A report released on Thursday tallies the contributions members of Congress receive from health-care lobbyists on top of already hefty contributions from the health care industry, the Washington Post's blog, Capitol Briefing reports.
The month-long collaborative investigation "by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundation found that lawmakers including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) all received significant contributions from lobbyists and the health-care firms they represent. ... Baucus 'was one of the biggest beneficiaries of this one-two punch from the lobbyists and their clients,' the groups report."
"In total, the study found, 61 members of Congress, including 39 senators, received money from 10 or more outside lobbyists whose clients also contributed to their campaigns" (Eggen, 10/1).