Prior to 1989, members of Congress routinely scheduled daily breakfast meetings with 4 or 5 [[lobbyist]]s for which the recieved an honorarium. Members anecdotally defined honorarium as "$1000 and a bran muffin" for a 45 minute speech. Honorarium as a source of fundraising was eliminated in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (ERA).<ref>https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr1623 </ref> | Prior to 1989, members of Congress routinely scheduled daily breakfast meetings with 4 or 5 [[lobbyist]]s for which the recieved an honorarium. Members anecdotally defined honorarium as "$1000 and a bran muffin" for a 45 minute speech. Honorarium as a source of fundraising was eliminated in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (ERA).<ref>https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr1623 </ref> |