Laura Friedman
Representative · D-CA-30
OverviewMoney & Influence
$276K raised.
Here's where it came from and where it went.
$276K raised$479 avg donation92% from CA1 former staff → lobbyists
Key Findings
1 former staff now work as lobbyists
Former employees have transitioned to the lobbying industry.
12% of PAC money comes from regulated industries
Some funding comes from industries within this member's committee jurisdiction.
46% of money comes from large donors (>$1,000)
A significant share of funding comes from major individual donors.
92% of donations come from CA
The majority of funding comes from within the member's home state.
How Does Money Flow Through Congress?
An interactive guide to the influence pipeline
Show ↓
How Does Money Flow Through Congress?
An interactive guide to the influence pipeline
How It Works
The Influence Pipeline
How money flows to — and through — Laura Friedman's office.
01
The Company
A corporation wants a law passed or blocked.
02
The PAC
Direct donations are illegal. So employees pool money into a Political Action Committee.
03
The Target
PACs fund members on committees that regulate their industry.
04
⚖️
The Committee
These committees write the laws that affect the donor's business.
07
🗳️
The Vote
Your representative votes — and the pattern is clear.
06
📋
The Lobbying
Those lobbyists push specific bills before their former colleagues.
05
🚪
The Revolving Door
Former staff become lobbyists for the same industries that fund their old boss.
The cycle repeats.
01
The Company
A corporation wants a law passed or blocked.
02
The PAC
Direct donations are illegal. So employees pool money into a Political Action Committee.
03
The Target
PACs fund members on committees that regulate their industry.
04
⚖️
The Committee
These committees write the laws that affect the donor's business.
05
🚪
The Revolving Door
Former staff become lobbyists for the same industries that fund their old boss.
06
📋
The Lobbying
Those lobbyists push specific bills before their former colleagues.
07
🗳️
The Vote
Your representative votes — and the pattern is clear.
The cycle repeats.
Follow the Money
Labor is the largest PAC sector at $63K from 19 PACs.
Industry PACs
$172KWhich sectors fund this member
Top Individual Donors
$1.7MNamed people writing checks
Madison, Steven↗$17K
CA · Quinn Emanuel · 5xCameron, Rima↗$14K
CA · Not Employed · 9xCA · Dake Wilson Architects · 4x
CA · Not Employed · 7x
CA · Not Employed · 6x
MT · Mcs Burbank Llc · 3x
Friedman
Science, Space, and Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure
Votes Cast by Policy Area
Congress
113
Economics and Public Finance
52
Energy
32
Armed Forces and National Security
31
Crime and Law Enforcement
24
Public Lands and Natural Resources
24
The Revolving Door
Carissa G. Bunge — legislative director → The Trust For Public Land; American Geophysical Union↗(8 filings)
Deep Dive
How we built this & what it doesn't prove
- • Donor data from FEC filings (9.47M individual contributions)
- • Voting records from Congress.gov roll call data
- • Lobbying data from Senate LDA filings
- • Staff employment from House disbursement records
Correlation between donations and votes does not prove causation. Members may vote in alignment with donors because they share genuine policy beliefs, not because of financial influence. We present the connections — you decide what they mean.