STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 22 June 2012

[Demeter]

21. JPMorgan’s Connections to the House Finance Committee

http://www.nationofchange.org/jpmorgan-s-connections-house-finance-committee-1340202952

...JPMorgan has two in-house lobbyists with connections to the House Financial Services committee.

Rick Lazio joined JP Morgan in 2004 as chief of government relations. He previously served as a congressman from New York from 1993-2000, and sat on the committee.

Tom Koonce is a lobbyist for JP Morgan and formerly a legislative director for Brad Miller, D-N.C., who sits on the committee. There are also three former congressional staffers with committee ties at firms currently lobbying for JPMorgan:

Collins Lionel is a lobbyist at Jones, Walker et al., and a former staff member on the committee. JPMorgan hired the firm this year.

Nicholas Leibham, who works JPMorgan lobbying firm K&L Gates, was formerly an aide to Gary L. Ackerman, D-N.Y., another committee member.

Bart Gordon also works at K&L Gates. He's a former Democratic congressman from Tennessee who, back in the 1980s, sat on the committee. Data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics also shows how representatives on the committee have benefited from the generosity of JPMorgan's employees and PACs. In the 2012 election cycle, JPMorgan's PACs and employees have so far given $168,000 to members of the committee. About 80 percent of that came from one of the bank's PACs.

JPMorgan's PAC and employees have been the second-largest contributors to committee chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., since 1993, donating a total of $119,000 to the congressman's campaigns — $11,000 so far this election cycle. (These numbers don't include contributions to Super PACs or other outside groups.)

The committee's vice-chair, Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has received a relatively modest $50,000 from JPMorgan since 2003. Overall, commercial banks have been his largest.

Other big Republican career recipients include Steve Stivers of Ohio, who has only served since 2010 but has already received more than $70,000.

On the Democratic side, JPMorgan's PAC and employees have given ranking member Barney Frank, D-Mass., $84,500 since 1989, making them his donor overall.

JPMorgan is number one for Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., with more than $100,000 since 1993.

Despite the hearings, neither the House nor Senate is actually conducting investigations of JPMorgan's losses. But the Department of Justice is, along with five of JPMorgan's regulators — the FDIC, SEC, CFTC, OCC and the Fed...DETAILS AT LINK