ACR applauds House Ethics Committee investigation of PMA scandal, calls for real reform of influence-peddling in Washington

CONCORD, NH - Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR) today applauded the House Ethics Committee for initiating an investigation of PMA group, the now-defunct lobbying firm with close financial ties to senior Democratic lawmakers, and called for sweeping reform to congressional campaign finance law in order to prevent future scandals. PMA group, whose offices were raided in February as part of an FBI ethics probe, faces charges it used campaign contributions to Congressmen John Murtha (D-VA), Pete Visclosky (D-IN), Jim Moran (D-VA), and other senior appropriators to win hundreds of millions of dollars in earmark appropriations for its clients.

"Investigating the most flagrant violations of congressional ethics as they arise is necessary, but not sufficient, to restoring integrity in Washington. We call on Congress to face the underlying conflict of interest at the heart of the PMA scandal, and countless scandals before it, by ending the unhealthy reliance of elected officials on private campaign contributions special interest groups," said Dan Weeks, President of Americans for Campaign Reform.

According to a recent report by Americans for Campaign Reform, PMA's practices represent business as usual within Congress's powerful appropriations committees. The report, "Money in Politics and Government Waste," found that the top ten recipients of defense industry earmarks in 2008 spent an average of $2.7 million in federal campaign contributions from 2003-2008 and received an average of $88 million in total earmarks in 2008, a return of 1,300% on their investment in campaign money. The report also found that the top five House earmark appropriators in 2008 received an average of $700,000 each in campaign contributions from the recipients of defense industry earmarks.

"Far from one bad apple, the PMA scandal reminds us that pay-to-play politics is alive and well in Washington, and taxpayers are paying the price. Our research shows that even in these difficult economic times, well-placed defense contractors and other special interests are receiving extraordinary returns on their investment of campaign contributions to senior Members of Congress," Weeks said.

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Americans for Campaign Reform, the bipartisan group led by former Senators Bill Bradley, Bob Kerrey, Warren Rudman, and Al Simpson, is working with more than 100 former Members of Congress and senior business and civic leaders to advance Citizen Funded "Fair Elections" in the 111th Congress. Under the proposed Fair Elections Now Act, introduced in March by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Congressmen John Larson (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC), qualifying congressional candidates who forego special interest money and raise only small donations from their constituents, receive matching public funds and broadcast vouchers to run competitive campaigns. More information is available at www.youstreet.org.