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A controversial charity linked to U.S. Representative Jack Murtha, D-PA, will be in the Washington, DC, area later this month, where they will hold a pricey golf tournament favored by defense lobbyists and contractors, the Majority Accountability Project (www.majorityap.com) has learned.

An invitation obtained by majorityap.com reports that the Pennsylvania Association for Individuals with Disabilities (PAID) will sponsor a charity golf tournament priced at upwards of $10,000 on September 24, 2007, at the Argyle Country Club in Silver Springs, MD.

The group first came under fire in December, 2006, after the Washington Post reported “PAID has become a gathering point for defense contractors and lobbyists with business before Murtha's defense appropriations subcommittee, and for Pennsylvania businesses and universities that have thrived on federal money obtained by Murtha.”

The main named sponsor of last year’s tournament was Applied Ordnance Technology, which has seen its share of federal funding skyrocket after the company opened an office in Johnstown, PA, at the behest of Murtha.

Read on . . .

PAID came under additional scrutiny this week from the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, which reported former U.S. Senator and Vietnam veteran Max Cleland, D-GA - a triple-amputee - quit PAID’s board of directors amid an “investigation of the group’s limited achievements and close ties to a broad network of people and companies Murtha has aided.”

As late as June 25, 2007, PAID’s website named Murtha as its Honorary Chairman. His name has since been removed from the group’s Internet homepage.

PAID’s stated claim of representing “60 million persons with disabilities” was questioned by Roll Call’s Paul Singer, who reported that well-established organizations aiding Pennsylvania’s disabled “had never heard of or worked with PAID.”

A study by the U.S. Census Bureau found that roughly 50 million Americans reported some level of disability; meaning that if PAID’s claims were accurate, they represented more than the entire nationwide population of the disabled.

Despite PAIDs near anonymity among advocates for Pennsylvania’s disabled - and their dubious claims of success – past events point to the fact that defense lobbyists, contractors and others will be well represented at PAID’s annual fundraising golf tournament.

Cost for the event ranges from a $10,000 “host” package, which includes a “corporate logo on all greens’ flags, banner signage at event” and other perks, down to $125 for the dinner reception. A “Grand Prize Cadillac” will be awarded for a hole in one.

Unlike like political fundraisers, groups writing checks to PAID will not have to report those contributions to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), allowing defense industry officials seeking to curry favor with Murtha to do so without FEC scrutiny.

Charities aligned with members of Congress have come under increased scrutiny, with government watchdogs and others, such as liberal blogger Arianna Huffington, criticizing the fact “this shockingly legal scam allows those looking to game the system a number of ways to do so.”

“First and foremost,” she wrote, “when politicians align themselves with charities, it allows special interests to donate unlimited sums of money and curry favor while acting as if they are doing it out of the goodness of their souls instead of the usual oily self-interest. What's more, because they are giving to ‘charity,’ these non-political (wink, wink) donations are tax-deductible. And, thanks to these charities' 501 (c)(3) status, donations to them do not have to be reported -- allowing the influence-buyers to remain in the shadows. It's a win-win-win for shady politicians, lobbyists, and their big-buck backers -- and a lose-lose-lose for our democracy.”

Citing a study by Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), the Hill newspaper recently reported Murtha secured $150.5 million in pet projects for defense-related special interests. A Washington Times article noted that Murtha’s committee earmarked $3 billion in projects favored by members of Congress.

Despite the fact PAID has an office in Johnston, PA, contributors are directed to send checks for the event to KSA Consulting in Rockville, MD. KSA Consulting is a DC-area lobbying firm, where Murtha’s brother, Robert “Kit” Murtha was a Senior Partner until his reported 2006 retirement.

A June, 2005, article in the Los Angeles Times detailed KSA’s cozy relationship with Murtha, who the paper reported garnered nearly $21 million in federal funds that year for several KSA clients.

Another Senior Partner in the firm is Carmen Scialabba, who worked for Murtha for nearly three decades. Scialabba is also Founder and CEO of PAID, which got off the ground after Murtha secured $500,000 in federal funds for them in 2003.

According to yesterday’s Roll Call report, “PAID has received about $1 million in government grants…mostly through earmarks provided by Murtha.”

Tomorrow…Where does the money go?
For this story and more, visit the Majority Accountability Project at www.majorityap.com