An interesting article about how the affect of money and lobbying is less on what Congress does, than on what Congress fails to do. The Enron debacle is demonstrating this.
In 1992, at lawmakers’ urging, federal regulators exempted the budding market for “energy swaps,” pioneered by Enron, from oversight. Later, Congress relaxed oversight even further: The Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which passed in December 2000, included a special exemption for Enron.
In 1999, members of Congress also helped prevent regulators from cracking down on possible conflicts of interest in the accounting industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had proposed a rule that would have banned accounting firms from consulting with companies they also audit, but lawmakers threatened to slash the commission’s budget.
[…] “Some people say Enron didn’t get anything from Washington, but it got exactly what it wanted: It got no regulation,” says Celia Wexler of Common Cause, a public interest group.
Which lawmakers? If any of mine were included, I’ll have to drop them an email.
I’ll keep my eyes open for lists. It might be worthwhile sending an e-mail to their office, anyway, inquiring about their votes on those matters.