As I already stated in the manner that financial contribution to reelection is the sole thing that gives representatives the ability to enact their will , wield power , etc , it definitely is a means of payment . 1 a to make due return to for services rendered or property deliveredb to engage for money hire you couldn ' t pay me to do that 2 a to give in return for goods or service pay wagesb to discharge indebtedness for settle pay a billc to make a disposal or transfer of moneyThe question you need to ask is does the legislator benefit directly from this payment ? Yes they do benefit directly . You can tell because they salivate at the mouth and bend over backwards for these financial contributions . So yeah , they got paid . I think the problem is you ' re taking a very narrow definition of pay and being angry that people don ' t share your narrow definition . If you asked if they took salary or financial wages from these companies , they did not . They most certainly got paid though .