"...GM spokesman Greg Martin said it "will continue to exercise its First Amendment right to free speech." With taxpayer money-taxpayer rape by GM/Chrysler rolls on and on and on and...
Issa to propose ban on GM, Chrysler lobbying
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa was to make the proposal today from his seat in a House-Senate conference committee hammering out a compromise reform bill. He contends GM, Chrysler and Ally Financial should face the same restriction against government lobbying that federally backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do.
Issa, the top Republican on the U.S. House Oversight committee, has been among the loudest critics of the Obama administration's auto industry rescue.
In April, Issa said that ads touting the company's repayment of its government loans "come dangerously close to committing fraud."
It's not the first time members of Congress have considered limiting the lobbying by GM and other recipients of federal aid since the $700-billion Wall Street bailout passed in 2008. GM spent $1.4 million on lobbying in the first three months of this year, while Chrysler spent $590,806 and Ally, formerly GMAC, spent $235,000.
The Treasury owns 61% of GM and 9.9% of Chrysler because of their government-funded bankruptcies, and has raised its stake in Ally to 56.3%.
GM spokesman Greg Martin said it "will continue to exercise its First Amendment right to free speech."