2010-04-25 CNN
Democrats and Republicans are still reporting progress on a bill aimed at reforming Wall Street. And a senate committee approved related legislation yesterday. Tough new limits on Wall Street stability to trade those controversial and risky derivatives n.衍生性金融商品, but senators weren't the only ones there. Who else? Lobbyists. Financial sector has spent $455 million on lobbyists to protect the billions of dollars they have at stake. Senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, take Sunday inside.
DANA BASH:Who is waiting in this long line to get into a key senate committee meeting on financial reform? A lot of lobbyists. The reason for the line is inside this room, senators are working on details of legislation that would, for the first time, establish oversight on the financial derivatives market. We're talking about hundreds of trillions of dollars in deals, the kind that led to the panic that helped cause the near collapse of the financial industry.
Within a decade, this market exploded to $600 trillion in [notional value].名义价值 We must bring transparency and accountability n.责任制度to these markets.
BASH:In the back of room you see the committee, and what they're doing is [poring over]仔细阅读，审视 this legislation line by line and that's why you have this. Lobbyists. They're here watching very carefully. The lobbyists here represent some of the big banks on Wall Street who reap billions of dollars in profits from this mostly unregulated derivatives trading, but it's not just them. There are also lobbyists here representing farmers, manufacturers, and businesses who want to preserve their bottom line. They say that bottom line is helped by derivatives trading. That's why this lobbyist representing an agro-business 农业企业 is here.
BASH ：Do you want to make sure the bid doesn't go too far?
Man：We need a balanced bill that adds transparency and does a lot of the good things, but again, still allows U.S. manufacturers to be competitive.
BASH: You're a lobbyist?
Woman: I am.
BASH: Lobbyists, as you know, don't have the best，maybe reputation in this country and certainly at a time when people are pretty angry at Washington. What do you want people to know about your job as a lobbyist?
Woman: Well, I think first of all, I'm an advocate for manufacturing. And my efforts, really, are trying to educate members of Congress and their staff on the impact of legislation on the manufacturing sector.
BASH ：And what about the lobbyists from Wall Street banks and big financial firms concerned about new regulation? Well, we found several, but they didn't want to talk to us on the record until we tried this approach.
BASH： I'm Dana Bash with CNN. How are you? He is a Washington lobbyist. Who does he represent? Any big banks?
Man:Uh，no.
BASH: Any financial firms at all?
Man: Several financial firms but no big banks. We are following this development. This is a very important issue here, and it has great implications for any number of institutions, not just on Wall Street but across the country.
BASH : An official representing big Wall Street banks later admitted to CNN they're pushing back hard on several provisions n. 规定，条款in the bill that would make it harder to reap their billions and profits on derivatives trading. But more and more, it looks like Wall Street has an uphill费力的 fight. The committee approved legislation limiting Wall Street's ability to make those controversial trades, and it was even bipartisan adj.两党的. Republican, Charles Grassley, voted yes too.
Dana Bash, CNN