Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) sat down for an interview with CBS Evening News about his charity, but struggled to answer basic questions about the Frontier Foundation, which collects big donations from industry sources trying to influence Buyer but gives out no money for its putative mission of supporting Indiana students.
Buyer abruptly ended the interview with CBS, which aired last night, literally rushing out of his seat to make a meeting.
Among the questions he couldn't answer: why the foundation, which as recently as last month shared space with Buyer's campaign office in Monticello, Indiana, no longer has a physical address
"I was so focused on making sure that we were legal, that I probably didn't pay as close attention as I should have on, quote, appearances," the congressman said.
Asked by reporter Sharyl Attkisson about legislation he has introduced or supported that helps donors to Frontier, Buyer says at one point: "Trying to match up legislation like that is erroneous. You shouldn't do that Sharyl. I think that it's, I think it's wrong."
Check out one key exchange, where CBS asks Buyer about the fact that all of the donations to the foundation come from lobbyists and corporate sources with interests that Buyer has supported:
Attkisson: From what I can tell, all of the donors have interests before committees that you sit on in Congress.Buyer: Well, the committees in which were, uh, the committees, the corporations in which provided support, like I said, were those original companies. Please do not assume that if a company contributes to the foundation that that's somehow some type of influence upon what I'm about to do.
CBS also uncovers the fact that the $25,000 in seed money that started the foundation came from PhRMA. We've previously noted that PhRMA is the single biggest donor to the foundation, giving at least $200,000 over the past several years. TPMmuckraker reported late last month that PhRMA also hired Buyer's son -- who is on the board of the foundation -- to work at its Washington headquarters. Buyer is a member of the House Energy Subcommittee on Health, which regulates drugs.
If you want to know more about how Buyer's foundation has supported his golf habit, we have the full rundown here. It's also worth noting that Buyer originally denied Frontier was different than any other charity he supported, before admitting it is, in fact, his foundation.
Below is the CBS segment with Attkisson, who, to her credit, asks some tough questions.
And here's the Q&A between Buyer and Attkisson.

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theWalrus
November 12, 2009 9:34 AM
Shouldn't it be Steve Buyee?
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commie atheist
November 12, 2009 12:52 PM in reply to theWalrus
BOO-YAH!
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Obama1st
November 12, 2009 9:50 AM
I sure hope his foundation gets an ethical investigation. Has CREW filed any compliants yet?
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Johann
November 12, 2009 10:28 AM in reply to Obama1st
Steve should be congratulated. He has found a "legal" method of collecting bribes in return for his votes.
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JNagarya
November 12, 2009 9:10 PM in reply to Johann
A rRepublican liar engaged in fraud? How is this news, when news is that which is unusual?
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Jim Jenkins
November 12, 2009 10:04 AM
I love it when he lectures Attkisson on ethics.
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lousgirl84
November 12, 2009 10:07 AM
These guys are using their positions in the government as a way to steal and line their pockets. It's amazing they have such disdain for government involvement but they love sucking it dry.
These people are really beyond disgusting.
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Johann
November 12, 2009 10:33 AM in reply to lousgirl84
I hope he is getting our money's worth.
Didn't BofA get $30 Billion in return for $3 Million in "Campaign Donations"? That is a return of $10,000 for $1.
Was Buyer bought at a better rate than that?
.
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commie atheist
November 12, 2009 12:58 PM in reply to Johann
Yeah, he's pretty small fry, when it comes to corporate control of our fine, upstanding lawmakers. But these days, I'll take whatever I can get.
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JNagarya
November 12, 2009 9:12 PM in reply to lousgirl84
They KNOW gov't doesn't work. They just give it a little nudge in that direction in order to prove it.
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tersan
November 12, 2009 10:11 AM
He needs to go back to smoking lettuce leaves. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eooXNd0heM)
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cheneyisadick
November 12, 2009 10:26 AM
Republicans hate welfare (for the poor). But the love welfare for the rich.
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hollywood
November 12, 2009 1:36 PM in reply to cheneyisadick
Yep. The all-purpose word to use here is WHORE. The sex analogy continues with the act of taking money and then fucking the millions of little people who get screwed by the favors done to keep the corporation obscenely profitable.
