Training school

Congress becomes lobbyist training school

Rep. Dave Loebsack

The recent revelation that Dennis Hastert, former speaker of the House of Representatives, was indicted on charges of illegal banking activities and lying to investigators about paying $3.5 million in hush money to a former student to keep quiet about past sexual abuse sent shock waves through Washington.

The facts that have come to light around this case are disturbing and add to the growing distrust that the American people have in Congress.

One critical question raised by this scandal is how a man who was elected to Congress in 1987 with a net worth of less than $290,000 was easily able to pay $3 million in hush money. The answer -- he parlayed his position as speaker of the House of Representatives into a high-powered lobbying job.

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. Since leaving Congress, former Speaker Hastert continues to collect approximately $72,000 annually from his federal pension while pulling in millions from lobbying. This is unacceptable and it’s having a real effect on our democracy.

Public service is a sacred trust and responsibility, and Congress needs to earn America's trust back.

That is why I joined with Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI, to introduce legislation that would permanently ban members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists. I have also taken a personal pledge to never become a lobbyist. If Congress does not take action to stop the revolving door between the Capitol and Washington lobby firms, there is no way that faith in our government can be rebuilt.