Controversial Lobby Firm Still Winning Earmarks: Congressional sponsors identified

By Ken Silverstein

Arizona Republican Jeff Flake put out a press release tonight saying that he had found “at least eight earmarks in the omnibus spending bill for clients of the PMA Group, an earmark lobbying firm reportedly under federal investigation.” Flake’s list is below. He didn’t reveal the members of Congress who sponsored the earmarks, but I’ve added their names in parenthesis, based on information circulating on the Hill. A number of the sponsors, including Congressmen Pete Visclosky, Tim Ryan, and Mike Doyle, are major recipients of PMA campaign donations.

• NuVant Systems, Inc.–Direct Methanol Fuel Cell. $951,500 (Pete Visclosky, D-Indiana)

• PPG, Inc.–Solar Energy Windows and Smart IR Switchable Building Technologies. $1,189,375 (Mike Doyle and Jason Altmire, both Democrats from Pennsylvania)

• Alpha Micron, Inc.–Adaptive Liquid Crystal Windows. $951,500 (Tim Ryan, D-Ohio)

• Quallion–Anti-idling Lithium Ion Battery Program. $951,500 (Brad Sherman, D-CA)

• Parametric Technology Corp.–Advanced Engineering Environment for Sandia National Lab. $1,427,250 (Stephen Lynch, D-Massachusetts)

• Parametric Technology Corp.–Multi-Disciplined Integrated Collaborative Environment (MDICE). $951,500 (Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri)

• Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc.–Hydrogen Optical Fiber Sensors. $951,500 (Jane Harman, D-California)

• Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc.–CATALYST: Explorations in Aerospace and Innovation Education Program. $400,000 (John Larson, D-Connecticut)