National Public Radio (NPR) has started an interesting series of investigative reports called Dollar Politics, examining the relationships between Congress and interest groups in regards to current major legislative issues: health care, energy policy and financial regulation. The first story was about the growth of the lobbying industry. "Lobbying is a booming industry in this country. Millions of dollars are flowing into it; millions more flow to members of Congress in the form of campaign contributions, targeted and timed to bolster lobbying efforts." During a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions health care hearing, NPR took a photo and sought to identify how many lobbyists were present.

The second article looks at the relationship between lobbying and campaign money, and how lawmakers balance work with raising the necessary funds to get re-elected. "A member of Congress will routinely spend part of the day legislating — and part of the day raising money. And that money often comes from the industries that will gain or lose from that legislation."

The article follows Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) as he begins his day with a health care hearing and before going to meet with President Obama about the financial industry, he stopped by at a fundraiser for himself. "The fundraiser was a $1,500 -a-plate luncheon, hosted by two lobbyists, with proceeds going to support Dodd's re-election campaign. The lobbyists hosting the fundraising event work for U.S. Oncology, a major provider of cancer drugs and services. Their business is all wrapped up in the health care proposals. A member of Congress will routinely spend part of the day legislating — and part of the day raising money. And that money often comes from the industries that will gain or lose from that legislation."

There is steady state of having to seek campaign contributions, and as the article put it, "raising all that money, while writing all those laws." This is detrimental to the lawmaker, the condition of the legislative process, and to those "interests" who can not afford the $1,500 lunch, such as the ordinary citizen. This is the very reason some are advocating for a reform of the public financing system. For example, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has drafted the Fair Elections Now Act to overhaul the congressional public financing system and a similar measure has been introduced in the House, HR1826.