Over $42 Million Paid to Lobbyists Working to Defeat “Cramdown” in 1Q 2009
An FDL review of lobbying reports filed indicates that finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) interests paid over $42 million to lobbyists who worked to defeat mortgage write-down in bankruptcy (cramdown) in the first quarter of 2009, as well as other anti-consumer legislation such as capping credit card interest rates.
Sixty organizations filed lobbying reports for the first quarter of 2009 indicating that they had paid lobbyists to work on the issue (see chart). Because lobbying reports don’t break down how much money was devoted to lobbying on a specific issue it’s not possible to break down a total spent on cramdown alone, but lobbying against H.R. 1106, H.R. 200 and S. 61, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act was a priority for those organizations and lobbyists listed.
Organizations that lobbyied on the issue, but whose lobbying efforts in 1Q were significantly devoted to non-banking issues (The Chamber of Commerce, John Deere, General Electric) were not included in the total.
The legislation, which would have allowed judges to write down mortgage principle to current market values, could have played a significant role in stemming the foreclosure crisis. It is estimated that it would have prevented 20% of foreclosures at no cost to the taxpayers. Recently, Senator Richard Durbin gave a speech on the floor of the Senate where he indicated the banks “own us.” He also indicated that between now and 2012, some 8 million homeowners may lose their houses in foreclosure.
Money Spent on Lobbying to Defeat Mortgage “Cramdown” in 1Q 2009 |
||||
| Organization | Lobbying Firm | Lobbyists | Total Spent | Bailout Recipient |
| American Council of Life Insurers | Frank Keating Mike Hunter Kimberly Dorgan JC Scott Maurice Perkins Andrea Jensen |
$1,867,075 | ||
| Timmons & Co. | Michael J. Bates Michelle Bright Erin Graefe Bryce L. Harlow Chuck Jones Ginger Loper Marty Paone William E. Timmons Jr. |
$100,000 | ||
| American Bankers Association | James Ballentine Peter Blocklin William Boger James Clark James Chessen Dionne Davies Robert Davis Keith Leggett Carter McDowell Christeena Naser Mako Parker Joseph Pigg Lawrence Seyfried Debbie Shannon Shawn Smith Seavers Sowers Floyd Stoner Edward Yingling |
$1,890,000 | ||
| Butera & Andrews | Phil Corwin | $30,000 | ||
| American Express (PDF) | Robert Thompson III Arne Christenson |
$830,000 | $3.4 billion | |
| Valerie Morse White (PDF) | Valerie Morse White | $45,000 | ||
| Ameriprise Financial | Denise G. Ferguson | $440,000 | ||
| American Insurance Association | Melissa Shelk | $330,000 | ||
| Association of Credit and Collection Professionals | Rozanne Anderson Adam Peterman |
$50,000 | ||
| Assurant, Inc. | Ronny Lancaster Ed Harper |
$415,000 | ||
| Bank of America (PDF) | John Collingwood Ed Hill Darrell Minott |
$660,000 | ||
| Barclays PLC and its US Affiliates (PDF) | Marlene Nicholson Katherine Fulton Joanne Medero |
$1,310,916 | $7.0 billion |
|
| California Association of Realtors | Matthew Roberts | $30,000 | ||
| California Credit Union League | Debbie Kwon-Moore Bob Arnould Jeremy Empol |
$120,000 | ||
| Capital One Financial Corporation (PDF) | Lance Magnum Rick Olson Larry Stein Emily Weems |
$419,000 | $3.6 billion |
|
| Chamber of Commerce | Thomas Donohue R. Bruce Josten Rolf Lundberg Ashley Miller David Tullly Andrew Brady Justin Lumandue Ronald Eidshaug Martin Regalia |
