Open thread for night owls: Here's the congressional caucus you probably never knew existed

Drone-making companies are some of the most powerful in the country, and they have a lot of pals in Washington, including the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon. He's also co-chair of the 60-member Unmanned Systems Caucus. The caucus comprises 45 Republicans and 15 Democrats, three of whom are members of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Jill Replogle writes:

You've probably heard of the Congressional Black Caucus, or perhaps the Progressive Caucus. But what about the drone caucus? Officially, it's the Unmanned Systems Caucus.

Primarily, the caucus advocates for drones ' those pilot-less planes infamous for their role targeting insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They're used as a spy tool in Iran, a drug-fighting tool in Mexico and an anti-smuggling tool along the U.S.-Mexico border. [...]

'It's definitely a powerful caucus,' said Alex Bronstein-Moffly, an analyst with First Street Research Group, a D.C.-based company that analyzes lobbying data.

'It's probably up there in the more powerful caucuses that sort of is not talked about.' And, he says, caucus members are well placed to influence government spending and regulations. [...]

The caucus is co-chaired by 10-term Congressman Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon, a Republican from Southern California who also chairs the House Armed Services Committee. He shares the drone caucus chair with Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas.

The caucus includes eight members who also sit on the House Committee on Appropriations, which largely controls the government's purse strings.

Many of the drone caucus members are well supported by the industry they endorse. According to Bronstein-Moffly's data, the 58 drone caucus members received a total of $2.3 million in contributions from political action committees affiliated with drone manufacturers since 2011.

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