The Revolving Door and High Flying Conflicts of Hensarling’s House Financial Services Committee
New Report Details Revolving Door Between Committee and Industry, Staff Raking in Benefits from Industry They’re Paid to Oversee
WASHINGTON, DC – On the heels of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) unveiling his proposal to dismantle critical consumer financial protections enacted in 2010’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Allied Progress today released a report detailing the revolving door between Hensarling’s committee and the financial industry and how key members of his committee staff have invested in and taken junkets from the very industry they’re paid to oversee. The report also notes that Hensarling has taken nearly $5.5 million in campaign contributions since Dodd-Frank was enacted from the very industries that would benefit from its repeal.
“Hensarling’s plan will put the financial industry and special interests back in charge. Among other things, his so-called reforms would gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leaving it hobbled and incapable of protecting millions of hardworking Americans from powerful financial institutions that seek to take advantage of them,” said Allied Progress executive director Karl Frisch. “This shouldn’t come as a surprise though. After all, Hensarling has taken nearly $5.5 million from the financial industry since Dodd-Frank became law. Worse still, under his leadership the House Financial Services Committee has been a revolving door where staff come and go from the financial industry with contemptible regularity.”
According to the report, at least 14 current or past Hensarling committee staffers either came from the financial industry or left his committee to begin working in the financial industry, which the committee is charged with overseeing. In addition to the revolving door that Rep. Hensarling has apparently turned a blind eye to, four staffers working on the committee have reported or disclosed personal investments in the financial industry. The report also breaks down the nearly $15,000 in industry-funded junkets that Hensarling’s committee staff have enjoyed while working in Congress.
These blatant conflicts of interest add important context to Rep. Hensarling’s push to repeal important Wall Street reforms through the dismantling of Dodd-Frank.
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To speak with Allied Progress about this release, please contact Tory Brown at 703-655-4888 or tory@thepastorumgroup.com.
Allied Progress uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold powerful special interests accountable and empower hardworking Americans.