Ford City, Pa. – Rep. John P. Murtha‘s record of bringing home money from Washington — at a current rate of $100 million a year — has become the envy of Capitol Hill colleagues and a subject of grateful awe in a stretch of Pennsylvania desperate for new jobs. In Congress, Murtha beats everybody in loading legislation with earmarks, federal funds steered to chosen contractors without the usual reviews.
But after two decades of Murtha-directed federal investment here, a look at the results shows the congressman’s promises of jobs often fall short. In some cases, the federal government has spent more than $1 million to create each new position.
Of 16 local companies Murtha has helped win earmarks, a Washington Post analysis shows, 10 have generated far fewer jobs than forecast by Murtha and corporate leaders, and half of those firms already have closed operations in his district. On the positive side, four firms expanded dramatically with the help, although their success has sometimes been fleeting. Scores of jobs generated by Murtha earmarks began disappearing soon after projects were completed.
The results show how inefficient lawmakers’ pork-barrel spending can be in producing sustained employment, the goal often cited by Murtha and other members of Congress. Amid one of the worst recessions in modern times, these results add to the long-standing Washington debate over the wisdom of parceling out taxpayer money in an ad-hoc system shaped by favoritism and political muscle.
“If you looked at Congressman Murtha’s efforts in the same way you look at an investor’s efforts, it’s easy to see that the business model originally conceived hasn’t really panned out in terms of its rate of return,” said Peter Fiske, a former defense executive in Murtha’s district. Fiske helped found RAPT Industries, a company that Murtha once forecast would generate 45 new jobs. It shuttered its four-person office earlier this year.
Read the full Washington Post article here
Tags: John Murtha
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