"Deficit Supercommittee Members Have Close Ties to Many Lobbyists"

"The 12-member congressional supercommittee picked to trim $1.5 trillion from the federal budget will undoubtedly be listening to hundreds of viewpoints on where to cut back. But many of the voices chiming in could be the members' current or former staffers who have close ties to the lobbying world.

More than 100 former staffers of the bipartisan, bicameral supercommittee members have gone to work for entities that lobby Congress, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics.

And while it is unclear now which staff members the six Republicans and six Democrats will choose to assist them in the work of cutting the deficit, about a dozen former lobbyists are currently employed in key positions, the group has found."

Sarah Abruzzese reports for Greenwire August 16, 2011.