The Washington Post reports on powerful Congressman John Dingell and his wife of GM fame:
The couple accumulated millions in GM holdings in the early 2000s through Debbie Dingell's job, by far the largest portion of the family's personal wealth, public records show. At the same time, John Dingell was Detroit's staunchest ally, fighting against emissions and fuel-economy standards that could have hurt the short-term profitability of automakers. In the past year, he advocated for five bailouts for GM and Chrysler.
"I was fighting for autoworkers long before I met Deborah," he said. "The fact is that I am not married to the auto industry, but I am elected to represent the people of Michigan and in our part of the country. My people live and die by the success of the auto industry and manufacturing."
Although Dingell has one of the starkest conflicts in Congress, he is not alone. Congressional stock ownership has soared over the past two decades. To prevent economic collapse over the past year, Congress has staged an unprecedented intervention in the private sector, meaning more and more lawmakers are voting on measures that could affect their personal wealth. For example, the government today owns 60 percent of GM.
There's more, much more:
"The Dingell family is receiving a very healthy salary from a company he is expected to regulate," said Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, which has led efforts to pass most of the modern-day congressional ethics reform laws. "It's a very serious conflict of interest. Just telling people about the conflict, through financial disclosure, is not sufficient."
You'll want to read the whole article. Where would GM be today without John Dingell looting the taxpayers? Putting John Dingell's wife on the pad is much better than any campaign contribution.
