Kathianne
09-06-2011, 04:28 PM
I really wish there were members of Congress above partisanship, I can't name on on the 'super committee.'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/many-members-of-debt-supercommittee-have-ties-to-lobbyists/2011/08/23/gIQANiLr4J_story.html?hpid=z3
Members of debt panel have ties to lobbyists By Dan Eggen (http://www.washingtonpost.com/dan-eggen/2011/02/28/ABg0isM_page.html), Published: September 5 Like many federal contractors, General Electric has a lot riding on the work of a new congressional “supercommittee,” which will help decide whether to impose massive cuts in defense and health-care spending.
But the Connecticut-based conglomerate also has a potential advantage: A number of its lobbyists used to work for members of the committee, and will be able to lobby their former employers to limit the impact of any reductions in the weeks ahead.
GE is hardly alone: Nearly 100 registered lobbyists used to work for members of the supercommittee, now representing defense companies, health-care conglomerates, Wall Street banks and others with a vested interest in the panel’s outcome, according to a Washington Post analysis of disclosure data. Three Democrats and three Republicans on the panel also employ former industry lobbyists on their staffs.
The preponderance of lobbyists adds to the political controversy surrounding the supercommittee, which will begin its work in earnest this week as Congress returns to Washington. The panel has already come under fire from watchdog groups for planning its activities in secret and allowing members to continue fundraising while they negotiate a budget deal.
“When the committee sits down to do its work, it’s not like they’re in an idealized, platonic debating committee,” said Bill Allison, editorial director of the Sunlight Foundation, which is tracking ties between lobbyists and the panel. “They’re going to have in mind the interests of those they are most familiar with, including their big donors and former advisers.”
The 12-member committee is tasked (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-passes-debt-limit-bill/2011/08/02/gIQAIp2kpI_story_1.html) with identifying $1.5 trillion in long-term spending reductions by Thanksgiving, with a final plan to be approved by Congress. If no deal is reached, however, $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts will be triggered beginning in 2013, with the amount evenly divided between defense and non-defense programs.
The sheer scale of the trigger plan has set off something close to panic on K Street (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/debt-limit-deal-triggers-lobbying-campaign-from-health-care-and-defense-industries/2011/08/03/gIQAIWdjsI_story.html?nav=emailpage), as many of the nation’s largest industries face reductions in potential revenue from federal programs...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/many-members-of-debt-supercommittee-have-ties-to-lobbyists/2011/08/23/gIQANiLr4J_story.html?hpid=z3
Members of debt panel have ties to lobbyists By Dan Eggen (http://www.washingtonpost.com/dan-eggen/2011/02/28/ABg0isM_page.html), Published: September 5 Like many federal contractors, General Electric has a lot riding on the work of a new congressional “supercommittee,” which will help decide whether to impose massive cuts in defense and health-care spending.
But the Connecticut-based conglomerate also has a potential advantage: A number of its lobbyists used to work for members of the committee, and will be able to lobby their former employers to limit the impact of any reductions in the weeks ahead.
GE is hardly alone: Nearly 100 registered lobbyists used to work for members of the supercommittee, now representing defense companies, health-care conglomerates, Wall Street banks and others with a vested interest in the panel’s outcome, according to a Washington Post analysis of disclosure data. Three Democrats and three Republicans on the panel also employ former industry lobbyists on their staffs.
The preponderance of lobbyists adds to the political controversy surrounding the supercommittee, which will begin its work in earnest this week as Congress returns to Washington. The panel has already come under fire from watchdog groups for planning its activities in secret and allowing members to continue fundraising while they negotiate a budget deal.
“When the committee sits down to do its work, it’s not like they’re in an idealized, platonic debating committee,” said Bill Allison, editorial director of the Sunlight Foundation, which is tracking ties between lobbyists and the panel. “They’re going to have in mind the interests of those they are most familiar with, including their big donors and former advisers.”
The 12-member committee is tasked (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-passes-debt-limit-bill/2011/08/02/gIQAIp2kpI_story_1.html) with identifying $1.5 trillion in long-term spending reductions by Thanksgiving, with a final plan to be approved by Congress. If no deal is reached, however, $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts will be triggered beginning in 2013, with the amount evenly divided between defense and non-defense programs.
The sheer scale of the trigger plan has set off something close to panic on K Street (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/debt-limit-deal-triggers-lobbying-campaign-from-health-care-and-defense-industries/2011/08/03/gIQAIWdjsI_story.html?nav=emailpage), as many of the nation’s largest industries face reductions in potential revenue from federal programs...