Lobbying

Lobbying is one of the few growth industries we have left, and lobbyists are one of the main reasons we are in the mess we’re in. Between 1998 and 2008 the finance industry spent $5.1 Billion on lobbying and campaign contributions to Congress. That’s an average of $1 Million per congressman per year from Wall Street. Lobbying is how Wall Street got laws repealed so they could gamble with anything from subprime mortgages to barrels of oil. Then when their bets failed, lobbying is how they got us, the taxpayer to pick up the tab. Meanwhile, the financiers kept billions in unearned bonuses.

Health Care Lobby

The health care lobby spent $544 Million in 2009 alone in their attempt to influence healthcare reform. The pharmaceutical lobby spent $267 Million in 2009 on Congress. What did that get Big Pharma? They got the Medicare “Donut Hole” reduced, increasing drug reimbursements for Medicare recipients. This will help Medicare recipients afford more prescriptions while increasing Big Pharma’s revenues. At the same time, the lobbyists prevented Medicare from using its clout to negotiate drug prices, protected the ban on reimportation of drugs by individuals, and kept generic drugs from reaching consumers more quickly. The reimportation of drugs is interesting because the pharmaceutical industry now imports about $50 Billion a year from its foreign facilities. So they can import drugs but individuals can’t.

Lobbying is a Major Industry

Lobbying is a major industry in Washington, with an estimated $10 Billion a year spent on lobbying. More than 33,000 people have registered as lobbyists over the last 10 years. Plus, it is becoming a revolving door for our congressional representatives. Half of all Washington politicians who left office became lobbyists in the last decade.

We Need Leadership

As I’ve said before we need leadership in Washington and I intend to lead by example when it comes to lobbyists, not wait for legislation. If elected, I will not meet individually with any registered lobbyist while in Washington, DC and enact rules for my staff limiting exposure to registered lobbyists. I will also work hard to enact laws to reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington, DC.

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