Another confidence-booster for the federal government today, as nearly half of the members of the John Murtha-chaired Defense Appropriations Subcommittee are being investigated for ethics violations involving millions of dollars.

Turns out that nearly half the members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which Murtha chairs, are under investigation for funneling millions in federal funds to clients of a lobbyist who used to work on the Hill. The charge: They put earmarks worth $300 million in the 2008 Defense appropriation bill to benefit clients of the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm headed by Paul Magliocchetti, a former aide to the committee.

And what did they get in return? According to CQ MoneyLine, which ran the numbers earlier this year, the same House members who took responsibility for PMA’s earmarks in that spending bill have, since 2001, accepted a cumulative $1,815,138 in campaign contributions from PMA’s political action committee and employees of the firm.