Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets

by Schweizer, Peter

  Right now, politicians enjoy a nice loophole. They are provided an exemption from the provision in the Ethics Manual that prohibits soliciting or receiving contributions in congressional office buildings from fellow members. We need to extend the solicitation ban to members of Congress: selling your vote is selling your vote, whether it’s to a special interest or a colleague.

  5. Restrict the ability of the Permanent Political Class to extort money for their families through political power. We need to ban immediate family members (spouses and children) from registering as lobbyists. Period. We also need to prevent members of Congress from putting family members on the payroll. Campaigns and public service should not be about self-enrichment. Putting your kids on the campaign payroll can often be a simple way of moving campaign dollars into the family bank account.

  But beyond restricting the extortionist avenues for the Permanent Political Class, we must also have transparency in the legislative process so that the practice can be exposed. If the military-industrial complex has been cause for worry, today there exists a legislative-lobbyist complex as well. Laws are so complicated that bills are not even read by members of Congress. Extortive practices are easy to carry out in a cloud of legal words.

  All sorts of stuff is packed into bills. In an article for the Washington Post entitled “We Need to Read the Bills,” Congressman Brian Baird wrote about a particularly embarrassing episode in which someone inserted a provision into a spending bill that would have allowed House and Senate Appropriations Committee chairmen and their staffs to examine any individual American’s income tax returns.20

  We can fix this problem by doing a couple of things. First, we should adopt a single-subject rule for all bills. Article III of the Florida Constitution “requires that every law shall embrace but one subject and matter properly connected therewith.” In other words, each bill needs to be focused on one specific subject. You shouldn’t be able to slip something in on an unrelated subject.

  Second, we need to require members of Congress to actually read the bills they are going to vote on. This sounds like common sense to most people outside of Washington. But politicians, of course, think it’s ridiculous that lawmakers should actually read the laws they are making! Several bills that have already been introduced would try to accomplish this in some way. Some would require a seven-day waiting period between the time when a bill is ready to be voted on and when the final vote actually takes place. During this period, members of Congress would be required to read the bill. Others suggest that all bills scheduled for a full vote on the floor be read out loud—even the two-thousand-page monsters. Back in 2009, thanks to a legislative maneuver, it appeared that a monster bill with four hundred amendments might need to be read aloud on the House floor. Congressional leaders actually hired a speed-reader to comply, even though no one would have been able to understand what he was reading. “Judging by the size of the amendments, I can read a page about every 34 seconds,” said the speed-reader. Based on that estimate, it would have taken him nine hours to read the bill.21 If we can pass a law to make reading aloud a permanent requirement, it will need to guard against such shenanigans. (Imagine all-night readings to empty chambers.) How about simply requiring members to read the bills before a vote and to sign a legal affidavit attesting to that fact?

  Such laws have to have teeth. Current Senate rules require that any bill that will be voted on be posted online beforehand, so that the general public can read it.22 But that rule is regularly suspended or ignored, without any penalty. So those who ignore the requirement to read a bill should face some sort of real sanction. After all, they are paid to be lawmakers. That is their job. How can they make laws if they don’t even read them?

  Government is getting bigger—and it is getting meaner. One key reason: it is profitable for the Permanent Political Class. We need to change this reality. Dante, in The Inferno, placed corrupt politicians in the eighth circle of hell, the penultimate in eternal damnation. Yet as Lord Acton famously said, power corrupts. We must assume that the temptation to corruption is universal in Washington, and we must create earthly punishments to deter it.

  Appendix 1

  REPUBLICAN PARTY DUES LISTS, 20131

  First Name Last Name 2012 Cycle Outstanding 2013 March Dinner Outstanding Overage 2013 Dues Assessment 2013 Dues Pledged 2013 Dues Paid Percentage of March Dinner Paid

