I suspect there will be some sort of fallout from this here:
More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.
“It shows you how good they were,” said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator at the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “The sheer coordination of that would take an army to finish.”
PMA’s offices have been raided, and the firm closed its political action committee last week amid reports that the FBI is investigating possibly illegal campaign contributions to Murtha and other lawmakers.
No matter what the outcome of the federal investigation, PMA’s earmark success illustrates how a well-connected lobbying firm operates on Capitol Hill. And earmark accountability rules imposed by the Democrats in 2007 make it possible to see how extensively PMA worked the Hill for its clients.
In the spending bill managed by Murtha, the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriation, 104 House members got earmarks for projects sought by PMA clients, according to Congressional Quarterly’s analysis of a database constructed by Ashdown’s group.
Those House members, plus a handful of senators, combined to route nearly $300 million in public money to clients of PMA through that one law (PL 110-116).
And when the lawmakers were in need — as they all are to finance their campaigns — PMA came through for them.
According to CQ MoneyLine, the same House members who took responsibility for PMA’s earmarks in that spending bill have, since 2001, accepted a cumulative $1,815,138 in campaign contributions from PMA’s political action committee and employees of the firm.
via CQ Politics | Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House.
I will simply say this, that ALL of the members of the House and Senate involved with this should resign immediately. This is a disgrace to the political system and should be dealt with harshly; that goes for Democrats AND Republicans.
Update: Here’s the list of people with their hands in the cookie jar:
Bold = Member Did Not Receive PMA Money between 2001 and 2008
* = No Longer Serving in the House
# = Member of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the 110th Congress
Democrats
| Requesting Member | State | $ Secured Solo | $ Secured w/Others | Total Credited | PMA campaign $ since 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter J. Visclosky# | Indiana | $21,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $23,800,000 | $219,000 |
| John P. Murtha# | Pennsylvania | $31,705,000 | $2,400,000 | $34,105,000 | $143,600 |
| James P. Moran# | Virginia | $8,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $10,800,000 | $125,250 |
| Norm Dicks# | Washington | $11,330,000 | $800,000 | $12,130,000 | $91,600 |
| Bill Pascrell Jr. | New Jersey | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $73,200 | |
| Mike Doyle | Pennsylvania | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $69,400 | |
| Loretta Sanchez | California | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | $60,118 | |
| Tim Holden | Pennsylvania | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | $57,275 | |
| Tim Ryan | Ohio | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $54,250 | |
| Michael E. Capuano | Massachusetts | $2,000,000 | $800,000 | $2,800,000 | $54,000 |
| Chet Edwards | Texas | $6,040,000 | $6,040,000 | $48,734 | |
| Silvestre Reyes | Texas | $800,000 | $800,000 | $42,300 | |
| Christopher Carney | Pennsylvania | $5,900,000 | $5,900,000 | $38,500 | |
| Paul E. Kanjorski | Pennsylvania | $1,600,000 | $3,200,000 | $4,800,000 | $37,150 |
| Marcy Kaptur# | Ohio | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $34,500 | |
| Carolyn McCarthy | New York | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $31,500 | |
| Patrick J. Murphy | Pennsylvania | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $29,250 | |
| Allyson Y. Schwartz | Pennsylvania | $800,000 | $800,000 | $25,000 | |
| Jason Altmire | Pennsylvania | $2,600,000 | $2,600,000 | $24,500 | |
| Brad Sherman | California | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $15,500 | |
| Susan A. Davis | California | $800,000 | $800,000 | $13,750 | |
| Allen Boyd# | Florida | $6,400,000 | $2,200,000 | $8,600,000 | $12,000 |
| Sanford D. Bishop Jr.# | Georgia | $1,200,000 | $2,400,000 | $3,600,000 | $10,500 |
| Jane Harman | California | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $10,500 | |
| Jim Matheson | Utah | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $10,000 | |
| Steve Israel | New York | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $8,500 | |
| Jerrold Nadler | New York | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $8,500 | |
| Joe Sestak | Pennsylvania | $1,280,000 | $1,280,000 | $8,500 | |
| Jim Marshall | Georgia | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $7,000 | |
| Mark Udall* | Colorado | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $6,533 | |
| Michael H. Michaud | Maine | $800,000 | $800,000 | $6,500 | |
| Tom Allen* | Maine | $1,800,000 | $1,800,000 | $5,750 | |
| Danny K. Davis | Illinois | $295,000 | $295,000 | $5,500 | |
| Robert E. Andrews | New Jersey | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | $5,000 | |
| Gene Taylor | Mississippi | $800,000 | $800,000 | $4,750 | |
| Nancy Pelosi | California | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $4,500 | |
| David E. Price | North Carolina | $800,000 | $800,000 | $4,000 | |
| Steven R. Rothman# | New Jersey | $800,000 | $2,400,000 | $3,200,000 | $4,000 |
| Brian Higgins | New York | $3,400,000 | $3,400,000 | $3,000 | |
| Brad Miller | North Carolina | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,250 | |
