"Shadow Congress": 172 Former Lawmakers Now Lobbyists

TPM Muckraker has found that 172 former members of Congress currently work as lobbyists, regarding this system as "the Shadow Congress." TPM notes that "over the last few decades, a vast army of what might be called uber-lobbyists has taken shape in the capital, made up of retiring lawmakers eager to cash in on K Street after a lifetime of making do with public sector salaries."

Some are not registered lobbyists and, "far more are low-profile back-benchers we'd never heard of." There is also an interactive map where you can see how many former lawmakers from any state are now members of the Shadow Congress. Clicking on a state will provide more detailed information about the former member and where they now work.

For these run-of-the-mill lawmakers, it's not hard to see how a second career based on leveraging their direct knowledge of the legislative process and their cozy relationships with current lawmakers -- credentials they never fail to tout on their websites -- could seem more appealing than the other options likely on offer: a visiting professorship at the local college, say, or a seat on the board of a smallish company.
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