By: Kyle Swenson, New Times, 10/7/15

The U.S. Congress runs on wink-wink arrangements and campaign contributions. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the payday loan industry — the $46 billion-a-year business that keeps many low-income Americans locked in a desperate financial arrangement in order to pay their bills — is trying to grease the palms of legislators.

What is surprising is that 11 members of Congress are being accused of accepting cash in exchange for beneficial legislation and votes — i.e., bribes.  One of South Florida’s biggest congressional Democratic players has been targeted by these allegations — Congressman Alcee Hastings.

As first reported by our pals over at the Florida Bulldog, this week, the D.C.-based Campaign for Accountability mailed a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics requesting an investigation into the lawmakers on whether they broke “House and criminal law.” Hastings, whose district includes Broward and a swath of Palm Beach, is one of two Democrats to make the list.

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