According to the draft resolution, Murtha shouted at Rogers on the House floor Thursday afternoon for offering a motion last week to expose $23 million Murtha requested in an intelligence bill.This must be more of that most open, most honest, and most ethical Congress we were promised...
The Pennsylvania Democrat requested the money to prevent the administration from shuttering the National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown , Pa. -- which sits in Murtha’s district.
“I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the defense appropriations bills because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever,” Murtha told Rogers on the House floor, according to the draft transcript supplied to The Politico.
“This is not the way we do things here -- and is that supposed to make me afraid of you?” Rogers replied.
“That’s the way I do it,” Murtha said.
Republicans seem ready to battle on this issue as well (via email):
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) strongly backed Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) after he announced his intent to file a privileged resolution in response to the threats by senior Democratic Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) on the House floor today. The resolution, set to be introduced by Rogers on Monday, will force the full House to vote on whether to reprimand Murtha for his conduct. Boehner issued the following statement:VIDEO UPDATE:
“The resolution offered by Congressman Rogers outlines a blatant abuse of power stemming from a Republican-authored proposal to cut wasteful earmark spending from legislation pending before the House. This egregious action is not only beneath the dignity of this institution, it constitutes a violation of House rules, which preclude Members from conditioning earmarks on another Member’s vote, and the House should reprimand Murtha for his conduct.
“Mike Rogers knows public corruption and he knows about threats and intimidation. For five years as an FBI Special Agent, it was Rogers ’ job to go after those who abused the public’s trust and to stare down mobsters. No Member of Congress should be threatened or intimidated because of his or her efforts to crack down on wasteful spending and protect the interests of taxpayers.
“This is yet another example of the Democrats abusing the rules of the House and breaking the commitments they made to the American people. In fact, over the last four months they have not led at all, nor have they delivered anything remotely close to an open, deliberative, and results-oriented House.”
NOTE: Last Friday, Rogers offered a GOP motion-to-recommit to the FY 2008 Intelligence Act that would have taken funding away from an illegitimate, wasteful earmark tucked into the bill to benefit Murtha in order to restore funding for human intelligence programs. The Murtha earmark would authorize tens of millions for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), a government agency based in Murtha’s district that the House Government Reform Committee has deemed “an expensive and duplicative use of scarce federal drug enforcement resources,” according to an article in the May 8 edition of The Hill.
Today, on the House floor, Murtha violated House rules by telling Rogers “I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the appropriations bills because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever.”
THE FULL TEXT OF THE PRIVILEGED RESOLUTION IS OUTLINED BELOW:
Whereas, the Code of Official Conduct provides that a Member “may not condition the inclusion of language to provide funding for a Congressional earmark… on any vote cast by another member;
Whereas, Chairman Reyes filed the Report to accompany the bill H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008;
Whereas, the report states that, with respect to the requirements of clause 9 of House Rule XXI, “The following table provides the list of such provisions included in the bill or report,” and includes a table of 26 items identifying “Requesting Member,” “Subject,” and “Dollar Amount (in Thousands)”;
Whereas, the referenced table includes an item denoted as: Requesting Member, Mr. Murtha; Subject, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT – National Drug Intelligence Center ; Dollar Amount, $23 million;
Whereas, the Gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Rogers, offered and voted for a motion to recommit the bill to change the provisions of the aforementioned Murtha earmark during its consideration in the House;
Whereas, as a result of Mr. Rogers motion and vote on the Murtha earmark, the Gentleman from Pennsylvania , Mr. Murtha subsequently threatened to withdraw support for earmarks providing funding for projects located in the Gentleman from Michigan ’s district.
Whereas, on May 17, 2007, in the House Chamber, the Gentleman from Pennsylvania stated, in a loud voice words to the effect, to the Gentleman from Michigan as a result of offering and voting for the motion to recommit, “I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the defense appropriation bill because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever.”
Whereas, the Gentleman from Michigan responded, in words to the effect, “this is not the way we do things here and is that supposed to make me afraid of you?”
Whereas the Gentleman from Pennsylvania raised his voice, pointed his finger and stated, in words to the effect, “that’s the way I do it.”
Whereas the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) is the ninth most senior member of Congress, whose seniority ranks him over 426 of his 433 colleagues in the House;
Whereas the gentleman from Pennsylvania chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which has jurisdiction over the activities and functions of the nation’s intelligence agencies;
Whereas the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), the second-ranking and second longest serving Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, has been described in numerous media accounts as a master of the legislative process and an expert on earmarks;
Whereas the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) has stated that he is a former member of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, whose members are among the most knowledgeable in the House concerning the ethical obligations of Members of Congress;
Resolved, that the Member from Pennsylvania , Mr. Murtha has been guilty of a violation of the Code of Official Conduct and merits the reprimand of the House for the same.