(See Note A) | ||
| Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. | Jeffrey Brown Kim Quish Michael Townsend |
$611,000 | ||
| Concord Associates, LLP | DC Navigators | Vincent Roberti Harmony Knutson |
$80,000 | |
| Consumer Bankers Association | Marcia Sullivan Steven Zeisel David Pommerehn Darlene Rosenkoetter |
$310,000 | ||
| Consumer Mortgage Coalition | Canfield & Assoc | Ann Canfield Roger Blauwet Erin Frederick |
$150,000 | |
| Credit Suisse Securities (PDF) | Mary L. Whalen Joseph L. Seidel Michael W. Williams John A. Anderson |
$470,000 | $.4 billion |
|
| Deere & Co | Cynthia Sandherr | (See Note C) | ||
| Deutsche Bank | Frank Kelly | $220,000 | $6.4 billion | |
| Discover Financial Services (PDF) | DLA Piper | Thomas Boyd Matthew Bernstein Kevin O’Scannlain Jill Keller John Merrigan David Lieber |
$60,000 | $1.2 billion |
| Ebay | Valerie Morse White | $20,000 | ||
| E*Trade Financial Corp | Patton Boggs | Don Moorehead Kirsten Wegner Todd Cranford Micah Green |
$200,000 | |
| Farmer’s Group | Eric Rizzo | $180,000 | ||
| Financial Services Roundtable | Steve Bartlett Paul Begey Scott Talbott |
$2,260,000 | ||
| FMR (Fidelity Investments) | James Johnson Stephanie Markiewiczs James Febo Andrew Vermilye |
$440,000 | ||
| Fortress Investment Group | Podesta Group | Anthony Podesta Jamie Harrison Israel Klein Randall Gerard Ed Rothschild Paul Braithwaite Walter Pryor Donni Turner |
$60,000 | |
| General Electric* | Victor Cabral Jon Freedman Robert Okun Barbara Mattox Larry Boggs Theresa Peterson James Renigar |
(See note B) | ||
| GMAC (PDF) | Michele Lieber | $410,000 | $5 billion | |
| Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (PDF) | Todd Malin Ann Costello Marti Thomas |
$670,000 | ||
| Hartford Financial Services Group | Jay Rosenblum Laura Haines (Donovan) Matthew Kirk |
$490,000 | ||
| HSBC GR-Corp (Household Bank)(PDF) | J. Denis O’Toole Janet S. Amand Thomas Rosenkoetter Monique Fraser |
$1,026,573 | $3.3 billion | |
| Dutko Worldwide | Gary Andres Laine Glisson MaryClare Fitzgerald |
$30,000 | ||
| Independent Community Bankers of America | Camden Fine Jason Kratovil Renee Rappaport Aaron Setter Stephen Verdier |
$920,000 | ||
| ING Bank, fsb | Venable LLP | William J. Donovan | $20,000 | |
| ING North America (PDF) | Deborah Winston | $620,000 | $1.5 billion | |
| Investment Company Institute | Dean R. Sackett III Donald C. Auerbach |
$1,359,917 | ||
| J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. (PDF) | Naomi Camper Nathan Gatten Katherine Childress Robert Griner Steve Patterson Alan Keller Peter Scher |
$1,310,000 | $25 billion | |
| Richard F. Hohlt | Richard F. Hohlt | $31,000 | ||
| Manufactured Housing Institute | Tom Beers Brian Cooney |
$105,262 | ||
| Massachusetts Mutual Life | Kenneth Cohen Alison Weiss |
790,000 | ||
| Porterfield & Lowenthal | Lendell Porterfield Andrew Lowenthal Dawn Callaghan Kirsten Johnson-Obey |
$100,000 | ||
| Met Life | Kristin Smith | $1,150,000 | ||
| MidFirst Bank | Venable LLC | William J. Donovan Robert L. Smith Suzanne F. Garwood Stuart Ingis |
$130,000 | |
| Morgan Stanley & Co (PDF) | Joshua Wilsusen Michael J. Stein |
$540,000 | ||
| Mortgage Bankers Association | Ryan Pace Bradshaw John Courson Francis Creighton Josh Denney Paul Hilliar Stephen O’Connor Ken Markison Vicki Vidal Catherine Wojtaskik Sarah Tinsley Demarest John Mecham Burton Wood |
$935,000 | ||