  John Boehner $0 $200,000 $418,347 $418,347 100%

  Eric Cantor $0 $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 100%

  Kevin McCarthy $0 $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 100%

  Greg Walden $0 $165,000 $165,000 $165,000 100%

  Cathy McMorris Rodgers $0 $165,000 $39,600 $39,600 100%

  Lynn Westmoreland $0 $125,000 $125,000 $125,000 100%

  Dave Camp $0 $165,000 $15,400 $15,400 100%

  Jeb Hensarling $0 $165,000 $237,200 $89,600 100%

  Harold Rogers $0 $165,000 $8,250 $8,250 100%

  Peter Roskam $0 $165,000 $3,555 $3,555 100%

  Pete Sessions $0 $165,000 $165,000 $148,700 100%

  Fred Upton $0 $165,000 $138,500 $98,150 100%

  Virginia Foxx $0 $125,000 $43,150 $25,000 100%

  Doc Hastings $0 $125,000 — — 100%

  Darrell Issa $0 $125,000 $32,800 $32,800 100%

  Lynn Jenkins $0 $125,000 $53,510 — 100%

  John Kline $0 $125,000 $47,550 $40,050 100%

  James Lankford $0 $125,000 $500 $500 100%

  Paul Ryan $0 $125,000 $125,000 - 100%

  Bill Shuster $0 $125,000 $60,600 $46,000 100%

  Kevin Brady $0 $85,000 $42,600 $42,600 100%

  John Campbell $0 $85,000 $175,500 $175,500 100%

  John Carter $0 $85,000 — — 100%

  Scott Garrett $0 $85,000 $9,700 — 100%

  Sam Johnson $0 $85,000 $30,800 $30,800 100%

  Timothy Murphy $0 $85,000 $7,000 $1,000 100%

  Randy Neugebauer $0 $85,000 $47,800 $29,800 100%

  Joseph Pitts $0 $85,000 $10,000 $10,000 100%

  Patrick Tiberi $0 $85,000 $550 $550 100%

  Ed Whitfield $0 $85,000 $44,750 $44,750 100%

  Diane Black $0 $67,500 $248,650 $170,150 100%

  Mike Burgess $0 $67,500 $0 $0 100%

  Ken Calvert $0 $67,500 $97,566 $76,366 100%

  Tom Cole $0 $67.500 $140.250 $43.550 100%

  Tom Cotton $0 $67.500 $54.533 $54.533 100%

  Mario Diaz-Balart $0 $67.500 $77.500 $77.500 100%

  Stephen Fincher $0 $67.500 $67.500 — 100%

  Chuck Fleischmann $0 $67.500 $4.900 $4.900 100%

  Cory Gardner $0 $67.500 $5.000 $5.000 100%

  Sam Graves $0 $67.500 $8.500 $8.500 100%

  Brett Guthrie $0 $67.500 $12.500 $2.500 100%

  Ralph Mall $0 $67.500 $52.500 $52.500 100%

  Gregg Harper $0 $67.500 $3.700 $3.700 100%

  Andy Harris $0 $67.500 $7.500 $6.500 100%

  Jaime Herrera Beutler $0 $67.500 $6.800 $6.800 100%

  Mike Kelly $0 $67.500 $27.900 $27.900 100%

  Leonard Lance $0 $67.500 $15.600 $15.600 100%

  Billy Long $0 $67.500 $500 $500 100%

  David McKinley $0 $67.500 Unclear Unclear 100%

  Jeff Miller $0 $67.500 $56.500 $56.500 100%

  Mick Mulvaney $0 $67,500 $23,350 $23,350 100%

  Alan Nunnelee $0 $67,500 $2,421 $2,421 100%

  Erik Paulsen $0 $67,500 $18,900 $8,900 100%

  Tom Price $0 $67,500 $31,600 $28,100 100%

  Tom Rooney $0 $67,500 $13,000 $13,000 100%

  Steve Scalise $0 $67,500 $2,500 $2,500 100%

  Adrian Smith $0 $67,500 $27,250 $16,500 100%

  Lamar Smith $0 $67,500 $53,400 $6,000 100%

  Steve Stivers $0 $67,500 $68,900 $68,900 100%

  Ann Wagner $0 $67,500 $138,400 $112,600 100%

  Steve Womack $0 $67,500 $73,100 $73,100 100%

  Kevin Yoder $0 $67,500 $6,700 $6,700 100%

  Vern Buchanan $0 $67,500 $69,425 — 100%

  Spencer Bachus $0 $67,500 — — 100%
/>   Jason Chaffetz $0 $50,000 $11,000 $11,000 100%

