Report Shows Financial Industry Gave $41 Million to Senate Banking Committee, Spent $344 Million on Lobbying to Influence Financial Reform

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Jan 21, 2010, 11:09 ET

Flood of Dollars Looks Like "Wall Street Buying Votes," says Watchdog; More Massachusetts-Style Backlash Likely If Consumer Protections Are Dropped

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A report released today by Consumer Watchdog on the financial industry's efforts to neuter the financial reform bill in Congress, and the Senate Banking committee in particular, finds the sector gave $41 million to committee members since 2005 and spent $336 million lobbying Congress in the first three quarters of 2009.

Download the full report here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/FinancialSectorInvestments.pdf

Some senators are interpreting the results of Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts as a sign they should go slow on financial and other needed reforms.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," said Carmen Balber, Washington director for Consumer Watchdog. "Senators who have taken millions from the financial industry appear ready to kill proposed consumer protections that would rein in the speculation and greed that cost Americans their homes, jobs and savings. But selling out to Wall Street yet again will do nothing to restore confidence on Main Street. The message for the Senate is to stand up to their financial industry donors or pay the price when the voters lose faith as they did in Massachusetts."

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking committee, was the top recipient of industry money, and took $9,000,975 from the financial sector since 2005. Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-LA) took $2,461,009. Shelby has opposed an independent consumer protection regulator and news reports suggest Chairman Dodd is considering dropping his initial proposal for a strong independent consumer financial agency.

Senate Banking Committee Financial Sector Contributions, 2005-2009
Senator	Raised from Financial Industry	Senator	Raised from Financial Industry
Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)	$ 9,000,975	Sherrod Brown (D-OH)	$ 988,007
Mark Warner (D-VA)	$ 5,561,561	Jim DeMint (R-SC)	$ 940,856
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)	$ 3,086,349	David Vitter (R-LA)	$ 859,644
Evan Bayh (D-IN)	$ 3,020,913	Jeff Merkley (D-OR)	$ 777,387
Bob Corker (R-TN)	$ 2,672,630	Jon Tester (D-MT)	$ 725,487
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)	$ 2,540,952	Michael Bennet (D-CO)	$ 617,676
Richard C. Shelby (R-AL)	$ 2,461,009	Jim Bunning (R-KY)	$ 518,440
Jack Reed (D-RI)	$ 1,732,958	Mike Johanns (R-NE)	$ 462,440
Tim Johnson (D-SD)	$ 1,520,226	Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)	$ 242,750
Mike Crapo (R-ID)	$ 1,419,555	Judd Gregg (R-NH)	$ 218,200
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)	$ 1,380,399	Herb Kohl (D-WI)	$ 9,400
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)	$ 1,161,560	TOTAL	$41,919,374

The financial sector sponsored at least 43 fundraisers for members of the Senate Banking committee in 2009, and hired 24 former Senators or Banking committee staff to lobby on behalf of financial firms, the report also finds.

Number of 2009 Fundraisers Hosted by Financial Sector Lobbyists for Senate Banking Committee Members
Senator	Fundraisers Hosted by Financial Sector
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)	8
Jim DeMint (R-SC)	7
Mike Crapo (R-ID)	7
David Vitter (R-LA)	7
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)	4
Michael Bennet (D-CO)	3
Evan Bayh (D-IN)	2
Mike Johanns (R-NE)	2
Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)	1
Richard C. Shelby (R-AL)	1
Jon Tester (D-MT)	1
TOTAL	43

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) has been a central point of attack for commercial banks battling financial reform. Banks want consumer protection authority to remain with the regulators who failed to rein in abuses like predatory mortgage lending that contributed to the economic meltdown. The largest bank contributors to Congress in 2009 include leading opponents of the CFPA: the American Bankers Association, Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.

Top Five Bank & Wall Street Contributors to Congress, 2009
	Contributor	Total Amount
	American Bankers Assn	$ 1,268,600
	Independent Community Bankers of America	$ 513,050
Commercial Banks	Citigroup Inc	$ 468,300
	Bank of America	$ 326,125
	JPMorgan Chase & Co	$ 308,261

	Investment Co Institute	$ 487,875
	FMR Corp (Fidelity Investments)	$ 470,350
Securities/Investment	Morgan Stanley	$ 450,453
	Paloma Partners	$ 436,950
	Goldman Sachs	$ 419,875

"To ordinary voters, this flood of dollars looks like Wall Street buying votes," said Balber. "The fate of an independent consumer regulator is a test of whether politicians will rise above financial industry influence to enact meaningful regulatory reform that directly aids ordinary Americans. If Senators don't stand up to the financial industry in the midst of the Great Recession, they never will."

Data for the report was compiled from sources including: the Center for Responsive Politics (http://www.opensecrets.org), the Sunlight Foundation (http://www.politicalpartytime.org ), and the US Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act Database (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/Public_Disclosure/LDA_reports.htm).

Consumer Watchdog is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, D.C. and Santa Monica, CA. Find us online at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog