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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (86288)	6/21/2010 12:58:30 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 224750

By NATHAN HODGE JOHNSTOWN, Pa.—This was once a town that fed at the trough of pork-barrel politics. Now it's contemplating life on a diet. Democratic Rep. John Murtha steered billions of federal dollars to this former steel town in western Pennsylvania during his decades in office. He was adept at using earmarks—special-interest provisions attached to spending bills—to fund projects back home. Defense contractors opened facilities here to win a share of the federal largess Mr. Murtha spread around his district. But Johnstown's future as a defense-contracting hub is in doubt following Mr. Murtha's death in February. Democratic Rep. Mark Critz, who was Mr. Murtha's economic-development adviser, won a special election in May to fill his House seat, but readily acknowledges he is no Jack Murtha. Current pushes for budget cutting at the Pentagon and more transparency in Washington also pose a threat to Johnstown's status. Mr. Critz won some important committee assignments, including a seat on the House Armed Services Committee. But his predecessor's immense power flowed in part from his chairmanship of the House subcommittee that controls defense spending bills. Mr. Critz didn't secure a seat on that panel, but said he would maintain Mr. Murtha's support for a robust defense industry. Mr. Critz "goes in as a freshman—we know he's not going to have that kind of influence," said Dan DeVos, a member of the board of Concurrent Technologies Corp., a nonprofit research firm that was a focal point of Mr. Murtha's efforts to build up the local defense industry. But Mr. Critz is "very well respected through the district, and he's very knowledgeable," Mr. DeVos said. Even if Mr. Critz were to amass some of his predecessor's clout over defense spending, efforts to bring the earmarks process into the sunlight could affect places like Johnstown. Defense earmarks in the past were often shrouded in secrecy, as Congress generally didn't publicize comprehensive information about who was requesting them. After Democrats took control of Capitol Hill in 2006, Congress adopted new earmark-disclosure rules. In March of this year, Rep. David Obey (D., Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced a further push to clean up the process, saying his committee would institute a ban on earmarks for for-profit companies.