New research shows House Financial Services Committee members received nearly $70 million from wall street interests
Committee to receive testimony on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report today
New analysis of new subcommittee chairs’ Wall Street donations raises questions about impartiality
Washington, D.C. – House Financial Services Committee members have received $69.7 million in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector over their careers, according to a Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The analysis comes as the committee is set to hear testimony on the causes of Wall Street’s collapse from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), a congressionally-established investigation.
The FCIC identified political spending as a key fact in its January 27th report, writing that “[from] 1999 to 2008, the financial sector expended $2.7 billion in reported federal lobbying expenses; individuals and political action committees in the sector made more than $1 billion in campaign contributions.”
“The fact is, the financial crisis resulted from the actions of too many greedy bankers while too many politicians took money, passed laws supported by Wall Street, and looked the other way when warning signs emerged,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director of Public Campaign Action Fund. “But what’s more unconscionable is that people are still losing their homes and are without jobs, while Congress has done little to make the banks and other Wall Street speculators pay for their fraud. Perhaps that’s because too many of the people we elect are looking after their campaign contributors and not their constituents.”
Of the nearly $70 million in campaign donations, Republicans on the committee received $39.1 million, and Democrats received $30.7 million from the sector. In just the last election cycle, the 61 members of the committee took $19.4 million from the sector, an average of $317,667 per member.
(More here.)
New analysis of new subcommittee chairs’ Wall Street donations raises questions about impartiality
Washington, D.C. – House Financial Services Committee members have received $69.7 million in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector over their careers, according to a Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The analysis comes as the committee is set to hear testimony on the causes of Wall Street’s collapse from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), a congressionally-established investigation.
The FCIC identified political spending as a key fact in its January 27th report, writing that “[from] 1999 to 2008, the financial sector expended $2.7 billion in reported federal lobbying expenses; individuals and political action committees in the sector made more than $1 billion in campaign contributions.”
“The fact is, the financial crisis resulted from the actions of too many greedy bankers while too many politicians took money, passed laws supported by Wall Street, and looked the other way when warning signs emerged,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director of Public Campaign Action Fund. “But what’s more unconscionable is that people are still losing their homes and are without jobs, while Congress has done little to make the banks and other Wall Street speculators pay for their fraud. Perhaps that’s because too many of the people we elect are looking after their campaign contributors and not their constituents.”
Of the nearly $70 million in campaign donations, Republicans on the committee received $39.1 million, and Democrats received $30.7 million from the sector. In just the last election cycle, the 61 members of the committee took $19.4 million from the sector, an average of $317,667 per member.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home