The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is moving to prevent General Motors and Chrysler from lobbying while the federal government owns a stake in each company. Representative Darrell Issa (R, Calif.) is set to introduce the measure on behalf of the committee today. The ban isn't anything new for other bailed out companies. According to Automotive News, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are both currently under similar bans after receiving government aid last year.
Not surprisingly, that hasn't stopped General Motors from saying that it would oppose the legislation. Like most large corporations, the automaker employs a significant lobbying effort. AN says that from the time that it declared bankruptcy last year until March of 2010, GM has spent $4.3 million lobbying congress, and Chrysler has forked over $2.3 million doing the same.
Representative Issa has said that he hopes to bar any company that the government owns five percent of or more from lobbying at all. The move seems more than fair, and may act as a proper deterrent for companies looking for easy cash at the expense of tax payers.
[Source: Automotive News | Image: House of Representatives]
Not surprisingly, that hasn't stopped General Motors from saying that it would oppose the legislation. Like most large corporations, the automaker employs a significant lobbying effort. AN says that from the time that it declared bankruptcy last year until March of 2010, GM has spent $4.3 million lobbying congress, and Chrysler has forked over $2.3 million doing the same.
Representative Issa has said that he hopes to bar any company that the government owns five percent of or more from lobbying at all. The move seems more than fair, and may act as a proper deterrent for companies looking for easy cash at the expense of tax payers.
[Source: Automotive News | Image: House of Representatives]
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