Securities and investment firms, commercial banks, insurers and others with a material stake in reform have spent over $286 million lobbying Congress since the financial reform debate began in earnest in the House of Representatives last summer.
Financial interests also poured $56 million into the election coffers of House and Senate members in that time. Just under half of that went to Democrats, who control the two chambers.
But with the U.S. unemployment rate just below 10 percent and the economy still limping, analysts say Wall Street money is proving unusually ineffective among members of the Senate and House whose constituents are angry at incumbents and financial fat cats.
Full Story: Wall Street money has small effect on skittish Congress | Reuters.