WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The chairmen and ranking members on many of the legislative committees in the House of Representatives are bringing in campaign money hand over fist from the very industries they’re supposed to be regulating. That is the key finding of an eye opening new report released today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) entitled Funds for Favors: Exposing Donors’ Influence on Committee Leaders. CREW also examined the voting records of each of these members and found that most voted with their industry benefactors with alarming regularity. Click here to read CREW’s report.

“Almost across the board, industries and interest groups are engaging in what amounts to legalized bribery by funneling enormous amounts of money to the very lawmakers who are supposed to be holding their feet to the fire,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Congress would be a lot more transparent if it just put a for sale sign on the front of the Capitol.”

With a few exceptions, CREW’s findings held true across industries, committees, and party affiliation, illustrating just how deeply the pay-to-play culture has penetrated the House of Representatives. For instance, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), chairman of the Financial Services committee, has experienced a 620% increase in donations from the financial services industries since 1998. On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee has seen his donations from agriculture industries soar by 711% since 1998. That dwarfs the rate of growth of his total contributions, which grew by 274% over the same period.

“CREW’s research shows that members of Congress rarely, if ever bite the hand that feeds them,” said Ms. Sloan. “Time and again, members of Congress insist their campaign donations have nothing to do with the way they legislate. Funds for Favors shows in graphic detail why no one believes them.”

CREW’s report relies on contribution data tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics which identifies and categorizes individual contributions based on industry. CREW used voting data provided by MapLight.org, which maintains records of how each member of Congress voted on every bill, and uses public records to categorize which interest groups, companies, and organizations support and oppose key bills in Congress.

Click here to read CREW’s report.

Click here to read this release on CREW’s website.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Garrett Russo at 202.408.5565 or grusso@citizensforethics.org

CONTACT:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Garrett Russo
202-408-5565
grusso@citizensforethics.org

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  District of Columbia

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Public Policy/Government  Congressional News/Views  Elections/Campaigns  Public Policy  White House/Federal Government

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