The Associated Press looks at the health industry contributions to senators on the Senate Finance Committee.

The Hill reports, “More than two dozen members of Congress are paying family members thousands of dollars to work for their campaigns, according to a review of documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.”

In related news to the above post, Rep. Jerry Lewis “never mentions on his [personal financial disclosure] form that his wife is on his Congressional payroll.” Congressional rules require congressmen to disclose family members on their official congressional staff.

Andy Kroll over at TomDispatch uses Open Secrets and other Sunlight tools to tell the story of lobbyists battling the President’s agenda. An excellent example of how to tell a story using influence data.

And finally, if you want to follow the Kevin Ring (Abramoff lobbyist) trial, please read the Anti-Corruption Republican blog. Better coverage than you will find anywhere else.