If money is the root of all evil, then the U.S. Capitol is Beelzebub. More than $63 billion has been legally funneled to the 484 members of Congress in the last ten years. That works out to $130.1 million per Senator and House Representative over that period. The horde of cash is courtesy of lobbyists.
At last count, there were 11,862 registered lobbyists showering their attention and wealth on those 484 lawmakers. That's 24 lobbyists per member. Lobbying is not inherently corrupt, but the sums of money lavished on Senators and Representatives certainly buys not only access but influence.
Statistics cited above were culled from reports by the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit, that researches and tracks money and politics in America and its impact on elections and public policies. The center's researchers have access to federal lobbying reports.
The Lobbying Disclosure Act requires lobbyists to register with the federal government and to report expenditures in a timely manner. But there are loopholes. Businesses or organizations employing in-house lobbyists are exempt from registration if the total expenses do not exceed $13,000 quarterly.
Lobbyists who devote less than 20% of their time to a single client are not required to register or file disclosures. Those are just a few examples of the loopholes that promote unethical lobbying conduct. Most of it goes undetected because of weak enforcement.
There is little transparency since disclosure reports are lodged with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Secretary to the U.S. Senate. This is the proverbial wolf guarding the chicken coop. This cozy relationship results in lax reporting as well as questionable financial accuracy.
Lobbyists use campaign contributions, fund raisers, paid speech opportunities and other means to gain a foot in the door with lawmakers. And it is perfectly legal.Today's campaigns costs millions of dollars and senators and representatives are constantly scrambling for money to stash in their reelection coffers.
By one estimate, a candidate for Senate on average must raise more than $14,000 per day, seven days a week to win reelection. It is a little cheaper for a House seat. A sitting representative needs to raise an average of $1.5 million for campaigning. It may sound cynical, but it's the way the system works.
Lobbyists use their influence with lawmakers to leverage national policymaking by swamping their often undermanned, inexperienced and overworked staffers with information and data to help shape legislation passed by the Senate and House.
As legislation is drafted, lobbyists often review proposals and prepare recommendations for language and technical specifications to advantage their clients. Those suggestions are filtered through Congressional staffs, who write legislation for their bosses. Lawmakers don't write bills. Staffs do.
A sentence or two inserted in a bill by a lobbyist can mean millions of dollars in tax savings or increased government funding for a client. For every dollar businesses and associations spend lobbying, they get an average $760 in federal support and tax savings in return for their clients.
The Brookings Institute estimates between two-thirds and three-quarters all money spent on lobbying is done on behalf of business firms. Name a large industry or a mammoth company and you are sure to find their names on federal reports on lobbying costs.
In 2020, OpenSecrets found that the U.S. Chamber, which represents most large corporations, doled out $59.3 million on lobbying. Other big spenders: Associations of Relators, $58.5 million; Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers, $20.7 million; and American Hospital Association, $18.2 million.
Big Tech also was among those piping cash to Washington. Facebook doled out $14.9 million and Amazon tallied $13.7 million in lobbying costs. Although Democrats portray the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a big-spending bogeyman, the group's lobbying expenses were $3.2 million.
Lobbyists not only offer cash. Some strike quid-pro-quo deals with lawmakers for future employment in mutli-million dollar positions at their firms. About 50% of senators and 42% of representatives snap up lobbying gigs after leaving Congress, reports RepresentUs, a grassroots anti-corruption group.
Some lawmakers end up as in-house lobbyists for corporations. Others are hired by trade associations anxious to increase their visibility in Congress. A few land a position in the administration of a president. It is an endless revolving door where ex-members snag plum jobs for past favors.
Sound corrupt? That is a rhetorical question.
Throw into this mix billions of dollars in foreign lobbying by U.S. firms and the financial stakes are raised even higher. Foreign organizations and governments spent more than $3 billion on lobbying between 2016-2020, according to OpenSecrets.
U.S. lobbyists operating on behalf of foreign agents usually focus their efforts on tourism, trade and advocacy for policy positions. Their job includes regularly interfacing with members of Congress on not only those issues but others of special interest.
The Sunlight Foundation and ProPublica scrutinized foreign reporting data for 2008 and uncovered extensive "political and quasi-political" lobbying of Congress. Lobbyists for foreign agents hauled in $85 million in fees in 2008 and contacted Congressional offices more than 10,700 times.
Since 2016, Russia has spent $40.7 million on lobby efforts; Qatar, $32.9 million; China, $30.8 million; Japan, $23.9 million; South Korea, $22.6 million; Bahamas, $20.2 million; Marshall Islands, $15.9 million; and United Arab Emirates, $12.5 million.
Recently filed disclosure records indicate Venezuela's socialist government engaged a Washington law firm to lobby against the U.S. effort to impose sanctions on the oil rich nation. A subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company paid $6 million in 2017. The report was filed only last week.
How to stop this madness? One step is to prevent politicians from taking money from special interests they regulate. Another is to slam shut the revolving door between Congress and lobbying firms. A third is to limit lobbyists donations and halt lobbyist-backed fund raising.
Most importantly, Congress needs to scrap the current system of the reporting of lobbyists financial disclosures to itself. The information should be filed with an independent watchdog agency that has the authority to audit the disclosures and levy stiff fines for non-compliance.
When can you expect these changes? Never. It's in the best financial interests of members of Congress to maintain the current system with all its loopholes and opaqueness. The Swamp will remain as dirty as ever. That may sound cynical but there appears little enthusiasm for drainage.
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