In what may be the first of its kind, a congressman who once earmarked money for a local alternative energy project is financially benefitting from the very same project, now that he has left office

 

William Delahunt (D-Massachusetts) served in the House of Representatives for 14 years. Less than two months after leaving office in January 2011, he founded a lobbying company called the Delahunt Group. He had no problem finding clients, starting with the casino-seeking Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which had previously been represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. While in office, Delahunt had arranged earmarks worth $400,000 for the tribe.

 

Delahunt also secured a contract with the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman’s Association, for whom, in 2010, he had helped arrange a federal loan.

 

But for Delahunt the big bucks are coming from a wind energy research project in the town of Hull, Massachusetts, to which he directed $1.7 million in taxpayer money. Today, the Delahunt Group is being paid $15,000 a month by the project’s leadership to help it continue its development.

 

According to The New York Times, federal earmarking experts say they cannot recall a case before Delahunt in which a former lawmaker stood to benefit so directly from an earmark he had authorized.

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Lobbyist Helps a Project He Financed in Congress (by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times)

Town Seeks to Become Hub for Wind Energy Research (by Johanna Seltz, Boston Globe)