Goldman Lobbyist Barred From Financial Services Panel

GO BARNEY!!! By Robert Schmidt Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Washington lobbying office has been barred from communicating with the Democratic majority on the House Financial Services Committee as the panel seeks to overhaul financial regulations. Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the committee, issued the edict in a memo yesterday. Michael Paese, the... [more]

GO BARNEY!!! By Robert Schmidt Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Washington lobbying office has been barred from communicating with the Democratic majority on the House Financial Services Committee as the panel seeks to overhaul financial regulations. Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the committee, issued the edict in a memo yesterday. Michael Paese, the Goldman lobbyist, was a top staffer on the committee until last September; he was hired by the New York-based bank in April. “As we move through the regulatory reform process, making sure that former members of our staff here don’t have undue influence is very important to us,” said Frank’s spokesman, Steve Adamske. “He wanted to make things as clear as possible.” The ban comes as the Financial Services Committee begins next month to put together legislation that would set out the most sweeping changes of Wall Street oversight in 75 years. Banks, including Goldman, have become a target for lawmakers critical of the excessive risk taking that helped lead to the financial crisis. In his memo, Frank said that under House rules, Paese had been prohibited from lobbying the panel for one year after his employment there -- a period that expired on Sept. 11. To avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest, Frank said he would extend Paese’s recusal time until the end of the congressional term next year. “Neither I, nor full committee nor subcommittee staff, will meet, or otherwise communicate with, Michael on any issues related to committee business or jurisdiction,” wrote Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. “I ask that subcommittee chairs abide by this same rule.” Frank said he was notifying the Republicans on the committee about the decision. Goldman spokesman Lucas van Praag and Paese didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment. After leaving the Financial Services panel as deputy staff director, and before joining Goldman, Paese worked at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association as a lobbyist. [less]