Legislative Clout

Earmarks continue to be a never ending dual edged sword. In Northeastern Pennsylvania we've come to expect our fair share of state and federal tax dollars for projects that are vital. However, when it is not our municipality named as beneficiary we tend to say earmarks should be stopped "for the other guy". In this article by BORYS KRAWCZENIUK of the Times-Tribune he examines the possible loss to our region of the legislative clout traditionally attributed to the money flow in their districts.

In the legislative halls of Harrisburg and Washington, seniority matters.

Seniority means clout, and come January, Northeast Pennsylvania will lose a lot of both.

Six long-serving legislators, people who have served in the state General Assembly and Congress for decades, will leave office for good, defeated in re-election bids or simply retiring

State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-120, Kingston, one of the re-elected veteran legislators who will begin her third decade in office, said "bringing home the bacon" will be a lot harder.

"Seniority matters in Harrisburg as it does in Washington. It just does," Ms. Mundy said.

Seniority is more than being able to get things done more quickly because of your stature, she said.

"It's institutional knowledge. It's knowing who to call and where to go," she said.

Mundy is somewhat right and wrong in her assessment. Going forward Pennsylvania is looking at a $5 billion budget deficit. Where is the money going to come from to pay for the "pet projects"? She might argue that her seniority means she will be able to wield a little clout but does that really?

Freshman representatives and congressmen are going to be at the same trough as Phyllis Mundy. First and foremost they are already looking at re-election. Parties who want to hold onto specific seats will make sure these freshmen get their "share" to protect the seat although the total amount of money available to each agency will be reduced.

To counter KRAWCZENIUK's point let's examine the amount of money brought in by Chris Carney in the last three years vs. Paul Kanjorski. As you know Carney was elected three years ago to the 10th district seat. Kanjorski was elected in 1984. He ended his career in a loss to Lou Barletta on November 2nd.

If you go here and check the earmarks for all 19 Pennsylvania Congressmen some interesting statistics emerge.

For 2008, 2009, and 2010 Carney brought in $32,096,000 worth of solo earmarks to $10,174,000 for Kanjorski. If you look at solo earmarks with others for the three years combined Carney beat Kanjorski $69,421,000 to $53,682,000. Some seniority edge.

If you take the entire Pennsylvania delegation(including changes in who occupies the seat) and rank them according to money brought in on solo earmarks Kanjorski is almost at the bottom of the barrel 2008- 16 out of 19 bringing in $2,955,000, 2009- 16 out of 19 but two Congressmen, Altmire and Platts took none so really 16 out of 17 bringing in $3,119,00, and 2010 14 out of 19 with Pitts credited with nothing so 14 out of 18 bringing in $4,100,000.

Krawzceniuk's writing
26 years in the House, the second-ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and chairman of its Capital Markets Subcommittee

So what were we really getting? Think about it. Cornerstone Technologies secured $10 million just slightly less than three years worth of district credit. When you add the $400 million loan guarantee for Abound Solar tell me his tenure wasn't more about his family and himself than his district.

General Dynamics- Tax Free Scranton Site Comes With Earmarks Too!

Today's Times Tribune features a news analysis article by Josh Mrozinski detailing that 1,204 properties in Scranton out of 27.037 enjoy tax-exempt status. One of those properties houses General Dynamics, a self described, market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat vehicles and systems, armaments, and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and mission-critical information systems and technologies. The Scranton facility is listed as a "Land Systems" plant.

Between 2006 and 2009, mammoth defense contractor General Dynamics secured more than $380 million in government contracts for its nearly 700,000-square-foot facility on South Washington Avenue in Scranton.

With an assessed value of more than $5.5 million, the former Chamberlain Corp. property would generate nearly $694,000 annually in taxes for the city, or about $2.7 million over four years. Lackawanna County and the Scranton School District would annually receive about $220,882 and $603,529, respectively.

The Virginia-based multibillion-dollar contractor pays no property taxes on its Scranton facility, however, because the land is owned by the federal government, rendering it tax-exempt. It also does not pay the city's mercantile tax, which exempts manufacturers. General Dynamics is also exempt from paying sales tax, because it makes products for the federal government.

Aside from being off the tax rolls, the facility, which employs 349 people, has cost the city in additional services, including heightened police protection after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mayor Chris Doherty said. The mayor said he plans to approach the company about making payments in lieu of taxes, a longstanding issue in the city that was thrust back into the headlines by city council's recent clash with the University of Scranton over an easement needed for a $33 million dormitory project in the 900 block of Mulberry Street.

