Pelosi, during floor debate today, called the House bill "much diminished" from the Senate version, though she urged lawmakers to vote for it so the matter can be sent to a conference committee to create "the strongest possible bill."
Wall Street Lobbyists
White House press secretary Jay Carney yesterday criticized the changes being made in the House. He said the Senate legislation "is being weakened behind closed doors by House Republicans" under pressure from Wall Street lobbyists.
The House version deletes a requirement in the Senate bill that would extend some lobbyist disclosure rules to cover people involved in so-called political intelligence.
The House bill instead would order a study on political intelligence, defined as communication with members of Congress, congressional staff or executive branch employees to gain information that is sold to clients who intend "to use the information to inform investment decisions."
The Senate disclosure provision "raises an awful lot of questions" about what it would cover, Cantor said today. "The thrust of this bill is about making sure that none of us in elected office or those in the executive branch are able to profit from nonpublic information."
The Senate's disclosure provision was the subject of a rare weekend call on Feb. 4 for members of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which represents companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JP Morgan Chase & Co., according to two people with direct knowledge of the call. An analysis for the group said the provision might require bank research analysts and others to register with Congress and disclose contacts with government officials.
Andrew DeSouza, a spokesman for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, said the group wouldn't comment on the proposed legislation.
Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz, who sponsored a similar provision in the House, said bank analysts weren't the target of the political intelligence disclosure rule. Walz said he would support clarifying the language to exclude bank analysts if it would help reinstate other disclosure requirements that Republican leaders dropped.
The House measure includes a provision Republicans call a "Pelosi provision" to bar lawmakers from participating in initial public stock offerings that aren't available to the general public.