Congressional Charities Pulling in Corporate Cash

Representative Joe Baca has achieved near celebrity status in his suburban Los Angeles district, as much for his record of giveaways Thanksgiving turkeys, college scholarships, spare boots for firefighters as for anything he has done in Congress. That generosity is made possible by the Joe Baca Foundation, a charity his family set up three years ago to aid local organizations. It provides another benefit, too: helping the Democratic congressman run something akin to a permanent political campaign.