Irey challenges Murtha for 12th seat
The war in Iraq isn’t the only disagreement that U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown) has with his Republican challenger Diana Irey in their battle for the 12th Congressional District in the U.S. Congress. Irey said that one of the toughest jobs for lawmakers is deciding how to best spend other people’s money and favors a balanced budget amendment.
She said at the local level, lawmakers must balance a budget before it can be passed, something she said is necessary to boost the economy and reduce the deficit.
“I am very concerned that this deficit could be passed on to my children,” Irey said.
She said that if elected, she would cut unnecessary spending to try and reign in what she sees are rampant spending practices across the board in Washington, D.C.
“If I am elected, no project would be funded unless criteria are met,” Irey said. “He is trading votes for the pork he is getting. I would never do that.”
Murtha, who has secured hundreds of millions for the district in federal funds, said he is committed to continuing economic growth in the region and hopes several initiatives can spur the lolling economy.
Murtha said he supports a raise in the minimum wage as well as further research and work into developing alternative fuel sources.
He also said negotiations are needed with the nation’s drug companies to help lower prescription costs.
Irey said one thing Murtha has been successful at during his terms in Congress is delivering funding to the region, but noted that some of that money is pork barrel spending and she would not have supported the legislation.
Irey said, if elected, she would cut pork barrel spending and try to change the attitude regarding spending in general.
“When a project is proposed, people aren’t even required to be transparent,” Irey said. “I would require transparency and real proposals for area projects.”
Irey said that she supported President Bush’s tax cuts but noted that for taxes to be successful, a benefit needs to be tied to the money.
Murtha said that with the current tax cuts in place, the nation’s lawmakers are limited in what they can do to help combat the economic crisis.
“We cannot do the things we want to do and have tax cuts,” Murtha said. “There has been no oversight, and we are paralyzed.”
Both candidates said they are not party-line politicians, with Murtha noting true success can only come from bipartisan cooperation and Irey stating she would have broken ranks with the Bush administration on several issues, including immigration law and the proposed Dubai Ports deal.
During the campaign, Irey challenged Murtha on dozens of occasions to debate the issues and called out the longtime congressmen regarding an alleged scandal more than two decades ago.
Murtha said the smear tactics used by his opponent were merely an attempt to distract him and the voters from the real issues and added that claims made by Irey that he was a co-conspirator in a FBI sting back in 1980 are ludicrous.
According to Irey, Murtha was the un-indicted co-conspirator of what is known as Abscam, where she alleges he accepted $50,000 an undercover FBI agent to help get an Arab sheik into the country.
But Murtha said transcripts of the sting conclusively reveal he denied any payoff offered in the sting operation.
“It was meant as a distraction,” Murtha said. “But it is clear I told the agent no.”
Elected in 1995, Irey has served on the board of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, where she co-chaired a committee to develop the former Alcoa building into a regional renaissance tower. She has also served on the boards of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Alliance and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance executive board, where she co-chaired a business attraction committee.
Appointed by Gov. Tom Ridge, Irey served on the Port of Pittsburgh Commission. And she is past president of the Mon Valley United Way.
Irey lives in Carroll Township with her husband, Bob, and their three children: Victoria, Frank and Alexandra.
Murtha retired from the U.S. Marines in 1990 after serving 37 years. He earned the Bronze Star, the Combat V and two Purple Hearts during his service in Vietnam.
Murtha was the first combat veteran from Vietnam elected to Congress and is the current ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Committee.
He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1974.