Minting Bank Lobbyists
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
NYT
WASHINGTON — Representative Barney Frank publicly rebuked a former aide this month for taking a job with a big Wall Street firm right after drafting a regulation that could affect the way the firm does business. Mr. Frank described it as an unusual transgression, one that embarrassed others working on the legislation and created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.
But while the speed of the aide’s switch from government to Wall Street was extraordinary, it reflected reality as Congress takes on an overhaul of the system of regulating financial giants: Wall Street, perhaps more than any other industry, is bolstering its lobbying forces, and turning more and more to former lawmakers and Congressional staff members to lead the fight against stiff rules.
The revolving door is an oft-noticed phenomenon here, but in recent years, the migration from Congress to the financial services firms that are trying to stave off greater federal regulation has become more pronounced.
From anonymous midlevel workers to former House and Senate majority leaders, more than 125 former Congressional aides and lawmakers are now working for financial firms as part of a multibillion-dollar effort to shape, and often scale back, federal regulatory power, data shows. Indeed, some of the biggest players in Washington politics are lobbying now on the regulatory bills that are making their way through Congress.
(More here.)
NYT
WASHINGTON — Representative Barney Frank publicly rebuked a former aide this month for taking a job with a big Wall Street firm right after drafting a regulation that could affect the way the firm does business. Mr. Frank described it as an unusual transgression, one that embarrassed others working on the legislation and created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.
But while the speed of the aide’s switch from government to Wall Street was extraordinary, it reflected reality as Congress takes on an overhaul of the system of regulating financial giants: Wall Street, perhaps more than any other industry, is bolstering its lobbying forces, and turning more and more to former lawmakers and Congressional staff members to lead the fight against stiff rules.
The revolving door is an oft-noticed phenomenon here, but in recent years, the migration from Congress to the financial services firms that are trying to stave off greater federal regulation has become more pronounced.
From anonymous midlevel workers to former House and Senate majority leaders, more than 125 former Congressional aides and lawmakers are now working for financial firms as part of a multibillion-dollar effort to shape, and often scale back, federal regulatory power, data shows. Indeed, some of the biggest players in Washington politics are lobbying now on the regulatory bills that are making their way through Congress.
(More here.)
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