| Sonnenschein & Rosenthal | Todd M. Weiss Matthew Lapinski Mary Pat Lawrence |
$40,000 | ||
| Mortgage Insurance Companies of America | Horgan & Hartson | W. Michael House Christine M. Warnke Nancy L. Granese |
$90,000 | |
| National Association of Home Builders | Joseph Stanton James Tobin III William Killmer Gerald Howard Greg Brown Scott Meyer JP Delmore Elizabeth Odina Jenna Hamilton |
$1,320,000 | ||
| National Association of Realtors | Jerry Giovaniello Jamie Gregory Jim Freeman Helen Devlin Dan Blair Ken Wingert Sam Whitfield Tony Hutchinson Jeff Lischer |
$5,727,000 | ||
| New York Bankers Association | Michael P. Smith Roberta Kotkin William J Bosies Karen Jannetty Stephen W. Rice |
$170,000 | ||
| Porterfield & Lowenthal | Lendell Porterfield Andrew Lowenthal Dawn Callaghan Brendon Weiss Kirsten Johnson-Obey |
$30,000 | ||
| New York Life | George Nichols III William Mattox Doug Lathrop Julie Herwig |
$1,840,000 | ||
| Brown Rudnick LLP | Michael Lewan Jonathan Renfrew |
$50,000 | ||
| Pacific Life Insurance Company | CJ Strategies | Emily Baque James M. Copeland, Jr. Lynnette Jacquez |
$10,000 | |
| Paulsen & Company | American Continental Group | Joshua Fay-Hurvitz Shawn Smeallie Carlyle Thorsen Ian Musselman David Urban Sheryl Cohen |
$80,000 | |
| Performance Trust Capital Partners | Brown Rudnick LLP | Kristen Gullot Anne Fabry Jonathan Renfrew |
$20,000 | |
| PNC Bank | Thomas Lamb, Jr. | $135,000 | $7.6 billion | |
| Principal Financial Group | Patti Blumer R. Lucia Riddle |
$710,000 | ||
| Prudential Financial, Inc. | Rex Wackerle Alan Brubaker David Burns Christopher Payne Brian W. Clymer Maureen Adolf Bryan Pickel Richard Saxe Lee Wood |
$2,180,000 | ||
| Policy Impact Communications | John M. Haddow William Nixon John Drew Hiatt |
$30,000 | ||
| Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association | Scott DeFife Michael Paese Tim Ryan Margaret Simmons Ricardo Delfin Tom Deutsch |
$1,350,000 | ||
| TD Bank | David Johnson | David Johnson | $70,000 | |
| The Chubb Group | Daniel Conway MaryLu Korkuch |
$652,549 | ||
| UBS Americas, Inc (PDF) | John Savercool Peter Rowan Dick Ribbentrop Andy Blocker |
$70,000 | $1.7 bilion | |
| USAA | Brian Conklin Jessica Killin |
$2,590,244 | ||
| Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart | Jeff Peck Peter Madigan Janet Mullins Grissom Cristina Krasow Jonathan Jones Drew Cantor John Michael Gonzalez |
$80,000 | ||
| U.S. Bancorp (PDF) | Deborah M. Burke | $170,000 | $6.6 billion | |
| Washington Credit Union League | Colleen Kelly | $6,000 | ||
| Wells Fargo & Company (PDF) | Daniel Archer Julie Slocum |
$700,000 | $25 billion | |
| TOTAL | $42,416,536 | |||
Note A: US Chamber of Commerce includes lobbying expenses related to H.R. 1106 on a 1Q 2009 lobbying report of $9,996,000, but substantial portions were for non-banking issues and so it was not included in the total.
Note B: General Electric includes lobbying expenses related to H.R. 1106 on a 1Q 2009 lobbying report of $4,540,000, but substantial portions were for non-banking issues and so it was not included in the total.
Note C: Deere & Co. includes lobbying expenses related to H.R. 1106 on a 1Q 2009 lobbying report of $540,000, but substantial portions were for non-banking issues and so it was not included in the total.
*Question as to whether addendum included additional lobbyists
If no lobbying firm specified, lobbying was done by the organization itself
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