Earmarks Are Weapons in House Spat

Murtha accused of rules violation after threat to deny future funding
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2007 6:38 AM CDT
Earmarks Are Weapons in House Spat
In this photo provided by CBS News, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., appears on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington, Sunday, April 29, 2007. (AP Photo/CBS Face the Nation, Karin Cooper)   (Associated Press)

Rep. John Murtha, the pugnacious Democratic chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is accused of breaking House rules by  threatening to withhold future spending from a GOP member with whom he had a disagreement. Politico reports that Rep. Mike Rogers is calling for a House vote to reprimand Murtha.

Murtha had two loud spats with Rogers and another Republican congressman on the House floor after Rogers challenged spending for a research center in Murtha's district. In each case he allegedly told them he would withhold money for projects in their districts. "You will not get any earmarks now and forever," Murtha reportedly told Rogers. (More John Murtha stories.)

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