Vet Affairs not a money-making assignment
Published: April 9, 2012
WASHINGTON — The Sunlight Foundation earlier this month released a list of which House committees are the most profitable for lawmakers looking to raise campaign funds. The effort, done in conjunction with the NPR program “This American Life,” was designed to show why some committees are considered premium assignments by money-conscious House members, and why others are “duds.”
The top of the list is no surprise – Members of the Ways and Means, Financial Services and Energy and Commerce committees rake in tens of thousands more than their colleagues in part due to their area of focus. And, in predictable news to veterans advocates, the bottom of the list includes the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
The group estimates that lawmakers on the veterans committee receive $83,442 less each fundraising cycle than the House average for campaign donations. Only four of the 17 other committees received lower money marks (Education, Natural Resources, House Administration and Judiciary).
That helps explain the high turnover on the committee in recent years. Over the last eight congressional sessions, only 16 incumbent lawmakers have joined the committee, while 50 have left for greener pastures.
The foundation notes that committee assignments aren’t the sole determiner of how much money lawmakers will pull in – after all, some people are just better fundraisers than others.
What the heck is a Ruptured Duck?
