House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) held a hearing on Wednesday to give defense contractors a chance to air their grievances about the sequester, an automatic spending cut that would hit defense and domestic programs unless Congress takes action to reduce the deficit.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is raising eyebrows again for pushing an earmark worth $25 million for a company, BAE Systems, long suspected of bribing public officials. Oh and they've steered $53,000 to McConnell's campaign account since 2002.

Investigations into the activities of the Blackwater private security firm in Iraq have revealed a critical lack of oversight when it comes to defense contractors receiving billions in appropriations from the federal government while greasing the wheels with well-placed campaign contributions. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) have introduced legislation to rectify this shortcoming.