April 6 (Bloomberg) -- One of the surest paths to riches in Washington is to have these five words on a resume: ``Office of Representative Tom DeLay.''

Eleven lobbyists who once worked for the Texas Republican and House majority leader helped bring in at least $45 million in fees for their firms in the past two years. By comparison, former aides of House Speaker Dennis Hastert lobbying during that period helped bring in about $2.1 million.

Along the way, Delay's former assistants have aided clients such as ChevronTexaco Corp., Wyeth and Reynolds American Inc. in achieving legislative victories. They have also given DeLay the kind of Washington-insider clout he once criticized when Democrats were in power…

``This is very damaging for the political system,'' said Amo Houghton, a Republican who represented a congressional district in upstate New York for 18 years before retiring in January. ``It doesn't help the Republican Party. It doesn't help anybody in politics.''…

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