  Mike Conaway $0 $50,000 $5,000 $5,000 100%

  Jeff Denham $0 $50,000 $10,466 $666 100%

  John Fleming $0 $50.000 $26.900 $26.900 100%

  Randy Forbes ($177.000) $0 $50.000 — — 100%

  Joe Heck $0 $50.000 $37.300 $37.300 100%

  Duncan Hunter $0 $50.000 $14.200 $14.200 100%

  Jim Jordan $0 $50.000 $5.000 $5.000 100%

  Frank LoBiondo $0 $50.000 $15.200 $15.200 100%

  Tom McClintock $0 $50.000 — — 100%

  Kristi Noem $0 $50.000 $6.800 $4.300 100%

  Thomas Petri $0 $50.000 $22.225 $17.225 100%

  Ted Poe $0 $50.000 $3.400 $3.400 100%

  Phil Roe $0 $50.000 $5.900 $5.900 100%

  Todd Rokita $0 $50.000 $7.400 $2.400 100%

  David Schweikert $0 $50.000 $14.500 — 100%

  Steve Southerland $0 $50.000 $1.000 $1.000 100%

  Glenn Thompson $0 $50.000 $9.400 $7.400 100%

  Mac Thornberry $0 $50.000 $5.000 $5.000 100%

  Michael Turner $0 $50,000 $23,500 $23,500 100%

  lleana Ros-Lehtinen $0 $50,000 — — 100%

  Susan Brooks $0 $32,500 $1,000 $1,000 100%

  Chris Collins $0 $32,500 $43,400 $23,400 100%

  Doug Collins $0 $32,500 $0 $0 100%

  Paul Cook $0 $32,500 $20,266 $20,266 100%

  Kevin Cramer $0 $32,500 $26,900 $26,900 100%

  Steve Daines $0 $32,500 $50,800 $25,000 100%

  Rodney Davis $0 $32,500 $3,000 $3,000 100%

  George Holding $0 $32,500 $17,500 $17,500 100%

  Richard Hudson $0 $32,500 $34,700 $34,700 100%

  Mark Meadows $0 $32,500 $23,900 $23,900 100%

  Scott Perry $0 $32,500 $5,900 $5,900 100%

  Tom Rice $0 $32,500 $3,500 $3,500 100%

  Keith Rothfus $0 $32,500 $54,000 $53,000 100%

  Roger Williams $0 $32,500 $377,800 $151,100 100%

  Tim Griffin ($3,500) $67,500 — — 95%

  Robert Pittenger ($4.150) $67.500 — — 94%

  Marsha Blackburn ($5.350) $67.500 — — 92%

  Gus Bilirakis ($5.600) $67.500 — — 92%

  Blake Farenthold ($119.800) ($7.700) $50.000 — — 85%

  David Reichert ($10.600) $85.000 — — 84%

  Stevan Pearce ($11.500) $67.500 — — 83%

  Dennis Ross ($11.500) $67.500 — — 83%

  Andy Barr ($12.500) $67.500 — — 81%

  Jim Gerlach ($15.000) $67.500 — — 78%

  Mo Brooks ($7.500) $32.500 — — 77%

  Reid Ribble ($12.925) $50.000 — — 74%

  Buck McKeon ($35.400) $125.000 — — 72%

  Rob Woodall ($230.000) ($19.500) $67.500 — — 71%

  Luke Messer ($9.500) $32.500 — — 71%

  Patrick McHenry ($25.400) $85.000 $36.200 — 70%

  Tom Reed ($20.500) $67.500 — — 70%

  Kerry Bentivolio ($10.000) $32.500 — — 69%

  John Mica ($15,500) $50,000 — — 69%

  Bill Flores ($17,000) $50,000 $88,200 — 66%

  Lou Barletta ($18,500) $50,000 — — 63%

  Ron DeSantis ($12,500) $32,500 $2,500 — 62%

  Jackie Walorski ($12,500) $32,500 $18,300 — 62%

  Dan Benishek ($20,000) $50,000 — — 60%

  Pete Olson ($27,300) $67,500 — — 60%

  Vicky Hartzler ($20,500) $50,000 — — 59%

  Morgan Griffith ($28,000) $67,500 $3,000 — 59%

  Rodney Frelinghuysen ($35,500) $85,000 — — 58%

  Jon Runyan ($21,900) $50,000 $2,500 $2,500 56%

