Wall Street Filling Congress' Re-election War Chests

Besides lobbying furiously against the most sweeping financial reforms since the Great Depression, the nation's largest financial firms have contributed heavily to the campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The securities and investment industry, whose activities could be curtailed by the proposed legislation, has donated $34 million for the 2010 election cycle. Democrats have received the majority of the cash, garnering 62 percent while Republicans have taken home 37 percent.

Even as the Senate prepares to vote on the financial reform bill, lawmakers have been holding fundraisers with Wall Street bankers and lobbyists, raising the eyebrows of some good government advocates.

"It gives at the very least the appearance of influence—or, at worst, actual influence over legislation that affects the general public," John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a consumer advocacy group, told The Wall Street Journal.

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