Rep. Dave Loebsack — Congress becomes lobbyist training school

Members of Congress are chosen by the American people to faithfully represent them. Our constituents don't send us to Washington to audition for a job with a special interest group. Unfortunately, growing numbers of these public servants are leveraging their constituents’ trust for cold, hard cash after leaving Capitol Hill.

It wasn’t always this way. In 1974, only 3 percent of members of Congress became lobbyists after leaving office. But today that figure has jumped dramatically – 50 percent of Senators and 42 percent of House members become lobbyists after they leave Congress. In fact, the Center for Responsive Politics found there are now 28 registered lobbyists for every member of Congress.

The Center for Responsive Politics also found that over one third (27 out of 75) of members of Congress who left during or at the end of the 113th Congress have already taken up lobbying as a career. Over half of the former members of the 112th Congress are currently engaged in lobbying contracts.

It’s not hard to see why - a study by Republic Report found that, on average, lawmakers who became lobbyists boosted their salary by 1,452 percent, with many exchanging their public careers for seven-figure salaries.

As former representatives and senators move through the revolving door to K Street, they continue to earn pensions paid for by you, the American taxpayer, as they rake in huge salaries to lobby current federal legislators.

Operationally, Rep. Loebsack is incorrect about taxpayers funding the federal government but practically speaking he is technically correct under the current rules of PAYGO.

Quad City Times
Congress becomes lobbyist training school
Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA)

Disclosure: Dave Loebsack is my congressman, whom I support.