Government watchdog groups have already rendered their verdict.
“It may not be illegal, it may not be unethical, but it’s certainly another reason why taxpayers hold Congress and its members in such low esteem right now,’’ said Tom Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington-based group focused on earmarks. “It just adds to the perception that members are out to help themselves and not the taxpayers.’’
Mary Boyle, national spokeswoman for Common Cause, said: “This looks like a self-made golden parachute. He appears to be another in a long line of people who leave Congress to cash in. It obviously raises the question of whether he had this in mind when he left Congress and who was he advocating for: his constituents, or himself?’’
The Department of Energy said it would not be able to respond to a request for comment before Monday.
Delahunt also was not immediately reachable for comment, but a top aide said he is not trying to cash in on his congressional service, only to offer his expertise to Hull.
“I think what’s been spun out there is that somehow we’ve been hired by the town to lobby, and that’s not true,’’ said Mark Forest, who served as Delahunt’s congressional chief of staff and is executive director of The Delahunt Group.
“We’re not lobbying; we’re providing guidance and counsel to the town,’’ said Forest. “And over the years, we’ve had a lot of experience in this area. And our hope is that there is something productive that can be done in this area.’’
Federal databases show Delahunt as the lone sponsor of two earmarks during his final two years in office for an offshore wind project sought by the Hull Municipal Light Plant, a town-operated utility. Earmarks are legislative provisions channeling federal money to a specific project, often derided as “pork-barrel’’ spending.
After they were targeted by Tea Party Republicans in Congress, a two-year moratorium was placed on them last February.
