From Abscam On

JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA’s “Showcase for Commerce” started in 1991 as a small trade show for area businesses, but since then it has grown into one of the U.S. defense industry’s most important events of the year. Many big names are represented: Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin all have booths within a few yards of each other – but the star of the show is John P. Murtha, Johnstown’s U.S. congressman, who attends every year and visits every exhibit booth. An entourage follows Murtha around the crowded arena, including a photographer, several senior staff members, and one assistant whose sole job appears to be gathering promotional materials and taking copious notes. At each booth, powerful defense-industry executives greet him with smiles and handshakes, eager to show him their latest prototypes and proposals.

The showcase is symbolic of Johnstown’s transformation from a hard-hit former steel town into, as one contractor who attended this year’s showcase put it, “the beating heart of the U.S. defense industry,” or at least one of its major regional hubs. Murtha gets a hero’s welcome at the showcase, not just because it was his idea, but also because his position as chairman or ranking member of the defense appropriations subcommittee for the past 18 years has a lot to do with the defense industry’s interest in the region.

About the Author

Stephen Spruiell

Stephen Spruiell is a former staff reporter for National Review Online.

JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA’s “Showcase for Commerce” started in 1991 as a small trade show for area businesses, but since then it has grown into one of the U.S. defense industry’s most important events of the year. Many big names are represented: Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin all have booths within a few yards of each other – but the star of the show is John P. Murtha, Johnstown’s U.S. congressman, who attends every year and visits every exhibit booth. An entourage follows Murtha around the crowded arena, including a photographer, several senior staff members, and one assistant whose sole job appears to be gathering promotional materials and taking copious notes. At each booth, powerful defense-industry executives greet him with smiles and handshakes, eager to show him their latest prototypes and proposals.

The showcase is symbolic of Johnstown’s transformation from a hard-hit former steel town into, as one contractor who attended this year’s showcase put it, “the beating heart of the U.S. defense industry,” or at least one of its major regional hubs. Murtha gets a hero’s welcome at the showcase, not just because it was his idea, but also because his position as chairman or ranking member of the defense appropriations subcommittee for the past 18 years has a lot to do with the defense industry’s interest in the region.