Firms That Got Bailout Money Keep Lobbying

"By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: January 23, 2009

WASHINGTON — 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.

Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York Times
Edward Yingling, of the American Bankers Association, is concerned over lobbying’s “tone and manner.”

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Mickey Kantor, an ex-commerce secretary, has advised lobbyists for A.I.G.
“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."

Now I ask, if all of these lobbyist are seeking funds that became a bailout, then how on earth could Congress not have seen the need for the bailouts, hence the collapse of the financial institutions well in advance of the crises? Sometimes I just feel played for a fool!

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