Subject: [big campaign] Hey FCIC: follow the money
From: David Donnelly <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:06:29 -0500
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

For Immediate Release:                        Media Contact:
Jan. 13, 2010                                                Adam Smith,
Public Campaign, (202) 997-8929
                                                            Mary Boyle,
Common Cause, (202) 736-5770

Federal Crisis Inquiry Commission Must Look at Influence of Campaign
Contributions on Weakened Regulatory System
 
Washington, DC‹The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) must look at
whether campaign contributions from the financial industry to members of
Congress assisted in weakening the financial regulatory system that led to
the economic collapse, according to a letter sent to the commission today by
Public Campaign and Common Cause.
 
According to the letter:
 
³The four CEOs who will appear before your committee this week lead
companies whose employees and political action committees have donated more
than $63 million to members of Congress since the 2000 election cycle.
During this same period, these companies spent $109 million to lobby
Congress in a concerted and largely successful effort to limit or weaken the
regulatory oversight of their industry. Many economists and other observers
agree that this weakly regulated regime helped lead to the economic morass
in which we now find ourselves.
 
³We strongly urge the financial sector representatives to answer the
question, Œwhat role did campaign contributions play in your attempts to
influence Congressional action on financial issues?¹²
 
In December, the House passed a financial overhaul bill and the Senate is
expected to take up its version later this month. The financial industry
used its clout to weaken the House bill and has called an all out war to
kill the Senate bill.
 
The full letter is available at http://www.fairelectionsnow.org/fcic-letter.
 
# # # 
 
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to
restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open,
honest, and accountable government that works for the public interest, and
empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard.
 
Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to
sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big
special interest money in American politics.

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