Senators Swarmed by Lobbyists Fighting Finance Overhaul

Proponents of greater financial regulation are facing fierce opposition from a swarm of lobbyists, lawyers, and bankers who have descended on the Senate committee whose chair, Blanche Lincoln, introduced the bill to overhaul the derivatives market. It's not the finance but the agriculture committee, the New York Times reports, and more than 1500 Wall Street-types have already made calls, protesting that the bill will cost them—to the tune of "a couple billion dollars," JPMorgan's CEO tells the Times.

Among them they've dropped more than $22 million on committee members in this election cycle—more than double the last. Team Wall Street is being joined by lobbyists for manufacturers, airlines, and other industries that use derivatives to control their business and currency costs, the Times explains. Financial firms have done some major fundraising for Lincoln, but she may be a tough sell: “The people of Arkansas never again want to have to foot the bill for what happens on Wall Street,” she says.
(More financial reform stories.)