John Murtha’s disgraceful use and abuse of the Haditha Marines was certainly the low point in congressional behavior during the war on terror.
Now, Murtha (D-PA) is trying to add another title to his list of accomplishments, this time, as the Biggest Porker in Congress.
Good for the New York Times for reporting this,
Mr. Murtha led all House members this year, securing $162 million in district favors, according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. In all, eager members in both houses enacted 11,144 earmarks, worth $15 billion. Taxpayers may be inured to $113,000 for rodent control in Alaska or a million for Idaho’s weed management. Mr. Murtha’s universe is a far more complicated and costly creation of interlocking contractors who continue to feed at the public trough despite reviews questioning their performance…
… Every one of the 26 beneficiaries of Mr. Murtha’s earmarks in last year’s defense budget made contributions to his campaign kitty, a total of $413,250, according to the newspaper Roll Call.