Public Radio International: Members of Congress scoring personal loans from political supporters
A review of mandatory personal financial disclosure forms filed by all current members of the House and Senate reveals at least 19 have accepted loans from organizations or moneyed individuals instead of a bank or traditional financial institution. Often, these organizations and individuals rank among the lawmakers’ key political supporters. In two of these cases, the loans were made to members' spouses.
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“The reason we have contribution limits on the books, the reason that an individual is limited in how much they can give to a candidate or an official is to limit corruption, and to limit the opportunities for influence and to make sure that no official is overly indebted to any particular person,” said Brendan Fischer, director of the federal reform program for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan election reform group based in Washington, D.C.