Lobbyists maintain high profile on Dodd-Frank

{mosads}The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency all were subjected to the highest amount of lobbying since President Obama was sworn into office. Lobbying of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was at its second highest level of the Obama era, coming in just behind the fourth quarter of 2010.

All of those regulators are hard at work implementing key provisions of Dodd-Frank.

While a large number of groups are still lobbying on Dodd-Frank 10 months after it was enacted, that number has steadily fallen since Dodd-Frank was signed into law. The amount of lobbying on Dodd-Frank hit an all-time high in the second quarter of 2010, as 815 groups reported lobbying on the issue. That number fell to 734 in the third quarter of 2010, and then to 590 in the last quarter of the year.

The lobbying push comes as lawmakers are also trying to exert their influence on the law. The new Republican majority in the House is pushing legislation that would delay or otherwise alter various aspects of the law. They also have unveiled budget proposals that cut funds allocated to the CFTC and SEC — the two Wall Street regulators that have their budgets set by Congress.