The university withdrew its request for the easement after council made approval contingent upon the school increasing its payment in lieu of taxes. The university raised its voluntary payment nearly 60 percent to $175,000 a year, far short of council's demand of $1 million over four years.

Council President Janet Evans and the lawmakers' solicitor, Boyd Hughes, did not return phone calls for comment. The council majority previously has said that it intends to seek payments in lieu of taxes from the city's tax-exempt organizations. Scranton School Board member Chris Phillips said the school district does not receive payments in lieu of taxes from any tax-exempt organization.

General Dynamics' position as a for-profit company operating on a tax-exempt property highlights the complexities of local property taxation and exemptions in Scranton. It also is part of a system in which regulations and limited resources hamper local authorities in their oversight of tax-exempt properties.

Mrzonski penned another article pointing out new legislation introduced in Harrisburg to address some of the concerns of municipalities with tax-exempt properties.

State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-136, Easton, has authored HB 2018 - known as the Tax Exempt Property Municipal Assistance Fund.

The bill would direct state liquor tax revenue to a fund for municipalties to offset revenue lost on tax-exempt properties.

The measure is a "very reasonable use of the money" because the tax is no longer used for its original purpose, rebuilding Johnstown after disastrous flooding in 1889, Mr. Freeman said. He plans to reintroduce the bill in the next session.

The Senate Finance Committee is also considering a measure that would amend the state Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act. The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-42, Brookline, would allow local governments to levy an "essential services fee" annually on exempt property claimed by a purely public charity. The fee can't exceed $100 per every 1,000 square feet under the legislation.

Yesterday I wrote about Paul Kanjorski and the earmark he secured for SCHOTT North America despite the fact the company settled an EEOC complaint of sexual discrimination for $1.45 million last year.

A look at the same report from OpenSecrets.org shows that General Dynamics was a beneficiary of a 2.8 million earmark supplied by Paul Kanjorski for fiscal year 2010. For fiscal year 2009 there is a $1.92 million earmark to General Dynamics as well as $3.2 million for 2008.

While the property housing General Dynamics, a for profit company, enjoys tax free status the City of Scranton remains under Act 47 since 1992 losing out on millions in lost tax revenue. Taxpayers have funneled $380 million in government contracts to General Dynamics at the same time.

I am sure Kanjorski's district isn't the only one with this issue but he surely can't be blind to it either. I hear alot of chatter about KOZ but isn't this a similar situation?

Under Freeman's proposal General Dynamics would have paid $2.1 million to the City of Scranton while it earned $380 million in government contracts. Not a bad trade off. I am sure the Firefighter's Union which hasn't had a pay raise in years would benefit from such a requirement.

Earmarks Are Alive And Well With Kanjorski And Carney

The two congressmen who represent the Poconos each brought between $17 million and $21 million in earmarks for their home districts in fiscal year 2010, but only one delivered some of that money to Monroe County. The article was written by Michael Sadowski of the Pocono Record.

Kanjorski Like Soup Nazi to Hazleton- No Money For You

As part of Barack Obama's pledge to bring transparency to government an online database has been created where Joe Taxpayer can search for earmark requests by his Congressman. Here are Paul Kanjorski's requests.

There are 74 projects in all totaling $142 million according to Josh Drobnyk at the Morning Call. He has requested $700,000.00 for the Castle Auditorium project. There is another $162,127.00 request for a Breast Coil and Biopsy package for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine located at the Hazleton Health and Wellness Center. However the Health and Wellness Center is located in Hazle Township.

Out of $142 million the City of Hazleton receives nothing, nada, not a dime. Keep in mind that the Castle project belongs to the Hazleton Area School district. That request only represents four tenth's of one percent of the total amount.

He is seeking $3 million for the New Jersey Transit under the guise of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Passenger Rail Restoration Project.

Murtha Goes After Earmarks When Effort To Investigate Is Thwarted

CBSnews.com

President Obama, is really the change you said you were going to bring to Washington?

On March 11, 2009 Obama signed the $410 Billion Congressional earmark spending bill in hiding. From the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis- President Obama said on Wednesday that he will sign an "imperfect" spending bill packed with special projects in order to keep government running, but he vowed that it will be the last one and proposed ways to curb lawmakers from abusing the process in the future.

Evidently nobody told John Murtha. According to CBSnews.com Murtha wants another $134 million in earmarks for his district. He posted the requests on his website.

From CBSnews.com: Four of the earmark requests from Murtha’s office are for current or former clients of a lobbying firm, the PMA Group, that is currently under federal investigation for connection to possible "straw" donations to Murtha and other Democratic members of the House.

PMA Group clients include: Advanced Acoustic Concepts ($5 million request), Argon ST ($8 million request), MTS Technologies, Inc. ($5 million request) and Planning Systems Inc. ($2.3 million request).

Two requests totaling $3.7 million are for Pennsylvania State University, but the Murtha's office says they are not intended for the Electro Optic Center (EOC) in Freeport, Pa. which has received millions in defense contracts and has been the subject of recent scrutiny by the FBI.

Please refer to my previous post where Kanjo and Carney voted to table a motion to investigate (1) the source and timing of past campaign contributions to Members of the House related to the raided prominent defense-lobbying firm; and (2) earmark requests made by Members on behalf of the firm's clients.

While a number of entities with connections to Murtha are under federal law enforcement scrutiny, Murtha himself has not been named as the target of the investigation.

President Obama, what was that about proposing ways to prevent lawmakers from abusing the process. Kanjorski and ethics is like oil and water. And Carney should know better.

Oh, one other minor detail. Murtha missed a deadline to start disclosing his ties to political action committees(PACs) as required by law. From CQ Politics: Some senior congressional appropriators are among those with known connections to committees that did not register as leadership PACs, until after being asked about missing the deadline. They include: Reps. John P. Murtha , D-Pa.,

Do you recall when Murtha called his constituents "rednecks" and "racists" last fall?

Advice From Murtha Allies Guided Funding Requests, Documents Show

The Washington Post is reporting Electro-Optics Center relied on advice from a long time Murtha friend who now is an employee of the Congressman.

By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 17, 2009; A06

A Pennsylvania defense research center regularly consulted with two "handlers" close to Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) as it collected nearly $250 million in federal funding through the lawmaker, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and sources familiar with the funding requests. The center then channeled a significant portion of the funding to companies that were among Murtha's campaign supporters.

The two advisers included a lobbyist for PMA Group, a firm with close ties to Murtha that is the subject of a federal investigation into whether it made illegal contributions by reimbursing donors to the Pennsylvania lawmaker and other members of Congress. The Electro-Optics Center also relied on advice from a longtime Murtha friend who now works on the congressman's appropriations staff.

Federal agents are also exploring how the center obtained its funds after they received dozens of internal documents last year. It is unclear whether the records have become a central focus of the Justice Department's probe, but they open a window into a largely hidden process in which powerful lawmakers can direct funds to pet projects.

The Electro-Optics Center, created by Murtha a decade ago under the auspices of Pennsylvania State University, was envisioned as a way to spur a new high-tech industry and create jobs in economically depressed western Pennsylvania. Last year, the U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh received a packet of budget materials, memos and e-mails from inside the center documenting how closely its managers conferred with PMA about the best ways to get its projects funded in the federal budget, according to two sources familiar with the information.

The center was supposed to help contractors in researching laser and optics technology to improve products for the military, and center officials said contractors were supposed to benefit from some of the federal funds.

Unlike in traditional earmarks -- funding for specific projects publicly requested by members of Congress -- most of the money for the center came through a budget maneuver known as a "plus-up." The process for this kind of earmark allows lawmakers to add money to an existing program in the budget without public disclosure. The center sought $120 million in this type of money for itself and other companies in 2006 alone, according to the records.

Several of the center's partners hired PMA for lobbying. In the 2008 budget, PMA clients received $299 million in defense earmarks through Murtha and other lawmakers. PMA and its clients gave $775,000 in contributions to Murtha in the last election cycle.

You can read the rest on their website.

Earmarks-So What Did We Need A Stimulus Plan For

Our legislators passed the Porkulus Spendulous package which was full of money for projects in each state. Now that they finished that mission we are now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The Senate and House passed thier biennial Omnibus(take the ride on the money bus) bill which is the traditional legislation packed with earmarks. Robert Casey was number 15 in the Senate with $27,169,750.00 of earmarks. Arlen Specter reeled in the number 17 spot with $25,320,000.00.

You can look up the entire database here at Taxpayers for Common Sense. Well, at least the taxpayers have it.