Editing General Atomics (section)

==Government influence==
Since 2005, the Center for Responsible Politics reported General Atomics had spent over $1.5&nbsp;million per year in [[lobbying]] efforts from 2005 to 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2011&id=D000000317 |title=General Atomics Lobbying Profile |publisher=[[OpenSecrets]]}}</ref>

In April 2002, the company paid for Letitia White, who was then a top aide to Representative [[Jerry Lewis (California politician)|Jerry Lewis]], and her husband to travel to Italy. White left Lewis' office nine months later, to become a lobbyist at [[Copeland Lowery]]. The next day, she began representing General Atomics. Lewis, her former boss, was at the time chairman of the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007234022/http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060606/news_1n6trips.html |url-status=dead |title=The San Diego Union-Tribune - San Diego, California & National News |archive-date=October 7, 2006 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune}}</ref>