As all eyes are on Washington D.C. with talk of bailouts and rescues and deregulation and blame, perhaps it's a good time to look at the money behind some of the banking deregulation lobby, beginning with the American Bankers Association, and its ties, if any, to Idaho.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics this association is "[o]ne of the most powerful lobbying groups on Capitol Hill," which, they go on to say, "regularly presses Congress for regulatory relief and industry tax breaks." In the 2008 election cycle as of July 28, the association has contributed over $2 million to both Democratic and Republican congressional candidates with the GOP receiving the bulk of the contributions at 60 percent.
Most association contributions have gone to members of the U.S. House, $1.5 million, with 159 House Republicans getting an average of $5,433 each. Not surprisingly, among the top association recipients are chairmen of the House and Senate committees that oversee banking, Democrats Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, ($14,000) and Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts ($11,550).
Surprisingly though, a familiar name pops up at number six. Yes, that's Idaho's own 1st District Congressman Bill Sali, who sits on no banking or finance committee and a freshman even, pulling in $10,900 from this powerful banking group. Rep. Sali does sit on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee which has some jurisdiction over domestic policy, including oversight on the economy and business practices, but has no direct influence on regulation policy. The association has contributed over $100 thousand to members of this committee and over $123 thousand to members of Sali's other committee, Natural Resources.
Also notable on the association's recipient list, and second among those from Idaho, is GOP Senate candidate Jim Risch who is number 66 overall, receiving $8,000. Risch's Democratic opponent Larry LaRocco has received just $3,000. Senator Crapo, who will become Idaho's senior senator in 2009, and Rep. Simpson, seeking his sixth term, have received an unremarkable $1,000 and $3,000 respectively.
For whatever reason the American Bankers Association find themselves enamored of our freshman congressman, they are enamored enough that they top Sali's contributor list. Yes, this group and individuals associated with it are Sali's number one contributor this cycle at $12,150.
It's unclear why.
