Blue Dogs and New Democrats Find Friends on Wall Street

Like in the health care reform debate, financial regulation legislation has divided members of the same party, opening a rift between liberal and moderate Democrats. But unlike the health care reform debate, where the moderate Blue Dog Democrats have been rabid in their opposition to a public insurance option, a different group has emerged to voice moderates' concerns over financial regulation. It's the New Democrat Coalition, 68 members strong. And they mean business. Pro-business, that is. These lawmakers successfully convinced House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) not to include non-financial companies, such as accounting firms, auto dealers and retailers, in a measure giving regulatory oversight to a new agency. They also "got Frank to drop provisions that would have required banks to offer so-called plain vanilla products like 30-year mortgages or low-fee credit cards," Bloomberg reports. And members of the New Democrat Coalition are magnets for campaign cash from the financial sector. Members of the New Democrat Coalition have collected $50 million from the finance, insurance and real estate sector since 1989. That's 11 percent of the total funds these lawmakers have collected from all industries during that time. It also represents $736,200, on average, from the sector to each coalition member. Since the start of the 2008 election cycle, during which time the economy began its collapse, the finance sector has donated $24.9 million to New Democrat Coalition members. That's 14 percent of the total funds these lawmakers collected from all industries during that time. Among the 68 members, the No. 1 recipient of cash from the sector since the start of the 2008 election cycle is vice chairwoman Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), who has collected $1.4 million. (This figure includes contributions to both Bean's leadership PAC and candidate committees). Bean is followed by Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), who collected $1.3 million and is a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.), who brought in $1.2 million.Here are the top 20 New Democrats to bring in money through their candidate committees and leadership PACs from the finance, insurance and real estate sector since the start of the 2008 election cycle:

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Name
Total

Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill)
$1,430,350

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn)
$1,319,527

Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla)
$1,209,819

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
$1,208,366

Rep. John B Larson (D-Conn)
$819,809

Rep. Scott Murphy (D-NY)
$810,535

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan)
$804,946

Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn)
$770,707

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa)
$762,456

Rep. Gregory W Meeks (D-NY)
$742,094

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
$646,875

Rep. Kendrick B Meek (D-Fla)
$639,056

Rep. Edwin G Perlmutter (D-Colo)
$587,098

Rep. Patrick J Murphy (D-Pa)
$550,178

Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis)
$538,816

Rep. David Scott (D-Ga)
$528,240

Rep. Joseph A. Sestak, Jr (D-Pa)
$527,576

Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill)
$515,589

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla)
$493,021

Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY)
$489,832For a downloadable list of contributions from the finance sector since 1989 to all current New Democrat Coalition members, check out our finance policy tools here. Some members of the New Democrat Coalition rely on this cash more than others. Forty-six percent of Rep. Gregory Meeks' total funds since the start of the 2008 election cycle have come to the New York Democrat from the financial sector. And 35 percent of the total hauls during that time for both NDC chairman Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) are from finance-related organizations.Although members of the New Democrat Coalition fill 15 of the Democrats' 42 seats on the House Financial Services Committee, they recently lost a key legislative battle involving commercial banks. The committee passed a bill allowing state governments to impose more rigorous restrictions on the financial sector than those under existing federal laws. Bean proposed an amendment to maintain the "preemption doctrine" that has required big banks to answer only to federal regulators. But she withdrew the proposal before the bill passed. The New Democrats, who generally support a new consumer agency, are also keeping their eye on regulation of the complex financial tools known as derivatives. They also advocate giving the Federal Reserve power to regulate systemic risk -- the risk big financial institutions pose to the nation's economy if they begin to flounder. "I spend a lot of time talking through with my colleagues what the practical implications are of the proposed legislation," Himes told Bloomberg. "That doesn't make me pro-bank or anti-bank, it just gives me a feel for how what we do could affects the industry."And the financial industry itself includes former members of the coalition. Former Rep. Ken Bentsen (D-Texas), for example, was once a New Democrat Coalition member but is now the executive vice president of public policy and advocacy for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which represents Wall Street banks. This association generally supports additional regulation for financial derivatives and systemic risk oversight. So what about the Blue Dogs? "The 52-members group of Blue Dog Democrats, not known for its silence, has barely whimpered," writes The Hill. "The silence is notable given that the centrist bloc has weighed in significantly on health care, climate change and other domestic priorities this year, using its numbers to reshape much of that legislation."Although the Blue Dogs have been consumed by health care reform legislation as of late, the finance industry is also a campaign cash cow for them. Since 1989, Blue Dog Democrats have collected $36.2 million from the finance, insurance and real estate sector, which is 11 percent of all receipts they've brought in from all industries during that time. The sector has contributed $696,400, on average, to individual Blue Dogs since 1989. Twelve percent of all of the funds that Blue Dogs have collected since the start of the 2008 election cycle have come from the financial sector. Moore, a Blue Dog who is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition, has brought in the most from the financial sector during that time at $804,950. He's followed by Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), who brought in $719,650, and John Tanner (D-Tenn.), who collected $593,850. Here are the top 20 Blue Dogs to bring in money through their candidate committees and leadership PACs from the finance, insurance and real estate sector since the start of the 2008 election cycle:

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Name
Total

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan)
$804,946

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
$719,666

Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn)
$593,836

Rep. Patrick J Murphy (D-Pa)
$547,528

Rep. David Scott (D-Ga)
$528,240

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga)
$429,142

Rep. Walter Clifford Minnick (D-Idaho)
$379,314

Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla)
$362,029

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah)
$359,187

Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind)
$354,103

Rep. Harry E Mitchell (D-Ariz)
$352,890

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif)
$350,582

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa)
$350,042

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz)
$341,586

Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark)
$336,100

Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla)
$318,750

Rep. Travis W Childers (D-Miss)
$303,414

Rep. Zachary T Space (D-Ohio)
$302,610

Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn)
$287,236

Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga)
$283,973For a downloadable list of contributions from the finance sector since 1989 to all current Blue Dogs, check out our finance policy tools here.Despite the current momentum around financial regulation, members of the Blue Dog Coalition and New Democrat Coalition are witnessing their financial sector funds dwindle over the course of this year. The sector ramped up its funds to Blue Dogs by 34 percent between the first and second quarter of 2009, but decreased those contributions by 29 percent between the second and third quarters. This trend is true for New Democrats, too. The sector's second quarter contributions were 15 percent greater than during the first quarter, but 41 percent smaller during the third quarter when compared to the second.Return to "Crossing Wall Street" series