Lobbyists seek to penetrate debt committee | Reuters

Lobbyists seek to penetrate debt committee | Reuters: "The effort to influence what gets cut and what get saved inside the committee will be unprecedented, and intense. According to a study released this week by LegiStorm, a watchdog group, there are 11,700 registered lobbyists in Washington -- and 14,000 people who work on Capitol Hill.

In the past 10 years, the study added, more than 5,000 former congressional staffers and nearly 400 former lawmakers became federal lobbyists.

One lobbyist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: "It's not just going to be the 12 members who decide this."