DCCC's fundraising beats NRCC's
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee comfortably outraised its Republican counterpart in February by more than $1 million, a signal that Republicans still have a lot of work to do to catch up to the Democratic fundraising machine.
The DCCC raised $3.5 million in February, ending the month with $2.9 million cash on hand. That’s comparable to the $3.5 million the committee raised in January. The committee paid off $1 million of its debt last month but still is $15 million in the red.
The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $2.03 million and has $1.85 million left in its campaign account. The committee holds $6.4 million in debt.
On the Senate side, both campaign committees reported $2.87 million last week, so Senate Republicans have done a bit more to catch up after two terrible GOP election cycles.
Both House committees have been actively involved in the special election for newly appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s vacant House seat.
In February, the NRCC spent $1.3 million while the DCCC spent $2.3 million.
—Josh Kraushaar
Frank Seeks to End Bonuses at Bailed-Out Firms
Barney Frank is moving to kill those pesky bonuses for good.
On Wednesday, the Financial Services Committee chairman will mark up a bill that would essentially ban bonuses for companies that receive money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The banking industry has warned that a total bonus ban could have two devastating effects — it would make the industry less likely to take TARP money and therefore slow down lending, and it would make it much harder for these companies to retain talent.
The legislation would apply to these firms “regardless of when any agreement to pay a bonus was entered into,” according to Frank’s office. Bailout recipients would also be barred from paying out any compensation deemed “unreasonable or excessive” under new standards to be determined by the treasury secretary.
Frank has also demanded that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae executives rescind plans for million-dollar bonuses over the next two years.
— Martin Kady II
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