Corruption watch: System of congressional earmarks for campaign contributions “corrupt as hell.”

The Center for Public Integrity just released a report finding that twelve of the sixteen members of the influential House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, including chairman John Murtha (D-PA), are involved in the ethically-challenged practice of rewarding former staffers and personal friends cum lobbyists with over $100 million of defense earmarks in 2008 alone. Earmarks are an annual ritual during the appropriations season whereby hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are diverted to reward the most connected contractors in a way that circumvents competition requirements for contract award.  Because earmarks are specifically written into an appropriations bill and take on the force of law, they allow the business competitors of earmark beneficiaries zero legal recourse.  Worse yet, earmarks take away from the total defense budget for operations and maintenance (O&M) to procure items or services that are frequently neither suitable nor required by our men and women in uniform.

From The Center for Public Integrity's "The Murtha Method":

“The Secretary believes there is a very real tradeoff with very real consequences when Congress adds money we didn’t ask for,” said Geoff Morell, the Pentagon’s press secretary, because “in an era of constraint which we’re entering, congressional additions are causing us to take money from programs that we view as more important.”

“So it comes at a cost to us, even if the up-front money is appropriated above and beyond what our budget request is,” Morell said. He used as an example the C-17 cargo plane, which has been repeatedly added to the defense budget the past several years. “Despite the fact that it’s a terrific plane, we have enough of them,” he said. And it’s not just about buying more planes. “Once they’re bought,” he added, “we have to maintain them, we have to staff them, and provide logistics.”

Former Senate staffer Wheeler goes farther. He says that earmarks are rarely additions to the budget, but are often funded by reducing the Defense Department’s operations and maintenance accounts — critical accounts used to keep troops supplied and trained and to repair vehicles and equipment

Of course, the flowing generosity of our elected representatives (on both sides of the aisle) is to be reciprocated in kind by the corporate beneficiaries of earmarks. It’s a simple formula really:  public money goes OUT to defense contractors in the form of earmarks courtesy of lobbyist friends and former-staffers of our members of Congress… and (presto) “private” money comes back IN the politicians' coffers in the form of “campaign contributions” from the same contractors and lobbyists. 

The Takeaways: In any industry other than politics, the practice of "earmarks" might easily be confused with a kickback or a money laundering scheme. Sphere: Related Content