Congress floor rule

I hear an endless parade of complaints about lobbyists and never ending tirades about influence in politics.

Yet I have never, never heard anyone understand a key element in how lobbying is conducted.

The best lobbyists work with former members of Congress, particularly members who were popular and influential.

This is because any member of Congress retains the ability to access the floor of Congress for the rest of their life.

When I was active in DC, we always hired former Congress members because they could walk on the floor of Congress and into hearing rooms and make our case for a budget increase.

This strikes me as a point at which people who are uncomfortable with lobbying and political processes could simply act to limit physical congressional access to current members.