Report: Donations led to financial deregulation
BY ALICE TRUONG – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE
Is money from Bank of America or Goldman Sachs Group Inc., likely to blur Sen. Christopher Dodd‘s judgment as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee?
Apparently so, according to Carmen Balber, Washington D.C. director of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group based in Santa Monica, Calif. Balber penned a report, with research assistant Mark Reback, released Thursday showing how “the financial sector greased the wheels of deregulation in Congress in the decade leading up to the economic meltdown,” according to the report.
“We’re well passed the year mark since American taxpayers had to bail out Wall Street and big banks, and we haven’t seen any reform,” Balber said in an interview. “It’s obvious the financial industry is trying to influence the committee through these various forms of contribution.”
The report looks at the financial sectors’ sway on financial regulation with campaign contributions, fundraising for members of Congress, lobbying and its revolving door of former Congress members and staff working for the financial industry.
What do the donors have to say about the report? Here is a statement from Peter Garuccio, spokesman of the American Bankers Association, which was cited as the largest commercial bank donor to Congress:
We work with members of both sides of the political aisle, and we are actively engaged in discussions with senators and congressmen about issues that affect our industry.
And a statement from Steve Verdier, executive vice president and director of congressional affairs at the Independent Community Bankers of America, cited as the second largest commercial bank donor to Congress:
It’s impossible to gather why any set of contributing might be made. … Just today the Supreme Court said it was OK to make these donations. It’s part of the First Amendment, and we’re very supportive of the First Amendment.
Some highlights from the report:
Senate Banking Committee Financial Sector Contributions, 2005-2009
Top Wall Street donors to Congress
- Investment Co $487,875
- Institute FMR Corp (Fidelity Investments) $470,350
- Morgan Stanley $450,453
- Paloma Partners $436,950
- Goldman Sachs $419,875
Top commercial bank donors to Congress
- American Bankers Association $1,268,600
- Independent Community Bankers of America $513,050
- Citigroup Inc $468,300
- Bank of America $326,125
- JPMorgan Chase & Co $308,261
Money spent on lobbying
- $336,005,436 – Amount the financial sector spent on 2,567 congressional lobbyists in 2009
- $52,256,000 – Amount the U.S. Chamber of Congress spent on 127 lobbyists in 2009
Tags: banks, Christopher Dodd, Congress, donations, financial, Senator
