Missouri Democratic Party : Senator Blunt Preparing Another Massive Giveaway for His Top Campaign Contributor: Wall Street

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Senator Blunt is preparing new legislation to help the Wall Street lobbyists who bankroll his campaign at the expense of his actual constituents in Missouri, The New York Times revealed.

Last week, the Times outlined a new working group headlined by Senator Blunt that would overhaul the regulatory process, with a focus on gutting financial regulations set up in the aftermath of the most recent economic crisis. The group is targeting commonsense Wall Street reforms like the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which helps protect Missouri families from practices such as predatory lending.

This prospective bill is far from the first time that Senator Blunt has put the interests of Wall Street over working Missourians. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called Senator Blunt a 'key figure' in securing the bailout of the banks during the 2008 financial crisis. He has continued doing favors for Wall Street after the bailouts, fighting against commonsense Wall Street reforms that have reduced the likelihood of another financial crisis.

Throughout Senator Blunt's continuing support for Wall Street, the big banks and their lobbyists in Washington have rewarded Senator Blunt with contributions. The financial services and investments industry is Senator Blunt's top industry donor, filling his campaign coffers with over $1.6 million throughout his career. One of his biggest donors is investment bank Goldman Sachs, which alone has contributed nearly $150,000 to his campaigns.

'Wall Street lobbyists have spent millions on Senator Blunt's campaigns, and he continues to reward them for their support,' said Will Baskin-Gerwitz, Missouri Democratic Party spokesman. 'Missouri deserves a Senator who'll support legislation that protects the financial security of our working families, not the Washington financial lobbyists and special interests.'

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BACKGROUND

BLUNT WAS 'KEY FIGURE' IN PASSAGE OF WALL STREET BAILOUT

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Blunt Was A 'Key Figure' In The Wall Street Bailout.'Every year, Blunt mails a flier to residents of his district that lists each of his votes. A few on that list may come back to haunt him now. Take his support of the Wall Street bailout. Blunt didn't just vote for the bailout, he was a key figure in making it happen.' [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/8/10]

Politico: Blunt Was A 'Central Leader' In Whipping GOP Votes For The $700 Billion Financial Bailout In October 2008. 'Blunt was a central leader in cobbling together Republican votes for the initial $700 billion dollar financial bailout back in October 2008. 'This is too important to the financial future of the country, too important to Main Street and taxpayers are not bailing anybody out,' Blunt told NPR in an interview around that time.' [Politico, 1/27/10]

MSNBC: TARP Passed The House 'Thanks To Vote Whipping By Blunt.''House Republicans helped defeat TARP on the first vote on Sept. 29, 2008, with Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, calling it a 'step down the slippery slope to socialism.' Thanks to vote whipping by Blunt and others, TARP passed a few days later, with 26 Republicans switching their votes from 'no' to 'yes.'' [MSNBC, 5/28/10]

BLUNT HAS REPEATEDLY VOTED TO BLOCK OR ROLL BACK WALL STREET REFORMS

Blunt Voted For FY 2014 Ryan Budget. In March 2013, Blunt voted for: 'Murray, D-Wash., amendment no. 433 that would replace the text of the resolution with language to provide $2.769 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2014, not including off-budget accounts. It would assume that the spending levels required by the sequester remain in place and that non-war discretionary spending for all future years will be at post-sequester levels. It would assume that all discretionary savings from the sequester beginning in fiscal 2014 will come from non-defense programs. It would assume $4.6 trillion in reductions over the next 10 years in both discretionary and mandatory spending. It would assume repeal of the 2010 health care overhaul and a restructuring of Medicare into a 'premium support' system beginning in 2024.' The amendment was rejected 40-59. [CQ, 3/21/13; S.Amdt. 433 to S.Con.Res. 8, Vote 46, 3/21/13]

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: FY 2014 Ryan Budget Would 'Roll Back 2010 Wall Street Reform Legislation.' 'Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, rolled out his new budget on Tuesday, a document reminiscent of his old budget that Democrats ran against in the 2012 election. It would partially privatize Medicare, slash Medicaid and food stamps by turning them into block grants, abolish the Affordable Care Act ('Obamacare'), roll back the 2010 Wall Street reform legislation, and throw open federal lands in all places to all kinds of drilling and gouging proposed by Big Oil and Big Coal.' [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/12/13]

Blunt Voted For FY 2013 Ryan Budget. In May 2012, Blunt voted for a: 'Conrad, D-N.D., motion to proceed to the concurrent resolution that would allow $2.794 trillion in new budget authority for fiscal 2013, not including off-budget accounts.' The motion failed 41-58. [CQ, 5/16/12, H.Con.Res. 112, Vote 98, 5/16/12]

