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Dodd-Frank: Will the bill overturn decades of industry influence?
By Bill Allison Jul 18, 2011 11:31 a.m.The financial crisis had several authors--federal policies that opened the door to predatory mortgage lending, unregulated financial products, integrated firms that borrowed heavily from one another to invest in the "sure bet" of mortgage-backed securities, and hedge funds and insurers that sought to profit by mitigating risk through complex financial instruments. In the aftermath of the crisis, Congress passed and President Obama signed on July 21, 2010, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to set new safeguards for the public, to rein in financial firms, to ensure oversight of new types of financial instruments, and to give regulators more tools to prevent another crisis.
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Agencies slow to provide new data required by Dodd-Frank
By Lindsay Young Jul 18, 2011 11:30 a.m.One year after passing Dodd Frank Financial reform, much of the work of reforming America’s financial system still lies ahead. This is not too surprising considering the sheer size of the legislation. The law created 243 rules and requires agencies to produce 67 studies, according to Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. One-hundred-twenty-two deadlines are due between July 16 and July 21.
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Lobbyists pay millions to honor Congress, executive branch
By Keenan Steiner Jul 12, 2011 8:28 a.m.Last year, four of the country’s biggest military contractors paid $100,000 or more to become top sponsors of a black tie charity gala that honored the influential former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.
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Graphic: Lobbyists' Honorary Gifts to Federal Officials
By Keenan Steiner Jul 12, 2011 3:14 a.m.Companies and organizations can donate an unlimited amount of money to honor officials, sponsor their conferences, and donate to their pet charities, so long as these donations are reported to the Senate. The Sunlight Foundation analyzed these filings from 2009 and 2010 and found about $50 million in honorary gifts and meeting costs. These donations can all be viewed in the interactive display below by company making the donation or by official being honored.
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Palestinian lobbyists meet with key decision makers
By Lindsay Young Jun 9, 2011 1:19 p.m.The Palestine Liberation Organization recently filed their bi-annual lobbying documents that show outreach to top decision makers, media and academia, and list meetings with up and coming policy leaders.
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Three countries lobby to minimize fallout of political tug-of-war
By Lindsay Young Jun 3, 2011 1:49 p.m.South Korea, Panama and Colombia are lobbying to cement U.S. trade agreements that have been embroiled in political jockeying between the White House and Congress, recently filed foreign lobbying disclosures show.
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Bankers critical of Dodd-Frank meet with Geithner
By Nancy Watzman Jun 2, 2011 8:52 a.m.The same day Jamie Dimon, chief executive and president of JPMorgan Chase & Company, publicly bashed the new Dodd-Frank financial law he and the company's top lobbyist, Peter Scher, had a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
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Egypt's PR shop terminates their US operation
By Lindsay Young May 26, 2011 6:17 p.m.A few weeks after Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak stepped down in response to the public outrage against his 30 year rule, the Egyptian government’s PR outfit in Washington terminated their operation, records show. Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates ended their representation of the Egyptian press office on February 28, 2011, shortly after Mubarak resigned on February 11.
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Lobbyists for Morocco go on a meeting spree soon after political upheaval
By Lindsay Young May 26, 2011 10:14 a.m.A nonprofit established by the government of Morocco went on a lobbying frenzy earlier this year, coinciding with the time when pro-democracy demonstrations in the country took an ugly turn. The Moroccan-American Policy Council, which is the registered agent of the Moroccan government met with 130 congressional offices on February 23, 24 and 25 just days after the riots broke out, FARA records show.
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Major banks use one lobbyist to team up on Dodd-Frank
By Ryan Sibley May 24, 2011 11:25 a.m.The international law firm, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton LLP, is lobbying Congress on behalf of three of the world’s biggest financial institutions regarding the derivatives market -- one of the major issues tackled by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, according to disclosure forms filed this year.
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Eight lawmakers signed a letter for Renco
By Keenan Steiner May 4, 2011 11:41 a.m.Eight members of Congress signed on to a January letter asking the heads of the Treasury and State Departments to take measures to intervene on behalf of a U.S.-owned company in the middle of a controversial dispute with Peru. Until now, Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., was the only known signatory of the letter sent to Secretaries Tim Geithner and Hlllary Clinton.
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Princess and the policy
By Lindsay Young Apr 28, 2011 10:21 a.m.There is a special role for princesses in international diplomacy and some like Princess Diana and Queen Noor of Jordan captivated the imagination of the world with their charm and humanitarian work, but others play a more formal diplomatic and public relations role and appear in foreign lobbying records.
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As dispute heats up, Renco continues lobbying for its Peruvian smelter
By Keenan Steiner Apr 26, 2011 4:03 p.m.The U.S. mining conglomerate Renco Group spent over $80,000 in the first quarter and retained five lobbying firms in a push to convince Washington to help its embattled smelting company in Peru, according to lobbying filings. This comes after the company spent $245,000 on fees to outside lobbyists to work on the issue of Doe Run Peru in the final two months of last year.
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Poised to make decision on regulating foreign swaps, Geithner meets with banks wanting exemption
By Nancy Watzman Apr 7, 2011 10:02 a.m.In February, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with the CEO and two top-level executives from the London-based bank HSBC to discuss the issue of foreign exchange swaps.
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