Rep. John Murtha Dies at 77 – Wall Street Journal
By MARTIN VAUGHN And FAWN JOHNSON
WASHINGTON—Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a powerful and controversial force in congressional spending on defense, died Monday at age 77.
Rep. John Murtha in 2007
The former Marine and Vietnam War veteran reigned for two decades as the senior Democrat on the House appropriations committee with responsibility for funding the military. He served as its chairman in the early 1990s and again in 2007 when Democrats regained control of the House.
Mr. Murtha emerged as a strong figure in House debates over the Iraq war, which he grew to vehemently oppose. But he also used his perch as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to secure additional funding for military equipment, at times thwarting calls from some liberal Democrats to stop all war spending.
Elected to the House of Representatives in 1974, Mr. Murtha was unapologetic about steering funds for defense projects to his rural, Johnstown, Pa., district.
In 1980, he was one of the targets of the FBI “Abscam” corruption sting that led to the convictions of five members of the House. Law-enforcement authorities ultimately declined to prosecute him. More recently, he came under criticism and investigation by the Congressional Ethics Committee for earmarks he won for Pennsylvania firms.
A colorful and outspoken presence in the House for 35 years, Mr. Murtha ran and secured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s backing for the position of Majority Leader, the second-in-command in the House. But he lost the race to the more cautious and even-keeled Rep. Steny Hoyer (D., Md.).
Mr. Murtha had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va.
Mr. Murtha’s opposition to the Iraq war rattled Washington, where the tall, gruff-mannered congressman enjoyed bipartisan respect for his work on military issues. On Capitol Hill, Mr. Murtha was seen as speaking for those in uniform when it came to military matters.
William Russell, Murtha’s GOP opponent in the 2008 election, who was planning to challenge him again in November, asked in a statement Monday that people pray for the Murtha family and said his campaign would suspend activity for a few days, reported the Associated Press.
“Regardless of your political position, you always knew Jack had an immense love and loyalty to his family and the residents of the 12th Congressional District,” Mr. Russell said.
Born June 17, 1932, John Patrick Murtha delivered newspapers and worked at a gas station before graduating from Ramsay High School in Mount Pleasant, Pa., said the AP.