Boeing spent $4.4m in US lobbying

Aircraft builder and defence contractor Boeing Co. spent $4.4 million (Dh16.18 million) lobbying the US government during the second quarter on issues including federal defence and aviation spending and foreign relations.The lobbying bill was down a little from the nearly $5 million it spent during the April-June period in 2010. Boeing has interests from commercial aviation to defence, space, and more recently, cyber security.According to the disclosures made in a July 20 filing with the House Clerk\'s Office, it lobbied on issues including upgrading technology at the Federal Aviation Administration, funding for Nasa and the space station, and on science education and pilot training issues. It also lobbied on aviation safety and foreign repair stations. Boeing also lobbied on tax issues and the functions of the Export-Import bank, which backs loans to foreign airlines buying its planes.Boeing, getting an increasing share of its business from overseas, lobbied on State Department funding, and US relations with Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Vietnam, Pakistan, and other countries.It lobbied on defence spending, including naval and air force aviation. From / Gulf news