Roll Call: Banks' Cash Still Welcome on Capitol Hill

Roll Call reports today (subscription required) about the largely unabated flow of money from banks to politicians on Capitol Hill, despite the current state of Wall Street.  Some groups, including AFFIL Partner Public Citizen, have called for a ban on lobbying and political contributions from banks who receive significant amounts of TARP funds. 

Roll Call reports that some lawmakers have announced they will no longer receive funds from such banks, including Barney Frank and Chris Dodd:

A handful of lawmakers, mostly Democrats, are now refusing political contributions from the banks that received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal bailout funds.

Yet most members of the House Financial Services Committee, the panel charged with overseeing the industry, are staying mum on the subject. Sixty offices of panel members — including ranking member Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) — did not respond to a Roll Call survey of their plans for fundraising from Wall Street firms that got taxpayer help.

For the majority party, at least, that reticence could soon change. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is considering whether to recommend to Democrats that they spurn donations from political action committees and employees of firms receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.