Ethics list heavy on defense spenders
By: Jonathan Allen
October 30, 2009 11:00 AM EST

Seven members of the powerful House panel that handles the Pentagon's purse — and the lucrative earmarks inside — have been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, according to an internal ethics committee document obtained by The Washington Post.

The list includes the names of the five most senior defense appropriators from the majority Democratic side — Reps. John Murtha, Norm Dicks, Peter Visclosky, Jim Moran and Marcy Kaptur — as well as the ranking Republican on the committee, Bill Young of Florida, and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), who is in the midst of a tough primary battle for the Senate seat being left open by retiring Sen. Sam Brownback.

Murtha, Dicks, Visclosky and Moran all have strong ties to a defunct lobbying firm, the PMA Group, whose founder, former appropriations aide Paul Magliocchetti, is being investigated by the FBI over questions of whether he used "straw donors" to exceed campaign-giving limits. He and nine members of his family, including a minor-league baseball ticket-seller, a Fairfax County cop and a Fairfax County schoolteacher, poured $1.5 million into congressional campaigns between 2000 and 2008, according to a CQ study of campaign finance, property and marriage records that was published in March.

Because the Pentagon's budget is so big and the financial stakes are so high — for the companies, universities and nonprofit organizations that seek earmarks; the lobbyist-fundraisers who act as liaisons to Congress for a small slice of the action; and the lawmakers who need contributions from both sources to fund their own campaigns and help colleagues — defense appropriators make an attractive target for investigators.

So far, Visclosky is the only member of the subcommittee to receive a federal subpoena, but the names of Murtha, Moran and Dicks have surfaced in news reports about the PMA investigation. The lobbying firm specialized in using its relationships with defense appropriators — several of its employees had worked for members of the subcommittee — to secure earmarks for its clients.

The scope of the lobbying firm's success in earmarking money for clients was breathtaking. In the fiscal 2008 defense appropriations bill alone, PMA clients received $300 million in earmarks, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Visclosky got $219,000 in PMA contributions between 2001 and 2008, and he was credited with securing $23.8 million for the company's clients in the 2008 bill. Murtha got $143,600 in campaign money and earmarked $34.1 million for PMA clients. Moran got $125,250 and earmarked $10.8 million. Dicks took in $91,600 and earmarked $12.1 million.

Many of the other top earmarkers for PMA clients — and recipients of its campaign cash — sit in a cluster around Murtha in the southeast corner of the House chamber.

Kaptur, Young and Tiahrt do not have obvious connections to PMA that Murtha, Moran, Visclosky and Dicks do, suggesting that the ethics committee may have seen red flags in activity beyond the lobbying group at the center of the federal investigation — although the committee’s chairs have also cautioned against reading too much into the leaked document.

Efforts by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to force an ethics investigation of the relationship between earmarks and campaign contributions were thwarted by House Democrats several times this year.

But Democrats said a nonbinding referral of a Democratic-written resolution to the ethics committee on the matter would serve as a signal from the House to the panel that it should look into the PMA matter. The referral of the resolution, sponsored by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, gave nervous Democrats the ability to say they had voted to refer the matter to the ethics committee — even though the panel was under no obligation to act.

Now, it appears, at least an embryonic-level inquiry was undertaken.

The Democratic Party needs to purge itself of those in debt to the military industrial complex...so, let's get the party started!

Registered Voter...a Big talking coward..big man on FFXU...little man in life.

Vince(1) Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Democratic Party needs to purge itself of
> those in debt to the military industrial
> complex...so, let's get the party started!

PETA lackeys and anti-2nd Amendment nutjobs too.

Vince(1) Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Democratic Party needs to purge itself of
> those in debt to the military industrial
> complex...so, let's get the party started!


Damn, I actually agree.

Santa Claus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ethics list heavy on defense spenders
> By: Jonathan Allen
> October 30, 2009 11:00 AM EST
>
He and nine
> members of his family, including a minor-league
> baseball ticket-seller, a Fairfax County cop and a
> Fairfax County schoolteacher, poured $1.5 million
> into congressional campaigns between 2000 and
> 2008, according to a CQ study of campaign finance,
> property and marriage records that was published
> in March.


Fairfax County Schoolteacher??????

Finally! hope Jim Moron gets thrown out of office...
he caters to the lib crowd and illegals...

linda louu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Finally! hope Jim Moron gets thrown out of
> office...
> he caters to the lib crowd and illegals...


For real. He also enjoys cussing out and mocking his constituents. He needs to be tossed already, he's a real scum bag.

linda louu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Finally! hope Jim Moron gets thrown out of
> office...
> he caters to the lib crowd and illegals...


This isn't Moran's first "indiscretion." He's still in office, and a little more "quid pro quo" won't make a difference in the next election.

