That May Be Legal, But Is It Right?
Keith Capp of the National Taxpayers Union, blogging at Government Bytes, has a nice analysis of the return on investment of the campaign contributions of one lobbying firm.
Capp reports on a study done by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call (subscription required) in conjunction with Taxpayers for Common Sense. The study looked at the earmarks offered by three Democrat members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and found:
“Representatives John Murtha, Jim Moran, and Peter Visclosky have received 26% of their total campaign contributions from PMA and its clients who received earmarks in the 2008.Defense spending bill from the Representatives.”
Capp is correct in criticizing the recently passed earmark and lobbying reform bill. We agree with him that Members of Congress should not receive campaign contributions from companies or organizations that they obtain earmarks for although we would go further. Earmarks themselves should be banned!
Taxpayers for Common Sense released a press release last week that summarizes the $3 billion in disclosed earmarks included in the Defense bill. TCS also found 70 undisclosed earmarks that totaled $3.5 billion.
Finally, Capp includes a link to The Hill newspaper in his post, which shows just how cozy a relationship exists between lobbyists and members of appropriations committees:
“Out of (the PMA Group’s) team of 35 lobbyists, at least 30 have worked on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, or both.”
As Amity Shlaes writes in her new book The Forgotten Man, taxpayers are indeed today's forgotten people.