SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2010


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From Page One Lawmakers defend overlap of fundraisers, key votes fundraisers from A1


Politics, which charts campaign donations and special interest in- fluence. “Itmakes peoplewonder: Is the donormaking the donation because they are trying to get a particular legislative action?Or is the member soliciting the dona- tion because they feel they have a whole bunch of special interests over a barrel at thatmoment and canprofit fromthat?” Members of Congress say that


donations close to key votes are often coincidental. Some argue thatbecauselegislativeactionand fundraising happen all the time on CapitolHill, it is impossible to know when the two are connect- ed.


Ethics watchdogs say that in-


stead of protesting their inno- cence, members should write clearer rules,disclose all fundrais- ers or both, in order to address public concern that monied do- nors are able to buy access at critical stages inlawmaking. “What this reveals is just how


much this is general operating procedure on CapitolHill, raising money around key legislative de- cisions,” said Nancy Watzman, who oversees analysis of political fundraisers for theSunlightFoun- dation, which advocates for gov- ernment transparency. “This hits right tothecoreofhowlawmakers get and keep their jobs. And they complainwhenyoushowthepub- lic howitworks.”


A test case The issue of the timing of dona-


tions came up this summer when reports surfaced that eight mem- bers were under investigation by the independent Office of Con- gressional Ethics. They had solic- itedhundredsof thousandsofdol- lars in donations from financial firms just before a critical House votelastDecemberonnewregula- tions for Wall Street. The ethics officewas looking atwhether they should have avoided those dona- tions because of the potential for or appearance of impropriety. Three cases, involving Reps.


John Campbell (R-Calif.), Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), were referred to the House ethics committee, which last week asked for more time to investigate. All three have said that they complied with House ethics rules. But just as thepublic learnedof


the ethics office’s probe in June, a conference committee of House members and senators met to draft a compromise bill on land- mark Wall Street reform. The measure would force firms to fol- lownewrulesforpreviouslysecret and risky transactions that were blamed for the 2008marketmelt- down. Over the course of three weeks in June, the 35 conference committee members collected $440,000 in donations from the financial industry. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), thechairmanof the Senate banking committee andapowerful conferee, collected the most that month — about $90,000 fromfinancial interests. Executives of accounting giant


Ernst & Young contributed the lion’s share of that amount for Schumer: $49,000 in all of June, including $2,000 fromchief exec- utive James Turley.Ernst&Young works for some of the biggest firms on Wall Street. This week, NewYork state sued the company, accusing it of using a paperwork shuffle to help Lehman Brothers hide billions of dollars in debt before that firm’s 2008 collapse. Schumer’s staff declined to dis-


cuss the ethics rules’ advice on forgoing some donations, but said the timing isnot relevant. “During this period, Senator


Schumer was actively fighting for some of the proposals most op- posed by the banking industry, including a strong consumer watchdog agency and greater oversight on derivatives,” spokes- manBrianFallonsaid. Conferencemembers alsowere


busy on the party circuit that month.Therewere 54 fundraisers heldtobenefit the reelectioncam- paigns of committeemembers, or featuringoneof thosemembersas aVIP guest. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)


was mentioned as the VIP guest for a Florida lawmaker’s fundrais- er 48 hours before the committee officially began work. The party host was DLA Piper, a law firm registered to lobby on the bill for several financialclients, including DiscoverFinancialServices,Expe- rian and Charles Schwab. Frank’s


onwashingtonpost.com


Have a fundraising tip? If you know of recent fundraisers where donations to Senate or House members were solicited from groups directly affected by congressional action that was about to happen—or if you know of similar appeals now being planned—please let us know at wapo.st/fundtips, or by calling (202) 630-9276.We won’t disclose your name without first seeking your permission.


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committee office did not respond to a request for comment, but Frank has previously said that he follows all ethics rules carefully.


Business generosity In September, the Senate voted


on what it considered one of the year’s most important pieces of legislation, theSmallBusinessJob Creation Act. The bill,which later became law, created a $30 billion loan fund for community banks and gave them incentives to lend the money to small businesses.


Hundreds of lobbyistswere regis- tered to lobby on this legislation, in part because it meant more business for banks. Senators collected $469,000


from the financial industry the day before, the day of and the day after that key Sept. 16 vote, a Post review of donations shows. The biggest recipient was Senate Ma- jority Leader Harry M. Reid (D- Nev.),who shepherdedthe legisla- tion and faced a tight reelection race. Reid spokesman Zac Petkanas


said the timing was not of Reid’s making.The votewas supposedto come months earlier but was de- layed by Republican obstruction, Petkanas said. “Senator Reid’s sole consider-


ation on any piece of legislation is always how it will benefit Ne- vada’s families and small busi- nesses,” Petkanas said. “He will not apologize for working for months topass theSmallBusiness Job Creation Act, which is now helping Nevada small businesses during these difficult economic


times by opening up otherwise unavailable lines of credit to help themgrow, strengthen our econo- my and put people back towork.”


Birthday surprise Early thismonth,when Baucus


held his birthday fundraiser, Democrats that same day sent to the floor a $858 billion tax cut package. The bill,which has since become law, extends tax cuts passed during George W. Bush’s presidency,butalsoprovideshuge breaks forwealthyAmericans and


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Subject to availability.48-hour delivery availableonlywithinselectdeliveryareas;express delivery available in most otherareas.NodeliveriesonSunday. Askyoursales associate fordetails.48-hour delivery is not availablethroughour clearance centers.All mattressesmustbedelivered, andaminimumdeliveryfee of $70otherwise applies.


A9


niche business interests. The invi- tation to Baucus’s event solicited money from lobbyists and execu- tives with major stakes in the package. Baucus’s office said that the bill


that passed was not his and that his fundraiser — which included an event for donors of at least $5,000,held at a locationthatwas notmade public—was scheduled months before the legislation went to the floor. leonnigc@washpost.com farnamt@washpost.com


Research editor Alice Crites and staff writer PaulKane contributed to this report.


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