  Ted Yo ho ($15,000) $32,500 — — 54%

  Mike Coffman ($24,500) $50,000 $0 — 52%

  Bob Gibbs ($25,000) $50,000 — — 50%

  Scott Rigell ($25,000) $50,000 — — 50%

  Kenny Marc hant ($34,100) $67,500 — — 49%

  Chris Stewart ($16,500) $32,500 — — 49%

  Randy Hultgren ($25,500) $50,000 — — 49%

  Tom Latham ($44,000) $85,000 — — 48%

  Mike Rogers (AL) ($26,500) $50,000 — — 47%

  Joe Barton ($220,646) ($35,900) $67,500 — — 47%

  Jo Bonner ($36,300) $67,500 — — 46%

  Paul Gosar ($26,900) $50,000 — — 46%

  Brad Wenstrup ($17,500) $32,500 — — 46%

  Cynthia Lummis ($27,000) $50,000 — — 46%

  Daniel Webster ($37,000) $67,500 — — 45%

  Michelle Bachmann ($37,500) $67,500 — — 44%

  Doug Lamborn ($28,500) $50,000 — — 43%

  Aaron Schock ($39,000) $67,500 — — 42%

  Kay Granger ($50,000) $85,000 — — 42%

  Larry Bucshon ($30,000) $50,000 — — 40%

  John Duncan ($30,000) $50,000 — — 40%

  Bill Johnson ($40,500) $67,500 — — 40%

  Pat Meehan ($30,000) $50,000 — — 40%

  Scott Tipton ($30,000) $50,000 — — 40%

  Rick Crawford ($31,500) $50,000 — — 37%

  Doug LaMalfa ($20,500) $32,500 — — 37%

  Bob Goodlatte ($79,000) $125,000 — — 37%

  Matt Salmon ($20,900) $32,500 — — 36%

  Jeff Duncan ($32,500) $50,000 — — 35%

  Bill Posey ($44,500) $67,500 — — 34%

  Thomas Massie ($21,500) $32,500 — — 34%

  Jack Kingston ($56,300) $85,000 — — 34%

  David Valadao ($45,000) $67,500 — — 33%

  Randy Weber ($22,100) $32,500 — — 32%

  Mike Rogers (Ml) ($46,500) $67,500 — — 32%

  Candice Miller ($46,500) $67,500 — — 31%

  Chris Gibson ($34,500) $50,000 — — 31%

  Tim Walberg ($34,500) $50,000 — — 31%

  Rob Wittman ($34,500) $50,000 — — 31%

  Mike Fitzpatrick ($47,000) $67,500 — — 30%

  Michael Grimm ($206,578) ($47,000) $67,500 — — 30%

  Mark Amodei ($35,000) $50,000 — — 30%

  Steve Chabot ($35,000) $50,000 — — 30%

  Louie Gohmert ($35,000) $50,000 — — 30%

  Steve King ($35,000) $50,000 — — 30%

  Tom Marino ($35,000) $50,000 — — 30%

  Austin Scott ($35,000) $50,000 — — 30%

  Lee Terry ($59,500) $85,000 — — 30%

  Robert Hurt ($47,500) $67,500 — — 30%

  Jim Renacci ($47,500) $67,500 — — 30%

  John Culberson ($60,500) $85,000 — — 29%

  Rob Bishop ($49,000) $67,500 — — 27%

  Richard Hanna ($86,928) ($36,500) $50,000 — — 27%

  Renee Ellmers ($49,475) $67,500 — — 27%

  Bill Cassidy ($50,000) $67,500 — — 26%

  Sean Duffy ($50,000) $67,500 — — 26%

  Todd Young ($50,000) $67,500 $14,900 — 26%

  Blaine Luetkemeyer ($51.000) $67.500 — — 24%

  Devin Nunes ($64.500) $85.000 — — 24%

  Charles Dent ($51.500) $67.500 — — 24%

  Frank Wolf ($65.000) $85.000 — — 24%

  Markwayne Mullin ($25.000) $32.500 $3.500 $3.500 23%

  David Joyce ($52.000) $67.500 — — 23%

  Richard Nugent ($52.000) $67.500 — — 23%

  Peter King ($52.500) $67.500 — — 22%

  Adam Kinzinger ($52.500) $67.000 $45.000 $45.000 22%

