TARP recipients doled out $85,300 to PACs

[marketcrazy1]

A NEWSWEEK review of recent filings with the Federal Election Commission found that the political action committees of five big TARP recipients doled out $85,300 to members in the first two months of this year—with most of the cash going to those who serves on committees who oversee the TARP program. Among them: Bank of America (which got $15 billion in bailout money) sent out $24,500 in the first two months of 2009, including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels. Citigroup ($25 billion) dished out $29,620, including $2,500 to House GOPWhip Eric Cantor, who also got $10,000 from UBS which, while not a TARP recipient, got $5 billion in bailout funds as an AIG "counterparty." "This certainly appears to be a case of TARP funds being recycled into campaign contributions," says Brett Kappel, a D.C. lawyer who tracks donations. (A spokesman for Cantor did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Hoyer said it's his "policy to accept legal contributions.")

The cash flow is already causing angst inside the Beltway. "The last thing I want to do is wake up one morning and see our PAC check being burned on C-Span," said one bank lobbyist, who asked not to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Financial Services chair Rep. Barney Frank both said recently they won't take donations from TARP recipients. But House Democratic fundraisers have quietly passed the word that the party's campaign committee will resume accepting them—down the road, though; not right now. Said one fundraiser, who also requested anonymity, "These are treacherous waters." http://www.newsweek.com/id/190363

[Solly Mack]

1. Business as usual

and "the people" ain't business

[xchrom]

2. recommend -- this should anger people more

than the bonuses.

:grr:

[genna]

3. This was a paragraph that stood out for me about Dodd after the Geitner thing

All his career, Dodd has had to finesse close ties to the very industries and individuals he oversees. His reputation, says Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies Congress, is that he has "listened very carefully to the views of both Greenwich, Conn., where the hedge funds are located, and the insurance industry in Hartford." Which maybe isn't surprising, given that nearly a third of the $43 million Dodd has raised for his campaigns over the past 20 years came from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector, according to OpenSource.org. Among the big donors on Dodd's list: PACs and persons associated with Citigroup and AIG, as well as alleged Ponzi schemer Alan Stanford. "I've never cast a vote, taken a position, based on someone's contribution," Dodd insists. He donated the Stanford money to charity and says he will refuse money from PACs associated with TARP recipients. Unlike Barney Frank, however, Dodd will continue to accept campaign contributions from top executives at most TARP firms, just not AIG. "Barney and I may be in different positions politically," says Dodd, acknowledging his recent dip in the polls. "Barney may not have an opponent the next time."

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/27/news/economy/whitford_dodd.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009032707


My confidence in the Congressional Dems went down upon reading this.

[Gin]

4. finally....someone is seeing a return on their TARP investment (IMO)

:mad: