January 2, 2008
Chris Carney Continues To Waste Taxpayer Dollars
Washington Post Article Detailing Hundreds of Millions of Wasted Earmarked Dollars
Reminder of Carney's Close Ties to John Murtha
DALLAS, PA - A Page One article in the Washington Post ("Millions in Earmarks Purchase Little of Use," December 29, 2007) published prior to New Year's Day serves as a reminder to Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania residents of Chris Carney's role as a player in the Washington pork-spending game, Republican Congressional candidate Chris Hackett said today.
The article details how Congressman John Murtha has obtained over $671 million earmarked for the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence, but that little of the Center's work has been used or deployed by the Defense Department.
Throughout his first year in Congress, Carney maintained a virtually identical voting record with Murtha (Club for Growth RePORK Card) on wasteful earmarks, agreeing on 98% of the proposed projects that were voted upon individually. These include the controversial $2 million Paint Shield Project and the $2 million Charles Rangel Center for Public Service, amongst many other proposals for wasteful spending.
Carney also voted to protect John Murtha (House Roll Call Vote 402, May 22, 2007) from an ethics investigation for threatening to retaliate against two Republican Congressmen who had vocally opposed Murtha's wasteful earmarks. In the last two election cycles, Chris Carney's campaign committee has accepted at least $9,000 from John Murtha's campaign committee and leadership PAC (multiple FEC reports).
"This shameful voting record shows Chris Carney has become part of the Washington pork-spending machine. His continued support for John Murtha's wasteful projects, even when clear evidence is shown that they are not productive, proves he has a complete lack of regard for the hard-working taxpayers of the 10th District. Carney's failure to fight Murtha's wasteful spending shows he cares more about Washington's values than he does about ours," said Chris Hackett.
"Chris Carney was elected on the promise to change how Washington works, but it is clear that from the beginning he has been joined at the hip with John Murtha. Carney has failed to change Washington; instead he has become just another bit player in the pork-spending game. When I am elected, I will be a real agent for change and fight these wasteful projects and the broken system that produces them," Hackett concluded.