Whats the difference in how political money affects Congress versus the White House and regulatory agencies?
Lewis: The reason Congress is so important is that they control the pursestrings and the authority of the regulatory agencies of the executive branch. An industry will seed members of the committees that have jurisdiction over the industry with substantial money every election cycle. Companies and their lobbyists host fund-raisers for the committee members and make sure that others in their industry give them money, so it’s not just a contribution from one CEO or PAC (political action committee), it’s bundled money. When a member of Congress is trying to raise over a million for a House seat and an average of four to five million dollars for a Senate seat, they remember and care about six figure contributions. There are also the social relationships. Most Congressional staffers are on Capitol Hill for a couple of years to punch their ticket so they can leave and get a “real job” in the private sector — at triple and quadruple the salary. So there’s this sort of incestuous culture at t
