Buying Votes

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waited in the lobbies of the House of Commons to interview legislators” (Volkomer 114). Today, the lobbyist’s job is to pass the money to representatives for a vote in their favor of a bill. Up to $5000 may be given to any one congressman by a PAC.
The most obvious downfall of this setup is that representatives would be encouraged to vote for money. In other words, if a pro-life group paid a representative to vote against legalizing abortion, the money would sway him. Whether or not a bill is passed becomes an issue of who is willing and able to pay more for it. Congressmen would look to vote for bills that would get them the most money from the PACs. Figuring the maximum $5000 is given to half of the Senate and half of the House of Representatives for passage of one bill, the total donations comes to $1,335,000. “Spending for the first half of last year…totaled $633 million, according to a computerized Associated Press analysis of lobbying disclosure reports” (Associated ...

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