Tuesday, March 3, 2009

House Financial Services Committee gets financial service

Congressmen Hear from TARP Recipients Who Funded Their Campaigns
Published by Lindsay Renick Mayer on February 10, 2009 9:18 PM | Permalink |
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The eight CEOs testifying Wednesday before the House Financial Services
Committee about how their companies are using billions of dollars in bailout
funds may find that the hot seat is merely lukewarm. Nearly every member of
the committee received contributions associated with these financial
institutions during the 2008 election cycle, for a total of $1.8 million.
And 18 of the lawmakers have their own personal funds invested in the
companies.

All of the companies represented at the hearing have received millions, even
billions, from the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP),
including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of
America, State Street Corporation, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells
Fargo. These companies' PACs and employees gave $10.6 million to all members
of the 111th Congress in the 2008 election cycle, with 61 percent of that
going to Democrats.

On the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), who is
new to Congress this year and represents a state that is home to many hedge
funds, insurers and other financial institutions, collected the most from
these companies in the 2008 cycle at $195,350, followed by ranking member
Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who collected $116,950. JPMorgan has been
Bachus's second-largest donor over time, giving him at least $96,000 since
1989. The eight financial institutions at Wednesday's hearing have given
$63,250 to the chairman of the committee, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and
JPMorgan has given him more money than any other company, union or
organization since 1989. The House Financial Services Committee has
jurisdiction over the housing and financial sectors.