Congressman Heath Shuler, a lead fiscal cliff negotiator, accepts a job with an energy company that fears major tax increases

Cenk Uygur and The Nation contributor Lee Fang break down exactly why a congressman like Heath Shuler, D-N.C., would turn to lobbying after leaving the House. In 2010, the average former U.S. representative saw a 1,452 percent salary increase after finishing his or her term. Now, Shuler has announced that he’ll become a chief lobbyist with Duke Energy after originally pledging not to become a lobbyist. “He did kind of break his pledge, but what was more astounding than that — he broke the pledge pretty early. He’s actually a sitting congressman still, who’s leading negotiations with the fiscal cliff stuff,” Fang says. “The fact that the person who’s leading these fiscal cliff negotiations — or is among the leaders — has accepted a job with one of the companies that faces a lot of peril in these negotiations is quite troubling.”