WASHINGTON -- In a move to distance himself from lobbyists, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has cut ties with the man who has served as treasurer of his leadership fundraising committee.
Reid said Wednesday he decided to drop William Oldaker as treasurer of the Searchlight Leadership Fund because he's a lobbyist.
"I didn't want a lobbyist (to be treasurer)," Reid said.
Reid has replaced Oldaker with Holly Giarraputo, who has been assistant treasurer of the fund since July 2004, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.
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http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Feb-09-Thu-2006/news/5793827.htmlNOW READ THIS!
Almost 80 members of Congress used corporate lobbyists to head their fund-raising committees
By Elizabeth Brown and Shaylyn Cochran
WASHINGTON, October 3, 2005 — When lobbyist William Oldaker sits down to negotiate with a member of Congress, he brings years of experience working for the federal government to the table, as well as the legislative resources of his own firm. He also brings quite a bit of money.
Summary of Study Findings
As the treasurer of 23 political committees, groups that raise funds to elect or defeat politicians, Oldaker has signed off on more than $2 million in donations since 1998 to the parties and candidates he is paid to influence, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity. At the same time that these committees doled out millions to politicians, some 100 companies paid Oldaker's lobbying firms $14 million to influence some of the same lawmakers.
For example, in 2004 four committees that he managed donated a combined $30,000 to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the ranking member of the transportation appropriations subcommittee. In that same year, Oldaker lobbied Congress on transportation appropriations issues for at least five of his clients. Odaker did not return repeated calls from the Center.
Oldaker is just one of hundreds of Washington, D.C., lobbyists who play this dual role, influencing members of Congress while also controlling donations that finance their campaigns. Lobbyists have served as treasurers for at least 800 political action committees and 68 campaign committees in the past six years, according the Center's study. In that time these committees have spent more than $525 million to influence the political process. In other words, these lobbyist-led committees spent more money than President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry raised in combined contributions during the 2004 presidential campaign.
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http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=750
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