A Buck on Lobbying Rakes in $28

Lawmakers attach special funds to budgets to direct cash homeward

(NEWSER) - Congress' ban on earmarks doesn't seem to be stopping members from channeling money to home-state projects. These days, instead of tacking such projects on to bills, legislators are creating "slush funds" that ultimately serve the same purpose, watchdog groups tell the New York Times . Included in the Army Corps of Engineers' latest budget, for instance, are 26 funds containing a total of $507 million that is to be spent on building projects not listed in President Obama's budget or in the final bill. That money will likely go to lawmakers' pet projects, according to analysts. More»

(NEWSER) - Regardless of how health-care reform eventually shakes out, one industry will likely reap a windfall: health insurance companies, reports the Los Angeles Times. All the leading overhaul proposals would require all citizens to have health insurance, which would guarantee tens of millions of new customers. "It's a bonanza," said a former insurance executive now tracking the legislation for a consulting group. Despite any public grumbling, industry leaders actually have one word in mind: "Hallelujah!" he added. More»

(NEWSER) - Powerful special interests are killing health-care reform, which is par for the course in Congress, writes Joe Klein of Time. “We’ve gotten rusty at legislating,” says one Tennessee Democrat. That’s overly kind, Klein retorts. The only bills that pass these days are essentials like budgets and “cotton-candy giveaways.” The best of the health-care proposals, Ron Wyden’s, is doomed because no special interests are backing it. More»

(NEWSER) - In his address to Congress, President Obama made it clear certain industries are in his crosshairs, from agribusiness to defense to health care. But those industries aren’t taking it lying down, the Wall Street Journal reports. They’re spending big on lobbyists, hoping to derail—or at least reshape—details of Obama’s budget. “It is in Congress where the rubber meets the road,” said a farming rep. More»