Posted on 08/20/2008 12:47:03 PM PDT by smoothsailing
The Murtha Rules: A simple system to win federal money By Ken Silverstein and Sebastian Jones
Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has long been one of the biggest porkbarrelers in Congress, and as the chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee he is also one of the biggest recipients of lobbyists campaign donations. Which is no coincidence.
When the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged that porkbarreling would be severely curtailed. But that hasnt come to passno surprise given that old-time hacks like Murtha hold such powerful positions on the Appropriations committees.
Murtha basically runs a racket. He helps win taxpayer money for companies that support his campaigns and hire lobbyists he approves ofoften his former staffers and in at least one case blood kin. Companies that set up shop in his district do better yet, even if they only set up a smaller satellite office, thereby allowing Murtha to pose as a champion of his constituents as opposed to his political cronies. Theres been no report of Mr. Murthas profiting personally, the New York Times has written. But the Murtha operationwhich has become a model for other entrepreneurial lawmakersis a gross example of quid pro quo Washington.
Murthas porkbarreling has been covered extensively here in the past. Consider now another instance of the Murtha rules: the case of Argon ST and its subsidiary, Coherent Systems International.
Part I: The Companies Argon, a large defense contractor, is designed as an earmark receptacle. Its office locations read like a roll call of the House Appropriations Committee. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia (the district of Jim Moran, who once pledged to earmark the shit out of an appropriations bill and has always worked hard to live up to that high standard), and has offices in: Pennsylvania (Murthas district); California (Jerry Lewis district); and Florida (Bill Youngs district). It also has major operations in the district of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
In 2007, Argon acquired Coherent Systems, which is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, an area represented by Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy. (Congressman Murtha has long been a hero of mine, Murphy said in 2006.) Coherent has offices in Murthas district and has six business partners, three of which are located in Murthas district and have close ties to the congressman: Kuchera Defense Systems; the Greater Johnstown Cambria County Chamber of Commerce; and the Johnstown Area Regional Industries (JARI), a non-profit business incubator.
Part II: The lobbyists Argons in-house lobbying operation is headed by Gabrielle Carruth, a former Senior Advisor and Appropriations Director for Murtha. The firm has also employed PMA, which was founded in 1989 by Paul Magliocchetti, who once worked for Murtha at the Appropriations Committee, as did PMA employee Julie Giardina. Another PMA lobbyist, Daniel Cunningham, is a golfing buddy of Murthas.
KSA, another Argon lobbyist, has had on its staff not only Carmen Scialabba, a long-time senior aide to Murtha, but Robert Kit Murtha, the congressmans brother. Yet another lobbying firm that has worked for Argon is Ervin Technological Associates, whose clients include Kuchera and Lockheed Martin. Officials for the firm include ex-Congressman Joseph McDade (who was acquitted on bribery charges in 1996), and its president, Jim Ervin, who has been described in The Hill as a powerful force in the defense lobbying world.
Part III: Money in Since 2003, Argon employees and the company PAC have donated at least $60,800 to Murthas campaigns and Leadership PAC, while Coherent has added $17,800. Coherents partners have tossed in even bigger amounts, with Kuchera contributing $74,500 since 2002 and JARI board members and their families giving $79,600 since the mid-1990s. Lobbyists for the companies have also contributed heavily to Murtha. PMA, the congressmans sixth biggest all-time donor, has subsidized his career to the tune of $112,100.
Part IV: Money out Thats a lot of campaign money, but the firms have received far more than that in federal contracts and earmarks. Argon and Coherent received a combined $8 million in earmarks in the last defense bill, and the two together have won more than $300 million in federal contracts since 2000.
Meanwhile, Kuchera won $8.2 million in earmarks last time around, and has received nearly $40 million in government contracts since 2000. The bulk of that money has gone to Murthas district.
Congress has yet to pass a defense bill for next year but when it gets around to doing that, look for money for Argon, Coherent and Kuchera to be included. With the Murtha rules in effect, thats all but guaranteed.
Bill Russell has already raised more than $1.3 million and has the support of Fred Thompson and Donald Rumsfeld.
believe it or not but a friend of mine in Houston just sent in $100 to Russell....I think Murtha has po’d most of the country - or at least those of us who love our country and love the military....
Goooo Russell...! I want Murtha OUT!
I also want Pelosi OUT! Support the GOP candidate running against her too.
;-)
Contact me to be added to ping list.
To be added to the Murtha Watch ping list please notify myself or RedRover.
mark
LOL!
That’s kinda like what I see when I get up and look in the mirror every morning.
Is this CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN?
If you're talking about Bill Russell, the answer is a resounding YES!
Ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.