A lobbying firm linked to pork king Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) received earmarks from 62 Democrats and 42 Republicans in a single bill, Political Wire reported last evening.
There’s a potentially big story brewing on Capitol Hill… Apparently 104 members of Congress of both parties — 42 Republicans and 62 Democrats — secured earmarks for a lobbying firm linked to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) in a single bill. The earmarks were inserted in a bill Murtha controlled as the defense appropriations subcommittee chairman.
The firm’s executives and clients are among Murtha’s biggest sources of campaign contributions.
CQ Politics now has more on the story.
More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations…
In the spending bill managed by Murtha, the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriation, 104 House members got earmarks for projects sought by PMA clients, according to Congressional Quarterly’s analysis of a database constructed by Ashdown’s group.
Those House members, plus a handful of senators, combined to route nearly $300 million in public money to clients of PMA through that one law (PL 110-116).
And when the lawmakers were in need — as they all are to finance their campaigns — PMA came through for them.
According to CQ MoneyLine, the same House members who took responsibility for PMA’s earmarks in that spending bill have, since 2001, accepted a cumulative $1,815,138 in campaign contributions from PMA’s political action committee and employees of the firm.
I thought that Democrats in 2006 promised the most open, honest, and ethical Congress in history. While they can do little about the 42 Republicans involved, there were 62 Democrats in the mix, including high-ranking members like John Murtha and Nancy Pelosi. There’s no excuse on that front, especially considering Pelosi was the one who made the above promise.
Below is more reaction from across the blogosphere.
Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey:
PMA scored over $300 million for its clients in just one bill for a tenth of that total over eight years of donations. I’d say they spent their money wisely.
What will be the next campaign slogan for Democrats? They used “culture of corruption” after the Abramoff scandal to claim the moral high ground. In 2010, will they run on this slogan: “We stay bought”?
I’d like to see that list of 42 Republicans. Which lobbying firm? Which bill? The GOP members will have some explaining to do.
Wizbang’s HughS:
Such is the confluence of money and politics, where an influential Congressman like Murtha, who in 2008 faced his first real reelection challenge in years, used a very well connected lobbying firm to both hand out political favors and call in the same when needed.
That’s the very definition of quid pro quo. It’s also, obviously, institutionalized. There are only 435 Members of the House of Representatives. Nearly a quarter of them, including some senior leaders from both parties, are involved.
They doubled their income after Dems took control.
Surprise.
by Stephan Tawney on Thu, Feb 19, 2009