The former Marine and Vietnam War veteran reigned for two decades as the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee with responsibility for funding the military. He served as its chairman in the early 1990s and again in 2007 when Democrats regained control of the House.

Mr. Murtha emerged as a strong figure in House debates over the Iraq war, which he grew to vehemently oppose. But he also used his perch as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to secure additional funding for military equipment, at times thwarting calls from some liberal Democrats to stop all war spending.

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