John Oliver, comedic anchorman of HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” made feathers fly when he took on the poultry industry in a May 2015 episode. Last week, it became clear that his gripe with Big Chicken had echoed all the way to the Capitol.

Oliver used his HBO show to attack the giant poultry processors — Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Sanderson Farms – for punishing chicken farmers who speak out against terms dictated by the processors (according to a 2001 study, 71 percent of the farmers live below the poverty line) and pitting them against one another through contract farming.

Oliver noted that each year, a tiny provision — the GIPSA rider (for Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration) — has been inserted into the House Appropriations bill. The rider defunds the Agriculture Department’s effort to finalize rules meant to protect the farmers, which were developed under the terms of a different statute. (Not the first time Congress has twisted itself into a double-negative pretzel.)

Two lawmakers, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), have led the charge to torpedo the GIPSA rider, but have been stymied repeatedly by colleagues like Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.). Oliver used our data to note that Womack, a member of the Appropriations Committee from the district where Tyson is headquartered, has received tens of thousands of dollars from individuals associated with Tyson and the National Chicken Council, the industry’s trade group.