[jauer]

Members of congress are a small subset of government officials.

That they get away with corrupt behavior doesn't mean that people in the civil service should have to be anxious about trivial things. If a government employee can be influenced by something as minor as a pen or lunch, they are in the wrong line of work.

[account42]

Yes, and making even small bribes illegal and enforcing that is how you get people who are influenced by them out of that line of work.