• Washington Post's Wonkblog: FY 2013 Ryan Budget Repealed Parts Of Dodd-Frank Without Proposing An Alternative, Would 'Bring Us Back To The Pre-Dodd Frank Era.' 'On financial regulation, Paul Ryan's 2013 budget basically cuts-and-pastes its recommendations from last year: it wants to repeal parts of Dodd-Frank that give new power to federal regulators to break up big banks, arguing that the regulations actually make bailouts more likely, not less so. Ryan isn't proposing an alternative, however, so his plan to repeal the government's new 'resolution authority:' would bring us back to the pre-Dodd Frank era - which was also, of course, the era in which bank bailouts proved necessary.' [Washington Post, Wonkblog, 3/20/12]

• Los Angeles Times Editorial: Ryan Budget Would Repeal 'New Federal Restrictions On Wall Street.' 'For the second time in as many years, the House Republican leadership has put forward a deficit-cutting budget plan that's more of a political statement than a governing blueprint. The proposed budget for fiscal 2013 promotes a long list of conservative policies that are only tangentially related to the federal fisc - for example, repealing new federal restrictions on Wall Street and ending the moratorium on offshore oil drilling. Even the proposals that are purely fiscal in nature rely on changes in law that Senate Democrats won't support, such as repealing the 2010 healthcare reform law.' [Los Angeles Times, Editorial, 3/21/12]

Blunt Voted Against Wall Street Reform That Created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulated Derivatives For The First Time, And Worked To Minimize Risk In The Financial System. In June 2010, Blunt voted against: 'Adoption of the conference report on the bill that would overhaul the regulation of the financial services industry. The measure would create a new regulatory mechanism to assess risks posed by very large financial institutions and facilitate the orderly dissolution of failing firms that pose a threat to the economy. It would create a new federal agency to oversee consumer financial products, bring the derivatives market under significant federal regulation for the first time and give company shareholders and regulators greater say on executive pay packages. The costs would be offset by terminating the Troubled Asset Relief Program and increasing deposit insurance premiums paid by some banks.' The conference report was agreed to 237-192. [CQ, 6/30/10; H.R. 4173, Vote 413, 6/30/10]

Blunt Voted Against Wall Street Reform That Created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulated Derivatives For The First Time, And Worked To Minimize Risk In The Financial System. In December 2009, Blunt voted against: 'Passage of the bill that would overhaul federal regulations for the financial industry. It would establish a process for dissolving failing financial institutions that pose risks to the entire financial system and create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. It would regulate the financial derivatives market, require registration of all credit rating firms, strengthen investor protections and require a registry of private capital investment advisers. As amended, the bill would set national mortgage standards, allow the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to overrule state consumer financial laws if they impair national bank business and authorize the use of $4 billion of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds for housing relief.' [CQ, 12/11/09; H.R. 4173, Vote 968, 12/11/09]

THE FINANCIAL AND SECURITIES AND INVESTMENT INDUSTRY IS BLUNT'S TOP DONOR

Blunt Accepted Over $1.6 Million From The Securities And Investment Industry Over His Career. Over the course of his career, Blunt has accepted a total of $1,620,252 in contributions to his campaigns from the securities and investment industry. [OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 11/15/15]

• Blunt's Top Industry Donor Is The Securities And Investment Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Blunt's top career industry donor is the securities and investments industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 5/5/15]

Blunt Received Nearly $800,000 From Commercial Banks Over His Career.Over the course of his career, Blunt has received a total of $786,743 in contributions to his campiagns from commercial banks. [OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 8/12/15]

Blunt Received Over $400,000 From Misc. Finance Industries Over His Career.Over the course of his career, Blunt has received a total of $429,146 in contributions to his campaigns from the miscellaneous financial industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 11/15/15]

Blunt Accepted Over $200,000 From Edward Jones Employees And Associated PAC's, The Top Donor Over His Career. Since 1989, Blunt accepted a total of $234,700 from individuals and PAC's associated with Edward Jones, making them the top donor to Blunt over his career. [OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 8/12/15]

BLUNT HAS ACCEPTED NEARLY $150K FROM GOLDMAN SACHS DURING HIS POLITICAL CAREER

Blunt Accepted Almost $150,000 From Goldman Sachs Employees And Associated PAC's Over His Career. Since 1989, Blunt accepted a total of $142,792 from individuals and PAC's associated with Goldman Sachs. [OpenSecrets.org, Accessed 8/12/15]

Contact: Will Baskin-Gerwitz
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