Verizon and AT&T Partner With Pro-Police Militarization Lobbying Group

The National Sheriffs’ Association, which counts the telco giants as ‘platinum partners,’ lobbies Congress to make the Defense Department’s 1033 military equipment transfer program permanent.

BY DONALD SHAW JUNE 5, 2020

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Sludge produces investigative journalism on lobbying and money in politics. The American Prospect is re-publishing this article.

As protesters outraged over police killings of black people were met with police violence, AT&T took to Twitter on Sunday to say that the company’s “advocacy toward equality and inclusivity continues today and will for the future,” adding that “at AT&T we stand for equality and embrace freedom.”

Verizon made a similar statement and went a step further by pledging to donate to the cause. “The events unfolding across the country that are rooted in hate are contradictory with our beliefs as a company,” read a statement from Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg released on Monday. Vestberg said that the company’s foundation would donate a total of $10 million to seven social justice organizations. (The Verizon Foundation’s total charitable giving has been between $35 million and $65 million in recent years, according to tax documents.)

While the telecom companies side publicly with social justice activists, they are continuing their longstanding funding of a group that works to militarize local police, expand the use of warrantless surveillance, and promote policing policies that have disproportionately harsh impacts on communities of color.

Through their brands Verizon Connect and AT&T FirstNet, the companies are both “platinum partners” of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), a lobbying group that describes itself as “one of the largest U.S. law enforcement organizations.” The two largest U.S. telcos are among the most prominent corporations that partner with NSA. Verizon is also one of NSA’s three “diamond partners,” the group’s top corporate partnership tier, entitling it to a private dinner with the NSA Executive Committee. “This intimate setting will give you coveted time with the key policy makers within the organization,” a brochure reads.

https://prospect.org/power/verizon-att-partner-with-pro-police-militarization-lobbying-group/