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The financial giant Bank of America says it is no longer lobbying the federal government about its unfolding bank bailout. After receiving $45 billion in bailout money, lobbying was just too unseemly.
“We are very sensitive to the fact that we have taxpayer money,” said Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for the company.
Citigroup, recipient of another $45 billion, made the opposite call. While trying to keep a low profile, the company is still fielding an army of Washington lobbyists working on a host of issues, including the bailout. In the fourth quarter, it spent $1.77 million on lobbying fees, according to its lobbyists’ filings.
To bribe or not to bribe, that is the question....
The different approaches from the two banks that have received the most money underscores the growing dilemma facing private companies, which increasingly deal with the federal government not only as rule-maker but also as shareholder, lender and trading partner.
According to a recent filing, A.I.G. shareholders paid $90,000 in the fourth quarter to a lobbying team at Ogilvy Government Relations that includes the Republican lobbying powerhouse Wayne L. Berman, a former assistant secretary of commerce under the first President George Bush and a major fund-raiser for the second.
And some people think this can be fixed :rolleyes:
The group also includes three Democrats who had been top aides to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi; Senator Edward M. Kennedy; and the former House majority leader, Richard A. Gephardt. (Mickey Kantor, secretary of commerce under President Bill Clinton, has advised the group as a lawyer as well.)
Just another elephant added to the herd, a crowded parlor indeed
link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/bu...ef=todayspaper
“We are very sensitive to the fact that we have taxpayer money,” said Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for the company.
Citigroup, recipient of another $45 billion, made the opposite call. While trying to keep a low profile, the company is still fielding an army of Washington lobbyists working on a host of issues, including the bailout. In the fourth quarter, it spent $1.77 million on lobbying fees, according to its lobbyists’ filings.
To bribe or not to bribe, that is the question....
The different approaches from the two banks that have received the most money underscores the growing dilemma facing private companies, which increasingly deal with the federal government not only as rule-maker but also as shareholder, lender and trading partner.
According to a recent filing, A.I.G. shareholders paid $90,000 in the fourth quarter to a lobbying team at Ogilvy Government Relations that includes the Republican lobbying powerhouse Wayne L. Berman, a former assistant secretary of commerce under the first President George Bush and a major fund-raiser for the second.
And some people think this can be fixed :rolleyes:
The group also includes three Democrats who had been top aides to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi; Senator Edward M. Kennedy; and the former House majority leader, Richard A. Gephardt. (Mickey Kantor, secretary of commerce under President Bill Clinton, has advised the group as a lawyer as well.)
Just another elephant added to the herd, a crowded parlor indeed
link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/bu...ef=todayspaper
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