WASHINGTON, April 4, 2008
Meet Congress' "King Of Pork"
Congressman Jack Murtha Has Earmarked Millions For His District, But What's That Taxpayer Money Buying?
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Play CBS Video Video Earmarks Linked To Campaign $$ Congressman Jack Murtha has steered billions of dollars in earmarks during his tenure in office. And as Sharyl Attkisson, campaign contributions are what drive this spending of taxpayers' dollars.
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Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) (AP)
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Interactive The Money Race See the latest campaign finance tallies from Obama and McCain.
According to an estimate by Taxpayers for Common Sense, he's steered more than $600 million in earmarks to his Pennsylvania district in the past four years and $2 billion since 1992. But what's been good for Murtha and his district is not always good for taxpayers.
Top defense lobbyists recently flocked to a high-priced fundraiser at the Ritz in Virginia, all for Congressman John Murtha, the head of the House committee on military spending. This year alone, Murtha gave out nearly $160 million dollars in earmarks -- grants of money without the normal public review.
“Every private entity that received an earmark from Rep. Murtha gave him a contribution. A campaign contribution,” Ryan Alexander for Taxpayers for Common Sense told CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
Murtha helped set up the non-profit Concurrent Technologies in his hometown of Johnstown, Pa. Among the things they do is help others get federal money. They should know, they get $200 million in federal grants each year.
Murtha alone doled out nearly $12 million in earmarks to Concurrent this year. Concurrent pays big bucks to PMA, a lobby firm started by a former Murtha committee staffer. Both and Concurrent employees give generously to Murtha's campaigns.
More mysterious is Murtha's million-dollar earmark to the "The Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure."
“We don’t even know if it even exists,” says anti-earmark Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
Back in July 2007, Flake had questions when he found no record of the Center. Murtha wasn’t there, so a colleague spoke for him.
The response to the question of whether the Center actually exists came from Congressman Pete Visclosky, D-Ind.: “At this time I do not know. But if it does not exist, the money cannot go to it.”
Congressman Murtha wouldn't tell CBS News if the Center exists... or agree to an interview.
His most notorious project is the government agency that the government doesn't want: The National Drug Intelligence Center, also in Murtha's hometown. Every year the White House tries to close it because they already have a Drug Intelligence Center. But Murtha keeps the duplicate open using half-a-billion dollars in earmarks.
“You want to drive a stake through its heart but you can’t,” says Leslie Paige for Citizens Against Government Waste. “Because Congressman Murtha continues to put this in.”
Murtha's power plays are no surprise to those who've followed him since the 1980s bribery scandal known as ABSCAM. An undercover tape shows him bragging about his power, saying, “I’ve got as much influence in that goddamned Congress with the leadership and the White House as anyone in Congress... I know the right people and I know the system.”
Three decades later, Murtha not only knows the system; he's mastered it.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 60 CommentsExcuse me, but last time I checked not only did Mr. Murtha (I refuse to give him the courtesy of the title "Congressman") work for the people of Pennsylvania, but he worked for the people of the United States. That means he works for all of us, and it's all our money he is spending. I wish our newly elected administration would tackle the problem of term limits for these "career" politicians. I'm sure our founding fathers never envisioned the day of a person spending billions of dollars in the name of keeping himself in office.
Hopefully with this investigation Mr. Murtha's goose is cooked, or maybe I should say his pork is roasted.
Posted by anappleadae at 11:50 PM : Apr 06, 2008
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This statement says it all: ''...Murtha''s million-dollar earmark to the "The Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure." %u201CWe don%u2019t even know if it even exists,%u201D says anti-earmark Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ).''
Amazing! I wouldn''t give a rat''s butt if I thought that only taxes paid by PA residents were involved. I''m a Dem and I say that Murtha is ripping off all tax payers.
If not for the media the sleeze in DC would be much worse.
- Improved welding for submarines
- Created a new steel for ship use (lighter and stronger)
- Mechanize the manual labor process for shipbuilding to reduce work injuries
- Reduced Humvee rollovers due to designed and installed warning systems
- Improved thermal battery production
- Improved Lightweight Howitzer manufacturing
I also don''t like wasting of tax dollars....but scientifically there seems to be some big things coming out of this work.....just my 2 cents
Winston Churchill
CBS is just rubbish. You continue to embarrass yourself over the Siegleman story (Hint: I was a vendor selling to that crooked administration). And you just can''t even tell a pork story without showing your bias.
Have them live the life the poor does day in and day out.
Take the Metro city bus-the public mass transit.
If they must fly..reg, class.
Dump the fancy high class living.
Sure it is pretty.
Can''t relate to it.
Ye not royality..for pete''s sake.
They don''t need those costy plates.
I visit Subway once in a while..
So can they for lunch,supper over a high class eatry.
the pres of the US as well.
We don''t have guards every where we go.
They do.
It is like 2 Americas.
We the people,for the people,by the people American that is.
Buy their clothes where we do target,and like shops
Computer the same as us.
they are no better than us.
Foster Moster said yer no better than the next person. She was right in that lesson she taught me..
A report just released says we are no closer to political progress in Iraq then we were a year ago. It also says we need another 5-10 years of occupation to even consider progress. Are you and your kids willing to pay for that?
But he screams likea Banshi about the cost of the War. Actually the Surge has succeeded so he can''t scream about that. The Iraqi Government has met it''s hardest benchmarks so he can''t scream about that. al-Sadr has decided to ban his militia on the word of Sistani it''s oldest and most revered cleric so he can''t scream about that. Now it''s how much the war is costing, but his $600 million pork okay.
CBS needs to stop Parroting BS from Repug groups - The last sentence on this posted statement can only have been written by a Repug - especially one who''d think that the Americans in Murtha''s District are not TAXPAYERS. Cheers!
Posted by KenMar71 at 08:41 AM : Apr 07, 2008
Why are Repugs like Jeff Flake going after Dems instead of talking to their own party members - Aren''t Repugs still the top 5 POrkers ???
until he supported Clinton CBS made hime to be a hero
why did this change after he slammed obama?
The problem with your take on this and other governmental issues is your tunnel vision and two dimentional thinking. You comments would be more creative if your thinking encompassed a broader view of the ongoing government agenda.
Posted by anappleadae at 01:28 PM : Apr 06, 200
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Apple-a-day: People like you crack me up. Your own creative thinking encompasses the BROAD view that you are "glad that Murtha is trying to ease the abject pain of his constituents."
Creative thinker your are, apple-a-day. Ha Ha Ha!!! And you are so quick to critique the opinions of others.
Your comment alledging that the Public Sector is like scum rising to the top; Am I missing something here? Are you not the Public? Sooooo... Just who is this very creamy Private Sector?
Are you referring to Businesses who would have no environment to operate if not for your scummy support of our so-called scummy fortified and civilized Public Government? Actually is this Government not a reflection of the scum known as you and me?
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