  CO o cr Latta ($52.500) $67.500 — — 22%

  John Shimkus ($66.500) $85.000 — — 22%

  Michael McCaul ($98.000) $125.000 — — 22%

  Bill Huizenga ($53.000) $67.500 — — 21%

  Michael Pompeo ($53.000) $67.500 — — 21%

  Ed Royce ($100.100) $125.000 — — 20%

  Robert Aderholt ($69.000) $85.000 — — 19%

  Michael Simpson ($69.000) $85.000 — — 19%

  Ander Crenshaw ($69.500) $85.000 — — 18%

  Bill Young ($329,500) ($69.500) $85.000 — — 18%

  Charles Boustany ($434,984) ($70.000) $85.000 — — 18%

  Gary Miller ($359.299) ($56.000) $67.500 — — 17%

 
Trent Franks ($227.600) ($41.900) $50.000 — — 16%

  Christopher Smith ($41.900) $50.000 — — 16%

  Trey Radei ($27.500) $32.500 — — 15%

  Joe Wilson ($42.500) $50.000 — — 15%

  Phil Gingrey ($57.500) $67.500 — — 15%

  Trey Gowdy ($44.000) $50.000 — — 12%

  Scott DesJarlais ($44.600) $50.000 — — 11%

  Frank Lucas ($1 11.975) $125.000 — — 10%

  Howard Coble ($230.000) ($45.000) $50.000 — — 10%

  Martha Roby ($45.000) $50.000 — — 10%

  DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

  Dues Lists2

  Appendix 2

  LEADERSHIP PAC SPENDING ON OTHER CANDIDATES DURING THE 2012 ELECTION CYCLE1

  PAC NAME POLITICIAN TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT SPENT ON OTHER CANDIDATES % SPENT ON OTHER CANDIDATES

  America Forward PAC John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) $102,802 $1,430 1%

  Leading Us in Success PAC Luis Fortuno (R-PR) $140,869 $4,500 3%

  Reclaim America PAC Marco Rubio (R-FL) $1,699,784 $72,984 4%

  Reinventing a New Direction Rand Paul(R-KY) $1,436,120 $150,000 10%

  MICHELE PAC Michele Bachmann (R-MN) $1,372,174 $146,500 10%

  Build America PAC Gregory Meeks (D-NY) $156,141 $20,000 12%

  Tenn PAC Lamar Alexander (R-TN) $954,825 $155,500 16%

  Dakota PAC John Hoeven (R-ND) $153,840 $26,000 16%

  Vote to Elect Republicans Now PAC Vernon Buchanan (R-FL) $382,480 $65,250 17%

  Texas Freedom Fund Joe Barton (R-TX) $141,683 $24,500 17%

  Note: Listed are the leadership PACs of sitting members of Congress that spent more than $100,000 during the election cycle and gave the least to other candidates.

  Notes

  1. Introduction: “Throw Fear”

  1. CongressionalRecord, vol. 145, pt. 19, October 26–November 3, 1999, p. 26957.

  2. MapLight, “U.S. Congress—Find Contributions: Contributor, Apache Corporation; Election Cycle, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012,” http://maplight.org/us-congress/contributions (accessed April 12, 2013).

  3. Ray Plank, interview with the author.

  4. Robert H. Sitkoff, “Politics and the Business Corporation,” Regulation (2003–2004): 1136.

  5. HBR IdeaCast, “How Campaign Finance Reform Could Help Business,” Harvard Business Review (September 6, 2012), http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2012/09/how-campaign-finance-reform-co.html.