| Brad Ellsworth | Indiana | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $2,000 | |
| Ed Perlmutter | Colorado | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $2,000 | |
| Phil Hare | Illinois | $6,800,000 | $6,800,000 | $1,500 | |
| Martin Meehan* | Massachusetts | $2,800,000 | $2,800,000 | $1,500 | |
| Howard L. Berman | California | $800,000 | $800,000 | $1,000 | |
| Carolyn B. Maloney | New York | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | $1,000 | |
| Ben Chandler | Kentucky | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $250 | |
| Shelley Berkley | Nevada | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | ||
| Dan Boren | Oklahoma | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | ||
| Leonard L. Boswell | Iowa | $1,650,000 | $1,650,000 | ||
| Baron P. Hill | Indiana | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | ||
| Gwen Moore | Wisconsin | $400,000 | $400,000 | ||
| Christopher S. Murphy | Connecticut | $400,000 | $400,000 | ||
| Mike Thompson | California | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
Republicans
| Requesting Member | State | $ Secured Solo | $ Secured w/Others | Total Credited | PMA campaign $ since 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David L. Hobson*# | Ohio | $3,500,000 | $3,500,000 | $70,050 | |
| Jerry Lewis | California | $4,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $34,649 |
| Rodney Frelinghuysen# | New Jersey | $2,500,000 | $4,800,000 | $7,300,000 | $29,129 |
| Ander Crenshaw | Florida | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $27,300 | |
| Zach Wamp | Tennessee | $2,800,000 | $2,800,000 | $23,900 | |
| Todd Tiahrt# | Kansas | $5,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $7,000,000 | $21,250 |
| Tom Reynolds* | New York | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $12,000 | |
| Jack Kingston# | Georgia | $4,000,000 | $2,400,000 | $6,400,000 | $11,500 |
| H. James Saxton* | New Jersey | $2,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $3,500,000 | $11,500 |
| Jo Ann Emerson | Missouri | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $11,000 | |
| C.W. Bill Young# | Florida | $16,000,000 | $4,400,000 | $20,400,000 | $10,750 |
| Howard P. “Buck” McKeon | California | $1,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $9,500 |
| Heather Wilson* | New Mexico | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | $9,000 | |
| Jim Walsh* | New York | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $8,500 | |
| Mark Steven Kirk | Illinois | $390,000 | $390,000 | $7,750 | |
| Todd Akin | Missouri | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $7,500 | |
| Ray LaHood* | Illinois | $7,800,000 | $7,800,000 | $7,450 | |
| Jeff Miller | Florida | $1,600,000 | $2,200,000 | $3,800,000 | $7,000 |
| Duncan Hunter* | California | $15,200,000 | $15,200,000 | $6,500 | |
| Chris Cannon* | Utah | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $6,000 | |
| Kay Granger | Texas | $3,600,000 | $3,600,000 | $6,000 | |
| Joe Knollenberg* | Michigan | $2,800,000 | $2,800,000 | $6,000 | |
| David Dreier | California | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $5,000 | |
| Jim Gerlach | Pennsylvania | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $4,500 | |
| Tom Latham | Iowa | $5,150,000 | $5,150,000 | $4,500 | |
| Joe L. Barton | Texas | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $4,000 | |
| J. Dennis Hastert* | Illinois | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $3,500 | |
| Roscoe G. Bartlett | Maryland | $400,000 | $400,000 | $3,000 | |
| Peter Hoekstra | Michigan | $3,700,000 | $3,700,000 | $2,500 | |
| Howard Coble | North Carolina | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000 | |
| John T. Doolittle* | California | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $2,000 | |
| Kenny Hulshof* | Missouri | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $2,000 | |
| Steve Pearce* | New Mexico | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | $2,000 | |
| Bill Shuster | Pennsylvania | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $2,000 | |
| Frank A. LoBiondo | New Jersey | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,500 | |
| Rob Bishop | Utah | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $1,000 | |
| Geoff Davis | Kentucky | $6,800,000 | $6,800,000 | $1,000 | |
| Virgil H. Goode Jr.* | Virginia | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $1,000 | |
| Doug Lamborn | Colorado | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000 | |
| Kenny Marchant | Texas | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $1,000 | |
| Christopher Shays* | Connecticut | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $1,000 | |
| John Sullivan | Oklahoma | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000 | |
| Tom Tancredo* | Colorado | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | $1,000 | |
| Michael C. Burgess | Texas | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | $500 | |
| Ralph M. Hall | Texas | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | ||
| Doc Hastings | Washington | $1,600,000 | $1,600,000 | ||
| Sam Johnson | Texas | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 | ||
| Todd R. Platts | Pennsylvania | $4,400,000 | $4,400,000 | ||
| Rick Renzi* | Arizona | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | ||
| Pete Sessions | Texas | $1,600,000 | $4,800,000 | $6,400,000 |
Wow. Can’t wait for the fallout.
Others: The Swamp, NPR, Outside The Beltway, The Washington Independent, Liberty Street, Right Wing Nut House, Betsy’s Page, Hot Air, Wizbang, Taegan Goddard’s …, Riehl World View, Sister Toldjah, Michelle Malkin and QandO