Watchdog group: Murtha should lose chairmanship

A government watchdog group called for Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.) to step down as chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee over allegations that Murtha inappropriately directed earmarks to a contributor.

“It is past time for Congress to put an end to Rep. Murtha’s friends and family program,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) executive director Melanie Sloan said in a statement. “At a time when there are so many competing priorities for scarce taxpayer dollars, we cannot afford to let Rep. Murtha continue wasting our money on unnecessary projects that do little more than secure his power base.”

Murtha has come under fire for his relationship with now-shuttered lobbying group PMA, to whose clients he allegedly sponsored earmarks while receiving hefty donations from PMA employees for his campaign efforts.

The Washington Post also reported Monday that Murtha’s nephew, a defense contractor, had played up his uncle’s position while seeking to win government contracts.

“Although the House has long turned a blind eye to Rep. Murtha’s feckless conduct, thankfully the Justice Department is on the case,” Sloan said. “How many more stories must appear before Rep. Murtha is forced from his perch as chairman of Defense Appropriations and denied further opportunity to feather his own nest?”