Almost 100 registered lobbyists, primarily from Wall Street and the defense and health care industries, have worked for the 12 members of the new super committee, according to The Washington Post. And six current employees of the group used to be lobbyists.
Career paths frequently cross between K Street and Capitol Hill, but the high stakes of the super committee’s decisions may cause these lobbyists to exert extra pressure on their former employers. For instance, the committee's decisions could take a $32 billion cut out of General Electric’s piece of the government contract pie over the next decade. But a number of GE’s lobbyists are among the influential 100.
Almost two-thirds of the staffers-turned-lobbyists (or lobbyists-turned-staffers) worked for a Democrat. Members of the committee whose former staffers are now lobbyists include, but are not limited to:
- Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., with 25
- Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., with 15
- Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., with 13
- Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.,with 10
In a graphic, The Post also breaks the lobbyists down by industry, revealing an overwhelming amount of lobbyists in the health care sector.
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