Washington Insiders Episode 8- Pay to Play

It's a year later and—perhaps having learned something from the Philip Morris incident—Congressman Blunt is involved in a more successful pay-to-play scheme, this time on behalf of United Parcel Service (UPS), a generous donor and a lobbying client of his son, Andrew, who now manages his campaign. Here, Blunt persuades Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to insert a provision without debate into a supplemental war funding bill that translates into big bucks for UPS by barring their competitor -- DHL -- from getting Pentagon contracts in Iraq. The Washington Post later described the amendment and others like it as "special-interest riders with no connection to the war or the fight on terrorism." UPS ultimately donates the maximum allowed contributions to Blunt's federal fundraising committees—a total of $10,000—during the 2003-2004 election cycle. [Washington Post, 4/8/03; AP, 3/10/03; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

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