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Rick Santorum, 'Stealth Lobbyist' - ABC NewsRick Santorum entered Congress with modest means. But not long after he left in 2006, the former two-term senator reaped the rewards of his time on Capitol Hill, earning more than $1 million last year in cash and stock for advising corporate clients, sharing his insights with social organizations, and consulting for media outlets.
"He has been, essentially, a stealth lobbyist," said Bill Allison, editorial director for the Sunlight Foundation, a watchdog group. "He has been hired to try to influence policy on behalf of his clients without crossing the thresholds that would require him to report what he's doing."
The rural Pennsylvania politician who boasts his common man appeal has traveled a familiar path for those who have left public service, Allison said. After helping to shape policy on the Senate finance and banking committees, Santorum accepted paid consultant jobs for insurance and energy firms with key issues pending before the politician's former colleagues.
The work has been lucrative -- in 1996 he reported assets ranging from $155,000 to $475,000 on the personal financial disclosure form he filed with the Senate. The report he filed in August 2011 as he began his presidential bid show his assets are now valued between $1.9 million and $4 million, including rental properties and robust investment and college savings funds.
A spokesman for Santorum has not responded to calls and emails seeking comment.
Since leaving Congress Santorum has worked for at least seven different employers simultaneously, with several paying him a six-figure fee. As long as Santorum was not directly contacting members of Congress on behalf of his clients, he was not required to register as a federal lobbyist and disclose his activities. Only when he filed to run for president did he have to reveal these financial relationships.
He signed on with the American Continental Group, a lobbying firm co-founded by the late Peter Terpeluk, Jr., an ambassador and one-time finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. There he has reported helping insurance giant Fortegra Financial. Lobbying reports show the Florida-based insurance company hired the D.C. lobbying firm to help monitor the potential impact that Wall Street reform legislation would have on its business.
Santorum also joined the board of Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS), a publicly traded health-care management firm that owns hospitals and healthcare facilities around the country. The company paid him nearly $400,000 in director fees and stock options before he stepped down from the board last year. The company has long served as a source of political support for Santorum, with company CEO Alan B. Miller serving as a major contributor to the senator and, now, presidential candidate.
It just never stops with these politicians--does it? They CLAIM to be one thing to win elections--and it turns out they are just as corrupt-same ol--same ol--as any other. A major firm that Santorum lobbied for is now a major contributor to his campaign. Santorum's EARMARKS when he was in government amounted to pay for play aka you make a large campaign donation to ME--and I'll make certain I get an earmark for your project. His voting record s.p.e.l.l.s BIG SPENDER. It just never ends.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/u...-2006-donations-flowed-in.html?pagewanted=all
What A Big Government Conservative Looks Like | RedState
Everything the Tea Party was against two years ago--have some within this movement now supporting what they were against--in a Rick Santorum nominee. UNBELIEVABLE
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