'Fix Congress First!' Organizes to Change 'Pay to Play' Status Quo in Washington, D.C.
Interview with Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University law professor, director of the Edward J. Sifra Foundation Center for Ethics, and co-founder of the group Change Congress, conducted by Scott Harris
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, companies that hired congressional lobbyists in 2009 spent more than $3.47 billion to influence legislators as they debated the future of health care reform, financial regulations and energy policy. That constituted more than a 5 percent increase over the previous record expenditure of $3.3 billion spent on federal lobbying in 2008. The center calculated that $1.3 million was spent on lobbying every hour that Congress was in session during 2009.
This flood of corporate spending to influence Congress came as the U.S. was suffering through the worst economic decline since the Great Depression. Public opinion polls indicate most Americans aren't happy with the status quo in Washington, with more than 60 percent saying that federal legislators don't deserve to be re-elected. Several other polls find that the public's approval for Congress and political parties are now at historic lows.
Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, is co-founder of the non-profit group Change Congress, whose mission is to restore public trust in government and protect the independence of Congress by fighting the influence of money in politics. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with professor Lessig about how his group proposes to change the status quo in Washington where big money has veto power over congressional action on behalf of the public good.
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