American voters EXPECT their Congressional representatives to make a little extra money on the side. It's been going on for so long, both the voters and Congress consider it "part of the job."

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> linda louu Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Finally! hope Jim Moron gets thrown out of
> > office...
> > he caters to the lib crowd and illegals...
>
>
> This isn't Moran's first "indiscretion." He's
> still in office, and a little more "quid pro quo"
> won't make a difference in the next election.
>
> American voters EXPECT their Congressional
> representatives to make a little extra money on
> the side. It's been going on for so long, both
> the voters and Congress consider it "part of the
> job."

Something that always amazes me about Moran is that he is always re-elected by
an overwhelming majority in his District. Having once lived in S. Arlington,
it wasn't long before I came to the conclusion that his electorate is just as
irresponsible as he is. They will vote for a Democrat no matter who is on the
ticket without question. Stupid.

Santa Claus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Something that always amazes me about Moran is
> that he is always re-elected by
> an overwhelming majority in his District. Having
> once lived in S. Arlington,
> it wasn't long before I came to the conclusion
> that his electorate is just as
> irresponsible as he is. They will vote for a
> Democrat no matter who is on the
> ticket without question. Stupid.

+1

Unfortunately, it's not illegal to vote stupid!

Profile:

Jim Moran resides in a strongly Democratic district bordering Washington, D.C., and remains a popular figure despite a number of gaffes and ethical questions about his finances.

He was forced out of his party leadership post in 2003 after a furor over his remarks that American Jews were pushing the nation toward a war with Iraq. He agreed to step down from his position as regional whip at the insistence of Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

It was the latest in a string of embarrassing revelations for Moran.

In 2002, The Washington Post disclosed that Moran vigorously lobbied for bankruptcy reform legislation shortly after receiving an unusual deal to restructure the debt he owed to a bank that supported the measure. Moran denied his activity violated ethics laws and he was not charged with any wrongdoing.

A bizarre case surfaced in 2000 when Moran grabbed an 8-year-old boy after the boy claimed to have a gun and demanded his car keys. The boy and his parents said the child was only admiring Moran's car when Moran grabbed him.

Also, a week before the 2000 election, The Washington Post disclosed that Moran accepted an unsecured $25,000 personal loan from a lobbyist who ran for Congress. In a filing, he also disclosed his acceptance of a $50,000 loan from America Online founder James Kimsey in January, 2001. He said he repaid it with interest in three months.

Mary Moran, the congressman's wife for 11 years, filed for divorce in 1999, one day after placing an emergency call to police during a domestic argument at the couple's Alexandria home in late June. No charges were filed, and Moran brought his own divorce complaint three weeks later. In their court filings, each blamed the other for money problems that mounted after their daughter was diagnosed at age 2 with brain and spinal cancer.

Moran's temper has flared numerous times during his years in Congress. He made headlines during President Clinton's impeachment debate by saying that, if he was Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother, he would have punched the president — a political ally — in the nose.

Moran has been consistently faithful to Democratic positions. He voted for a ban on assault-style weapons, the Clinton budgets and introduced legislation in 2004 to ban the commercial sale of .50-caliber rifles, which he described as military-grade weapons less regulated than handguns.

However, Moran favored legislation that would expand the death penalty for federal crimes and shorten the appeals process for condemned prisoners. Moran also worked for women's issues and co-sponsored a bill to give more discretionary power to police officers on the beat.

Moran serves on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

The American Conservative Union gave his 2005 voting record a score of 4 points out of 100. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 90 points.
Campaigns:

James Moran was elected to the U.S. House in 1990, ousting eight-term incumbent Stan Parris with 52 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 1992 with 57 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Kyle McSlarrow. He defeated McSlarrow again in 1994 with 59 percent. In 1996, he was re-elected with 66 percent of the vote, defeating Republican James Otey. In 1998 and 2000, he handily defeated Republican Demaris Miller.He was re-elected in 2002 and 2004 with 60 percent of the vote, but only after spending about $900,000 to survive a close primary challenge in 2004.Moran was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 1979. He became vice mayor in 1982 because he was the highest vote-getter in the council elections that year. In 1985, he won his first three-year term as mayor and was re-elected in 1988.

Thank you Santa Claus for your list of the never ending embarrassment that is Jim Moran, On Policy Issues Moran is more likely to engage in insulting his constituents and is incapable of an intellectual discussion. He clearly lacks the ability to be a leader representing his district, rather he follows those who belive that Rebublicans are the taliban, Redistribution of wealth will not cause the job losses, and that cap and trade and the restriction of domestic energy production must be maitained and tax payer money transferred to "research" on new technologies.

Mr. Moran has had many MACACA monents yet is given a pass by the elocorate in a gerry-mandered district. Perhaps our new Governor can adjust the District if Moran is not defeaated on 2010, I call on all thinking residents of the 8th District to defeat Jim Moran, the sooner the better!