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Less than four months after plans were disclosed for the John P. Murtha Center for Public Service in Richland Township, the proposed facility may be getting another big financial boost.
A group of five federal lawmakers has earmarked $10 million for the center in an early version of the House of Representatives’ defense-appropriations bill.
If that cash makes it through the legislative process, the federal money would match $10 million in state funds already earmarked by Gov. Ed Rendell.
Organizers also are raising money privately, and they say the center will be a functional, fitting tribute to a lawmaker who served this area for 36 years.
“The John P. Murtha Center for Public Service will be dedicated to educating and inspiring students and the general public to become active in our communities, the military and in public service,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, a Johnstown Democrat elected in May to serve the remainder of Murtha’s unexpired term.
“That was how Congressman Murtha lived his life, and that is what his legacy will be.”
No construction site or schedule has been announced for the center, which is supposed to be built at Pitt-Johnstown.
The announcement of a newly formed John P. Murtha Foundation came just a few months after the lawmaker’s Feb. 8 death.
The public-service center, estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 square feet, is the foundation’s primary focus at this point.
Critz, in a short description on his congressional website, says the center “will serve as a highly accessible and preeminent archive and repository of Representative Murtha’s public papers.”
But supporters also said they envision “a venue for public debate, discussion and academic inquiry into key local, regional and national issues.”
The structure will house classrooms and meeting rooms.
A spokesman has said Joyce Murtha, the lawmaker’s widow, “wants a building that thrives, a building that is used day in and day out by the university and the public.”
Additionally, the Murtha foundation is expected to invest donations and use proceeds for grants to nonprofits throughout the area.
Some have criticized the use of public funding for the Murtha center, especially since that money comes in the form of earmarks and during a time of big budget deficits.
The federal earmark for the public-service center was requested by Critz and four other House members, all Democrats: Robert Brady, of the 1st district in the Philadelphia area; Chaka Fattah, of the 2nd district in the Philadelphia area; James Moran of Virginia’s 8th district; and Tim Ryan of Ohio’s 17th district.
Brady, a longtime friend of Murtha’s, said the center will be “dedicated to helping young people choose a career in the military or in public service.”
“It is fitting that the center will be named for Congressman Murtha and that it should be built in Johnstown,” Brady said.
“From my point of view, no one in Congress did more than Jack Murtha to keep our military strong and support our troops. That’s why the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is matching this allocation, and that is why I proudly support it.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Critz File Photo/The Tribune-Democrat
Discussion
Feds eye $10M for Murtha Center
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