The circular flow of money

The party of “change,” as it turns out, has done little to advance the cause of reform when it comes to military earmarks and political back-scratching.

The Center for Public Integrity looked at the awarding of defense contracts and found this: “… former staf-fers [for representatives in Congress] became lobbyists for defense contractors; the contractors received earmarks from the representatives; and the representatives received campaign contributions from the lobbyists or the contractors.”

The computer-generated analysis found that 10 out of 16 members of the House subcommittee on defense appropriations obtained 30 earmarks in this manner, amounting to $103 million, in the appropriations bill passed in July.

Several investigations have been launched on Capitol Hill over allegations of influence-peddling in such situations. A key player: former lobbying firm PMA, whose founder was a close friend of Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and an ex-staff member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. That company closed after an FBI raid last year.

Mr. Murtha shows up as the No. 1 earmarker of defense funding over the last decade, according to the report. And the fourth top earmarker? Vir-ginia’s own Rep. James P. Moran Jr.

Now, Virginia is a state with a high number of military installations. Be-cause of that, and because of its proximity to Washington, it also has a goodly number of contractors. So … there may be nothing sinister in the figures.

But the record shows that a Moran staffer became a lobbyist for PMA and other firms; between 2006 and 2008 Mr. Moran sent money to her clients, and PMA and a contract recipient contributed to his campaigns.

It may all be coincidence. But as the report says: This circular flow of money is fraught with opportunities for conflict of interest.

This article was edited to add additional information and for clarification.