FULL REPORT

Getting a Grip on Influence Peddling	December 15, 1989

Report Outline
Special Focus

Introduction

Influencing the government now takes place on many different levels. “Lobbyists” advocate their positions before Congress and federal agencies. “Consultants” steer clients through the government's bureaucratic maze. “Public relations” people seek to influence the government indirectly by influencing public opinion. And then there are the “influence peddlers,” whose lobbying or consulting is based on political contacts rather than knowledge of a subject. Today, the size and complexity of the government has blurred the lines between these endeavors, making it difficult to separate legitimate from illegitimate activities.

Go to top

Overview

After leaving his Cabinet post with the Reagan administration, former Interior Secretary James G. Watt did what a lot of former government officials do: He became a private consultant.

In this capacity, Watt lobbied the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on behalf of a private developer who was seeking federal subsidies for rehabilitating low-income housing. Watt, who admits he is not a housing expert, has said that he made several phone calls to HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. and set up a 30-minute meeting with him. For this work and for his success in obtaining a HUD grant for a Maryland housing development, Watt told a congressional panel investigating political favoritism at HUD he was paid $300,000. In response to hostile questioning from Democratic members about the ethics of his activities, Watt conceded, “If I were a Democrat, I would say that Jim Watt engaged in influence peddling.”

ISSUE TRACKER for Related Reports

Lobbying and Special Interests

Apr. 15, 2022

Corporate Advocacy

Sep. 29, 2017

Think Tanks in Transition

Jun. 06, 2014

Regulating Lobbying

Jul. 22, 2005

Lobbying Boom

Dec. 26, 1997

Regulating Nonprofits