Imagine if lobbyists could give virtually anything they wanted to lawmakers, ranging from a gift basket of cookies to a Mercedes Benz. This isn’t some dark fairy tale. In Georgia, it’s reality. Lobbyists can give virtually whatever gift they want to lawmakers. But in recent month, a rowdy coalition of tea partiers and progressives have
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One of the best ways for special interests to influence our lawmakers is to hire former government staffers to get the insider access needed to win legislation and regulation. By passing through the “revolving door,” these staffers are generously rewarded for winning over government favors for private clients, often clients who seek to distort public
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Bob Byrd is New Jersey’s “top lobbyist,” according to Content Delaware’s John Taylor, which recently interviewed Byrd for its conversational series. Byrd is the CEO of The Byrd Group, a lobbying firm that has worked for the banking industry and the education privatization movement, among other interests. At one point, Taylor pointed out many of
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Members of Congress who become lobbyists get huge paydays. A dozen lawmakers-turned-lobbyists we looked at got an average raise of 1,452%. So we sent a letter to the 35 retiring members of Congress asking them to disclose any job negotiations they’re having for their post-congressional careers — so at least the public would know what’s
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Representative Martin Heinrich is a Democratic Party member of Congress who is running for Senate this year. On Monday, he blasted the Republican 2013 budget proposal on Twitter, writing that it must have “thrilled” Big Oil: But the very next day, Heinrich held a fundraiser — where individuals attended at $500 a person and PACs
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