WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, and Sen. Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, today sought information from the financial services industry to attempt to understand the industry’s contention that the registration and disclosure requirement for political intelligence agents that Grassley advanced earlier this year was overly broad.
“We’re inviting the financial services industry to explain its position on registration,” Grassley said. “Also, we’re trying to understand the size and scope of political intelligence gathering. If the previous disclosure provision was too broad, the industry is welcome to propose a solution that would accomplish the same goals of transparency and accountability. Our country is stronger when information is public.”
“It is essential that we increase disclosure and transparency requirements for so-called ‘political intelligence’ activities,” Udall said. “Political intelligence firms use information normal taxpayers and investors do not have to benefit their clients on Wall Street. When it comes to betting on government policy, Wall Street should not be able to secretly buy insider information. Coloradans investing for their retirement and their family’s financial security should be on a level playing field with well-heeled corporations.”
In February, the Senate gave 60 votes to a Grassley amendment requiring the registration and disclosure of political intelligence agents. These individuals gather information in the halls of Congress and sell it to Wall Street clients. Grassley’s proposal would have imposed the same registration requirements on political intelligence agents that have applied to lobbyists for decades. However, the proposal did not succeed in the House. Grassley plans to revisit the provision in future legislative vehicles.
The text of the Grassley-Udall letter to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is available here.