Rolling Stone's 10 Worst Congressmen

1. Dennis Hastert, R- Illinois--The Highway Robber

2. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin--The Little Dictator

3. Don Young, R-Alaska--Mr. Pork

4. William Jefferson D-Louisiana--The Bribe Taker

5. Jerry Lewis, R-California--King of Payoffs

6. Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado--Mr. Bigotry

7. Dick Pombo, R-CA--Enemy of the Earth

8. Curt Weldon, R-Pa--The Conspiracy Nut

9. Hal Rogers, R--Kentucky--Bin Laden's Best Friend

10. Marilyn Musgrave, R-CA--The Christian Soldier; guardian of the bedroom

Of course, it's just a coincidence that 9 out of the 10 are Republicans!

1. Joe Barton-R-Texas--Oil and gas companies received $6 billion in subsidies from Barton's energy act. He's also a leading advocate of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Big energy has dumped more than $1.84 million into Barton's coffers over the past decade, more than any other member of the House.

Key Moment: Last year, Barton launched an unprecedented congressional investigation into the work of Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcolm Hughes, three leading university-based climate researchers who had called for action on global warming.

2. Jerry Lewis, R-California

Key position, chairman of the House appropriations committee.

Key beneficiary: Former staffer Letitia White. She's been dubbed the "Queen of Earmarks" for her ability to lobby her old boss on behalf of defense contractors such as Trident Systems..

The FBI is investigating whether Lewis traded earmarks for illegal payments.

3. James Sensenbrenner-R-Wisconsin

Key Position: Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee

Key Legislation: 2001 Patriot Act

Key Beneficiary: Himself. Sensenbrenner ranks first among lawmakers in having private interests foot the bill for his travel costs--roughly $200,000 in the past six years.

4. Roy Blunt-R-Missouri.

Key Position: House Majority Whip

Key Legislation: Department of Homeland Security bill.

Key Beneficiary: Altria lobbyist Abigail Perlman. In 2002 Blunt was dating Perlman (whom he later married) when he tried to slip a provision into the Dept of Homeland Security bill that would have benefited the tobacco giant. Altria returned the favor by funneling close to $180,000 to PAC's controlled by Blunt, according to Public Citizen

5. Alan B. Mollohan-D-West Virginia

Key Position: Member of the House Appropriations Committee

Key Legislation: Veterans Affairs and HUD appropriations bills.

Key Beneficiary: His bank account. Between 2000 and 200r, Mollohan's personal net worth jumped from $562,000 to more than $6.3 million, a windfall he attributes to " a surge in real-estate values." As the Washington Post pointed out in April, this explanation fails to address " how he came to make many of his lucrative investments in partnership with Laura Kuhns, his former aide who now runs the Vandalia Heritage Foundation"--a nonprofit Mollohan set up to oversee some of his earmark projects. Mollohan is under federal investigation for making misstatements on his personal financial disclosures and for funneling millions of dollars in earmarks to companies that have donated to hisfamily foundation and other nonprofits he founded.

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