Lobbyist group 'X' comes to exist, and has twenty companies supporting them. Figure around $700-million in faked-up costs and the federal gov't pays the 'bill'.
So the lobbyist group is paid $400-million.
Out of this, 10-percent ($40-million) is the cost of running the lobby organization in DC (building, operations, salary, leased cars, paid lunches, booze, etc).
Another 10-percent ($40-million) goes to the Senate/House support staff. This is to ensure the Senator or Representative goes by the script. So you might funnel a $20,000 weekend trip to Vegas, pay a private golf membership club deal, pay for the staff-members daughter to attend Duke University, etc.
Another 10-percent ($40-million) probably goes to the government agent who funneled the contract to the right company. He might get a bag of forty gold-coins, a cash-card loaded with $10,000, or an exceptional low-interest house loan via a friendly bank. Maybe there's a private jet trip to the Bahamas for the agent and his wife every August.
Another 10-percent ($40-million)would funnel off to the Representative/Senator himself. Maybe you'd arrange for their wife to get a charity-operation executive job (say $150k a year), or arrange for the Senator's girlfriend to have an apartment in the DC area.
Finally, you have the big-pot to handle campaign donations. You pay some TV station to ensure super-positive comment. You pay a PAC to help. You rig donations. At the end of the campaign....if the Congressman has a $150k debt.....you arrange for special friends to pay the debt.
The funny thing....is that it's the gov't money funding all of this crap. You can figure that almost all of the House and Senate members are tangled-up in this, and getting some type of 'gift'.
