Lobbyist's Brother Guided House Bill

LA Times ^ | June 13, 2005 | Ken Silverstein and Richard Simon

[george76]

A family member's ties to special interests raise questions in the case of Democrat John Murtha.

When Congress passed the $417-billion Pentagon spending bill last year, Rep. John P. Murtha, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, boasted about the money he secured ...

But the bill Murtha helped write also benefited at least 10 companies represented by a lobbying firm where his brother, Robert "Kit" Murtha...

Clients of the lobbying firm KSA Consulting — whose top officials also include former congressional aide Carmen V. Scialabba, who worked for Rep. Murtha for 27 years — received a total of $20.8 million from the bill.

One of the clients, a small Arkansas maker of military vehicles, received $1.7 million, triple its total sales for 2004.

Several other clients received money that represented more than half of their annual sales from last year.

Disclosure of Kit Murtha's ties to the lobbying firm prompted criticism from Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan Washington watchdog group that tracks government spending.

"Family members lobbying family members is becoming an all-too-common phenomenon on Capitol Hill," ...

"What's even more troubling is that decisions about defense dollars are being made at family reunions rather than the halls of Congress."

Earmarks in appropriation bills routinely list only an amount of money awarded and a description of the project to be funded — without disclosing the name of the recipient firm.

... thousands of "parochial and politically motivated" items ...

Though Rep. Murtha would not respond to questions about which firms he sponsored for earmark funds, his office released a statement after House passage announcing the awards made to four KSA clients — KDH Defense Systems, AEPTEC, Mobilvox and Mountaintop.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Maybe this explains his sudden sphincter kissing of the left... he will need some Rat buddies to bury this.

[headstamp]

Nothing will happen. The MSM is too busy jumping on Cunningham's neck to waste time with this. If they say too much about Murtha, the mantra will be that he is being attacked because of his stance on the war.

Murtha has cleverly insulated himself from further investigation.

[headstamp]

Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

[Lancey Howard]

But, Murtha is:

"a fine man, a good man" who served with "honor and distinction," who "is a strong supporter of the United States military."

"a good man, a Marine, a patriot." "a fine man"

"a veteran, a veteran congressman and a great leader in the Congress."

Just ask any Republican politician.

[Txsleuth]

That would be freeper, Flip Wilson that called it the "Culture of Hypocrisy"...he deserves the credit...

[XHogPilot]

Yessir...Pelosi and Reid have been spouting the "culture of corruption" phrase for months...

Speaking of Pelosi, she's got her own huge contract kick-back scandal that just won't get picked up by the MSM...
And surprise, surprise, Murtha is deeply involved, too!

Google link search of "Pelosi+Lennar+Navy+corrupt"

Here's one of the more thorough articles from the above Google:Link Status report: Legal Violations Related to Proposed Redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyard

[Txsleuth]

VERY interesting...and I hope that some of the GOP House members are making a file with her name on it for the ethics committee...

Thanks for the link!

[EQAndyBuzz]

They are eating their own.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

Stalder described Scialabba as a close friend he met while working at Lockheed. He said he didn't hire the former aide or Kit Murtha because of their ties to Rep. Murtha. Neither associate accompanies him when he lobbies the congressman's office, Stalder said.

 

"I do have ties to Rep. Murtha's office, but it is not through Kit or Carmen; it is through my own work and contacts," he said. "It never crossed my mind that this might look like a conflict."

 

"And I just fell off of the turnip truck, too!"

 

Only a complete idiot would make a statement like that!

 

[mrmargaritaville]

Maybe-maybe not, but Murtha make comments about the army being "broken" and needing more equipment and repairs. I am willing to bet that his brother stands to gain when money is appropriated to "fix" the army and make the needed repais.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Kit Murtha said he saw the congressman infrequently but acknowledged that his brother knew he worked for KSA.

"I don't think that influences him," he said. "I certainly would hope not."

Yeah right. Murtha should be investigated just like they did to Delay.

[PeskyOne]

This must be what Oliver North was referring to last week on Hannity & Colmes. He said he had heard Murtha was creating all this hoopla so he could blame Republicans for trying to retaliate and smear him when this investigation became public. Murtha is a dishonest man! He claimed last week that his mail proved that a majority of the American people agreed with his position on the war. He has no way of knowing that, because only his constituents can email him, and you can't snail mail a letter to his office unless directed to. Your only hope, if you aren't a constituent, is to be lucky enough to get a phone call through to his office. The line is usually busy, and his mailbox is always full. He has no interest in what the American people have to say....he's afraid to hear from us.

[george76]

Contrary to popular opinion, Rep. John Murtha, the ex-Marine who called for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, is no hawk.

He may also soon be probed for misusing defense appropriations.

"If you want anything done on the committee, you go to Murtha."

He's delivered so much pork to his congressional district, an airport and a major highway are named after Murtha.

Ashdown and his nonpartisan watchdog group criticized Murtha for using the $417 billion fiscal 2005 Pentagon spending bill to give business to his lobbyist brother.

The Los Angeles Times in June reported that Murtha funneled nearly $21 million to 10 or more corporate clients of KSA Consulting, where Robert "Kit" Murtha is a senior partner.

Carmen Scialabba, a Murtha congressional aide for 27 years, is also a high-ranking official at KSA.

The newspaper Roll Call reported that there might be a House ethics committee investigation of Murtha's apparent improprieties.

But is that possible now that Murtha has become the media's "hawk with a conscience?"

Come to think of it, could Murtha have been thinking about a possible ethics investigation when he decided to throw himself into the public limelight last week?

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&artnum=1&issue=20051121

[george76]

"If John Murtha had a Medal of Honor or even a Silver Star I might consider him a hero, but the Bronze Star and Vietnamese medal were handed out like M & M’s."

"Most officers who went to Vietnam came home with them, if they served in any kind of combat unit. Like most of us, of that era, he did his duty."

"Nothing more and nothing less."

"As far as his military expertise, I am not impressed with anyone who spent 37 years in the Marine Corps and retired a Lt. Col."



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