The Center for Public Integrity

As chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Congress, Republican Darrell Issa has built a team that includes staff members with close connections to industries that could benefit from his investigations.

Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit funded in part by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers, has launched a 30-second television advertisement in Wisconsin that asks, “Who decides Wisconsin’s future: Voters or government unions?”

The Mississippi governor, a legendary fundraiser, is calling in chits with friends and allies to raise money for a possible GOP presidential bid.

Many federal employees have government-issued charge cards for work-related expenses, and a handful of workers are using taxpayer dollars to pay for entertainment, prostitutes, and gambling.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, has released a massive collection of letters received from nonprofits, businesses, and trade associations regarding the impact of government regulations on job creation nationwide.

One strong sign of a politician’s interest in the presidential race is always the amount of early money raised. New rules for identifying lobbyist-bundlers show just two potential GOP candidates for the 2012 nomination reporting large bundled contributions from registered lobbyists in the 2009-2010 campaign cycle.

It didn’t take long for some new House Republicans to decide that inside-the-Beltway wisdom is essential after all. Many have hired tried-and-true Capitol Hill veterans as their chiefs of staff.

Raised on a Montana ranch, Sen. Max Baucus now wrangles tax policy as head of the powerful Finance Committee. The Big Sky State Democrat, 69, was elected to the U.S. House in 1974, and made the jump to senator four years later. He is currently the fifth-longest-tenured senator and the third among Democrats.

As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq march toward a second decade, Democrat Carl Levin chairs the Senate committee overseeing the Defense Department. Levin, now 76, is in his sixth term and has represented Michigan in the Senate since 1979 — the longest tenure of any Michigan senator in history.

As Washington struggles to cope with unprecedented deficits and an influx of Tea Party conservatives, perhaps no one will be under the microscope more than Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. Referred to by The Bismarck Tribune as “the most influential senator North Dakota has ever produced,” Conrad helped write the 2002 and 2008 farm bills, played an active role in comprehensive energy legislation, and helped craft the 2008 financial bailout package. But those accomplishments may pale in comparison to the challenges ahead.