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 Did
you know that John Murtha's lobbyist brother hauled in $20.8 million
from the
2004 Defense Bill?
below are excerpts from the LA Times newspaper article:
Lobbyist's Brother Guided House Bill
Lobbyist's
Brother Guided House Bill
A family member's ties to
special interests raise questions in the case of Democrat John Murtha.
By
Ken Silverstein and Richard Simon / Times Staff Writers
June 13, 2005
WASHINGTON — 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 to create jobs in his Pennsylvania
district.
But
the bill Murtha helped write also benefited at least 10 companies
represented by a lobbying firm where his brother,
Robert "Kit" Murtha, is a
senior partner, according to disclosure records, interviews and an
analysis of the bill by The Times.
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.
KSA
directly lobbied the congressman's office on behalf of seven companies
that received money from the bill, records and interviews show.
NOTE: you can view the entire
LA Times article here: [LINK]
U.S. military gutted in 1990's
while Murtha sat as Chairman
of Defense Committee!
Rep. John Murtha likes to call himself a friend of the military. But
the United States military was gutted under Murtha's chairmanship of
the House Defense Committee, 1991-1994 -- a subcommittee of the House
Appropriations Committee.
Some friend...
What exactly does the Defense committee appropriate funding for? Below
is the official scope of this committee Murtha chaired, and of which
he remains the senior ranking (most influential) member: [LINK]
Jurisdiction:
Department of Defense -- Military;
Departments of Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air
Force, Office of Secretary of Defense, and Defense Agencies (Except
Department of Defense-related accounts and programs under the
Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs; and the
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)); Central
Intelligence Agency; Intelligence Community Staff
Here is a chart that shows what has
happened
to defense spending over the years:
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