Why do we even do a polite dance around this guy and not just slap him in the face and fire him?
Oh how I hate Rethuglicans.
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Riesz Fischer
November 12, 2009 10:49 AM
Ms. Attkisson scared him out of his seat. I feel so bad for him-- he's such a nice guy, and he's just trying to help Indiana students.
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redford
November 12, 2009 10:51 AM
My son is a senior in high school next year and I guarantee he'll be applying for a scholarship.
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DanF
November 12, 2009 10:57 AM
I'm always astounded at just how cheap it is to purchase a congressman. A lousy few hundred thousand bucks and plumb, do-nothing job for a family member. Indiana's Senator Bayh's price is a little higher (a couple million dollars), but just chump change (emphasis on the 'chump') for big pharma and insurance companies.
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midnight rambler
November 12, 2009 1:53 PM in reply to DanF
It's called "chump change" for a reason.
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hoppycalif2
November 12, 2009 11:26 AM
What we lack is a price list for Congressmen. I can use Google to find price lists for vacuum cleaners, coffee grinders, microwave ovens, etc. but I can't find a price list for Congressmen. How am I supposed to buy one without that? I say, let's sue someone over this.
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JNagarya
November 12, 2009 9:15 PM in reply to hoppycalif2
Mark Twain did an essay on the going prices for various elements of Congress, including not only Representatives and Senators but whole committees.
I'm sure that would be as complete as one would need, so long as the amounts were updated to the present.
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palmbeachmaven
November 12, 2009 11:29 AM
Too bad Attkisson didn't have time to mention that the foundation held golf outings in places like the Bahamas and that it paid Buyer's expenses to attend them.
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Clavis
November 12, 2009 11:32 AM
It really is amazing to me that members of Congress have a dozen different ways to be bribed by big business, and they can go on interviews and essentially say "Well, it doesn't count as a bribe, because even though it functions identically to a bribe, it doesn't meet an extremely narrow definition that we in Congress have specifically crafted so as to be easy to avoid, so I'm going to pretend to be obtuse and self-righteous and act like getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from someone wouldn't affect my decision-making just because it didn't happen in some very particular way."
Our government is in a permanent vegetative state.
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shrivti1
November 12, 2009 11:52 AM
Buyer claims that matching legislation to donations is "erroneous" and "wrong"...which is true, if by "erroneous" you mean "accurate" and by "wrong" you mean "in the public interest".
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WaitWut?
November 12, 2009 12:42 PM in reply to shrivti1
Perfect explanation.
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nerox3
November 12, 2009 12:22 PM
When you consider how unlikely it is that PhRMA would give money to set up an obscure Indiana scholarship foundation, the only logical motive they had to give the $25,000 was in order to gain influence.
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commie atheist
November 12, 2009 12:57 PM
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sidereal
November 12, 2009 2:39 PM
Hey, it's Steve Buyer. This song gets stuck in my head every time I see his face
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eooXNd0heM
It's not the nicotine that kills.
It's the Smo-o-o-oke
The Smo-o-o-oke
Cancer
It's the smoke
Heart Disease
It's the smoke
Respiratory Disease
It's the smo-o-o-oke
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ignoreland
November 12, 2009 3:57 PM
How long before we start to see "foundations and other nonprofit affiliations" on financial disclosure forms? Is today too soon?
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scoop10
November 12, 2009 10:39 PM
i have the great honor (not) of living in his district i despretly hope he losses reelection in 2010
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Joe Wise
November 13, 2009 12:09 AM
another crook! vote him out.
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Texas Aggie
November 13, 2009 12:59 AM
Ms. Attkinsson is truly amazing. She did her homework and she used it to make the worm squirm. She even had the decency to let him talk. Good for her.
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lousgirl84
November 13, 2009 4:50 PM in reply to Texas Aggie
Finally, a real journalist has surfaced. I watched the clip and all I could think to myself was, are any of his constituents watching this, and if so, what are thinking (assuming they are) and are they going to re-elect this reprobate
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