Four key lawmakers on the financial reform conference committee are seeking to create loopholes in the so-called Volcker Rule and the derivatives section of the bill, according to Talking Points Memo.

The four lawmakers are Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Greg Meeks, Dennis Moore and Mel Watt. They have received a combined $5.5 million from the finance, insurance and real estate sector (FIRE) over their careers. All but Gutierrez received over 20% of their total career campaign contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sector making them heavily reliant on the industry to fund their campaigns. Gutierrez received 19% of his contributions from the finance sector.

Lawmaker	Party	FIRE Contributions	Total Career Contributions	Percent from FIRE
Gregory Meeks	D	$1,461,292.00	$4,350,723.00	33.59%
Mel Watt	D	$952,138.00	$4,204,301.00	22.65%
Dennis Moore	D	$2,339,991.00	$11,551,282.00	20.26%
Luis Gutierrez	D	$772,407.00	$3,990,337.00	19.36%

The loopholes that would be created are being suggested in a letter sent by the 68 members of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats who have opposed many of the tougher regulations proposed for derivatives trading. TPM obtained a draft of the letter, which can be viewed here.

Meeks and Moore are both members of the New Democrat Coalition.  The Hill reported earlier this week that the New Democrats are drafting a letter urging the conference committee to drop a provision proposed by Sen. Blanche Lincoln requiring banks to spin off their derivatives trading desks into separate units.

During debate in the House over financial reform in 2009 the New Democrats played a key role in exempting a wide-swath of end-users from derivatives trading oversight and limiting the number of trades that will occur on an open clearinghouse.

Yet another member of Congress has been found pushing the Treasury Department for TARP funds despite having a long-standing relationship with that bank. One year ago, Rep. Luis Gutierrez wrote to Treasury urging them to consider bailing out the Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular labeling it a special and urgent case. This was without revealing that Gutierrez had received tens of thousands of campaign contributions from bank executives over the years and that his wife worked as senior vice president from 2005 to 2007 until she was abruptly fired. The Hill has the full story:

The financial crisis erupted last fall, and Popular recorded a $700 million loss in the fourth quarter alone. The firm had an annual loss of $1.2 billion in 2008.

In October 2008, the bank sent letters to several lawmakers, including Gutierrez, “to ensure participation” in TARP, said Teruca Rullan, senior vice president of corporate communications at Popular. “Communicating directly with members of the U.S. Congress was a prelude to secure capital in this historic financial juncture,” she wrote in an e-mail to The Hill.

Popular was no stranger to Washington’s ways. Gutierrez received close to $15,000 in campaign contributions since 1997 from the bank’s executives, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The last donation came in 2004.

Apart from the contributions to Gutierrez, bank officials have given more than $113,000 to both Democratic and Republican lawmakers since 1989, according to the center.

As the bank grew, it also hired some of the most prominent firms on K Street, spending close to  $2.9 million on lobbying since 2003.

New lobbying rules for TARP funds promulgated on September 10, 2009, state that members of Congress cannot lobby Treasury for funds out of the TARP program. Instances like Gutierrez' (or those of Rep. Maxine Waters or Sen. Daniel Inouye) may have been the catalyst for prohibiting Congress from lobbying for specific bank bailouts.

Two nights ago, in his The Word segment, Steven Colbert actually used his show to do some investigative work into the money-in-politics connections that might have motivated to turn Rep. Luis Gutierrez' position on pay-day loans from oppose to support slight (read: non-existent) restrictions. Watch it:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Have Your Cake And Eat It, Too
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Of course, I can't help but remind readers that the Center for Responsive Politics recently opened up their data--20 years worth--to be mashed, mixed, and visualized. Already we are seeing visualization pop up. Check out these from the University of Michigan.

Also, Sunlight's Chief Evangelist Greg Elin penned a guest column over at ProgrammableWeb about the release of this mountain of data. It's well worth the read.

Since there are so many unflattering stories about lawmakers right now, I figured they could be condensed into one quick post.

Sen. Norm Coleman, still subject to a recount in his Minnesota Senate race, is facing a possible FBI probe as the Bureau announced that they are undertaking a preliminary investigation into the role a long time Coleman benefactor may have played in steering money to the senator. The preliminary investigation is based on allegations that Nasser Kazeminy attempted to steer $100,000 to Coleman through his wife's employer.

The House Ethics Committee is expanding its investigation into Rep. Charles Rangel to include allegations that contributions made to the Charles B. Rangel School for Public Service induced the congressman to change his position on legislation that would effect the donor.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Rep. Luis Gutierrez has made close to half a million dollars in real estate deals with campaign contributors. In some instances Gutierrez purchased the property and then, a few months later, sold the property back to the previous seller for tens, and sometimes hundreds, of thousands of dollars. You can review the congressman's personal finances at Open Secrets.

UPDATE: ABC News reports, sources finger Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. as Senate Candidate 5.

While there are many unnamed officials and deputy governors in the criminal complaint filed against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the one getting the most attention is still Senate Candidate 5. According to Christy Hardin Smith at FireDogLake, the Chicago press is discussing the possibility that this unnamed individual could be indicted:

On C-Span's Washington Journal this morning, Chicago newsman Mike Flannery of WBBM-TV CBS2 had some interesting scuttlebutt. Seems the word on the Chicago streets is that an indictment of Senate Candidate 5 may be a possibility.

Speculation has largely centered around Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., as he was the only known replacement candidate to meet with Blagojevich at times that correspond to the times laid out in the complaint. The only tip in the complaint that makes Jackson somewhat unlikely is that the person offered to raise a large sum of money and Jackson is not known as a good fundraiser. Other possibilities include former State Senate President Emil Jones, a monster fundraiser; State Assemblyman Arthur Turner; Rep. Danny Davis, who has denied; and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who is facing his own problems. Gutierrez could be a strong underdog here. As the Chicago Tribune article linked to above shows, he isn't afraid to walk close to the line of unethical behavior.

Not much news today. A Chicago congressman gets caught up in a widening local investigation into the political fixing of zoning by developers. Sen. Ted Stevens is still fighting back as more rats jump ship.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez is catching flack in the Chicago Tribune for lobbying Mayor Richard Daley to support a "controversial multimillion-dollar development for a campaign contributor who had just lent the congressman $200,000 in a real estate deal." This all has to do with a development project spearheaded by Calvin Boender, who was involved in the Galewood Yards project. The project that Rep. Gutierrez lobbied in support of was not located in his congressional district. Over the years, Rep. Gutierrez received at least $5,000 in campaign contributions from Boender. The information regarding the congressman's lobbying of Mayor Daley, a letter written on U.S. House stationary dated July 7, 2004,  was obtained as part of a federal grand jury investigation into potential pay-to-play politics in the city's zoning decisions.

Sen. Ted Stevens is doing all he can to fight back against his seven convictions for making false statements on his personal financial disclosures. Today, the Alaska senator asked the Justice Department to begin an investigation into the conduct of the prosecution in his case. Stevens is asking Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint an impartial investigator to look into the "numerous, serious constitutional violations" by the prosecution. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and South Carolina's two Republican senators called for Sen. Stevens to resign his seat.