(Melina Mara/The Washington Post)Being in a hearing room is important for public interest groups for the same reasons it is for lobbyists: influence. Lobbyists at the time spoke freely about the practice, which at the time went for $25 to $32 an hour. “Make sure you’ve got a full checking account before you call,” one veteran lobbyist told The Washington Post. “We’re not homeless,” one line-stander told a Washington Post reporter in 2005. [The line starts here: A Washington Post story on line-standing from 2005]Ocasio-Cortez is not the only freshman lawmaker to be surprised by the practice.

Source: Washington Post February 14, 2019 03:23 UTC