Taxpayers Are Not in His "Corner"
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today announced the final
results of its online poll for the 2007 Porker of the Year. Rep. John
"Jack" Murtha (D-Pa.) won in a landslide victory, receiving 63.4
percent of the vote. A distant second, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska)
received 10.6 percent, while Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) came in
with 9.9 percent, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) had 6.7 percent, and
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) both
finished up with 4.1 percent. The finalists were chosen by CAGW staff
from among the 12 Porker of the Month winners for 2007.
Rep. Jack Murtha has long been known inside the Beltway for using
threats, power plays, and backroom deals to control spending
decisions. There is an area of the House floor known as "Murtha's
Corner," where the legendary appropriator dispenses earmarks. The
overwhelming vote for Porker of the Year vote shows that his shameful
behavior is attracting attention throughout the country. The
congressman inserts pork whenever he can to serve himself and his
district. In fiscal year 2008, he brought home 72 pork projects worth
$149.2 million.
The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman was named
May Porker of the Month for throwing a temper tantrum and threatening
his colleagues over a challenge to the $23 million earmark for the
National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) in Johnstown, Pa. in the
Intelligence Authorization Act. In 2006, the House Government Reform
Committee called the NDIC "an expensive and duplicative use of scarce
federal drug enforcement resources."
Rep. Murtha became infuriated by Rep. Mike Rogers' (R-Mich.)
motion to remove the NDIC earmark. According to Rogers, Rep. Murtha
warned, "I hope you don't have any earmarks in the defense
appropriations bills because they are gone and you will not get any
earmarks now and forever. ... That's the way I do it!" Rep. Murtha
also threatened a Boeing project in Rep. Todd Tiahrt's (R-Kan.)
district after he voted with Rep. Rogers.
Murtha violated House ethics rules by both failing to submit his
required earmark certification for the NDIC in a timely manner and
threatening to block the earmarks of those who voted against his
project. A privileged resolution seeking a formal reprimand of Murtha
was killed on a 219-189 party line vote.
His outburst was not an isolated incident. Rep. Murtha also
purposefully put up roadblocks and barriers to hinder earmark
accountability and reform. According to an October 2007 issue of
Congressional Quarterly Weekly, Rep. Murtha's response to a reporter's
inquiry regarding the difficulty of matching up earmark information in
appropriations bills was: "So, you have to work. Tough (expletive)."
The House Appropriation Committee included earmarks in its reports but
they were unsearchable and the lists were difficult to read.
For flouting the rules and playing games with reform, while
filling spending bills with pork and arrogantly threatening anyone
that challenges his authority, Rep. Jack Murtha is the 2007 Porker of
the Year. More information on the winner and finalists can be found on
CAGW's blog swineline.org/porkeroftheyear.
Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest
nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is
a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and
political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the
interests of taxpayers.
CAGW
Leslie K. Paige, 202-467-5334
Alexa Moutevelis, 202-467-5318
Copyright Business Wire 2008
