Four outside groups today sent a letter to House Ethics Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. and ranking member Jo Bonner, R-Ala., asking that they open an investigation into the defunct lobbying firm PMA Group and its relationship to House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., and Reps. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., and James Moran, D-Va., CongressDailyPM reported.

Democracy 21, Common Cause, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG cannot file a complaint with the committee, but they said in the letter that "there is currently no public information to indicate that any ethics investigation is taking place."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio at a news briefing, stopped short of calling for the panel to investigate, but said, "The Ethics Committee has a job to do and I hope they do it."

The Ethics Committee does not identify matters it is considering, and the groups noted that many of the issues it wants investigated occurred before the Office of Congressional Ethics was created. The groups said the committee should "determine whether these House members were influenced by campaign contributions and other financial benefits in providing earmarks for clients of the PMA Group."