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Torrance) said of Northrop's campaign: "I think they have done a pretty good job. Their analysis papers have been better than those prepared by the Air Force. They haven't overwhelmed any of the members and generally have done very well."

He said he has been visited in his Washington office by Northrop officials and the company flew him from Long Beach to Palmdale to view the aircraft. He said he was not part of a large group of representatives and journalists who were transported by Northrop from Washington to Palmdale a year ago to see the aircraft.

Rohrabacher previously opposed B-2 funding, but he said last week that since the Persian Gulf War and the success of stealth technology there, he has changed his position and now favors continued funding.

But according to industry experts in Washington, Northrop's campaign has been a grass-roots effort aimed at gaining support for the project from ordinary citizens. In addition, Northrop has used the success of the F-117A stealth fighter in the Persian Gulf to gain support for the project.

Robert Musil, executive director of the Professionals' Coalition for Nuclear Arms Control in Washington, said shortly after the war Northrop began a nationwide telemarketing campaign seeking support for the project.

"I'm not sure how they got the telephone numbers but they ended up contacting many peace activists who have no intention of supporting the B-2. But I also know that Northrop targeted members of civic groups like the Rotary or Kiwanis clubs and members of religious organizations. They seemed to especially be interested in Jewish organizations," said Musil.

He said the Jewish organizations were contacted because of their concern for the security of Israel.

Musil and other industry analysts said Northrop sent out packages that included up to 40 pages of information and photographs of the B-2 by overnight delivery service.

The package, which included a toll-free information line to Northrop offices in Washington, had quotes from officials in support of the aircraft and arguments in favor of the project. It also included information on how to write a letter to a local U.S. representative or senator.

The package included assertions like: "Had the B-2 been available when Saddam Hussein was preparing to invade Kuwait in August 1990, the president could have sent a force within hours. Perhaps this option might have demonstrated our resolve to stop aggression and prevented the current conflict - and saved American lives."

Industry analysts said Northrop has also undertaken an advertising campaign in newspapers like the Washington Post for support of the B-2.

Originally, the Bush administration said it wanted 130 of the aircraft built, but has since scaled back its request to 75 B-2s, with a cost per copy of about $865 million. The Defense Department has requested $4.8 billion for four B-2s in fiscal year 1992 that begins Oct. 1.

Three B-2s are now being flight tested and 13 are at various stages of production.