Barney Frank BANS Ex-Adviser From Dealing With Panel (Peter Roberson becomes a lobbyist)

NY Times ^ | 4/01/10 | Sewell Chan

[Libloather]

Frank Bans Ex-Adviser From Dealing With Panel
Sewell Chan
April 1, 2010, 6:11 pm

Representative Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Thursday that he had prohibited a former senior adviser, Peter Roberson, from having any contact with the committee’s staff because Mr. Roberson had become a lobbyist for a company that runs a clearinghouse for derivatives.

While serving as a committee adviser, Mr. Roberson worked on legislation to regulate derivatives. But Mr. Roberson has since been hired by Intercontinental Exchange, known as ICE, as vice president of government relations, Bloomberg News reported. He would normally be banned by House rules from contacting the committee’s staff for a year, but Mr. Frank said the ban would remain in place as long as he is the panel’s chairman.

Mr. Frank seemed angry in his statement:

“Several people have expressed criticism of the move by Peter Roberson from the staff of the Financial Services Committee to ICE, after he worked on the legislation relevant to derivatives. I completely agree with that criticism. When Mr. Roberson was hired, it never occurred to me that he would jump so quickly from the committee staff to an industry that was being affected by the committee’s legislation. When he called me to tell me that he was in conversations with them, I told him that I was disappointed and that I insisted that he take no further action as a member of the committee staff. I then called the staff director and instructed her to remove him from the payroll.”

[Libloather]

Roberson knows stuff that could hurt Bawney? More info @ the link above.

UPDATE: Rep. Frank Severs All Ties With Ex-Staffer Now Working At ICE
By Sarah N. Lynch

Dow Jones Newswires (Updates with comments from ICE in 6th and 7th paragraphs. Also adds new details and background throughout)

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank has barred aides from discussing banking policy with a former staffer who took a job at IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE), an unusually public rebuke that sheds light on the revolving door between Congress and business.

The former aide, Peter Roberson, worked on Frank's capital-markets team and played a key role in crafting part of a financial overhaul bill that might benefit Atlanta-based ICE, a large electronic exchange. The bill, which has passed the House, would move some products onto clearing and trading platforms, including those operated by ICE.

Congressional aides often leave lower paying jobs working for lawmakers for higher salaries at corporations or trade groups. The moves aren't illegal, and aides generally observe a one-year cooling off period once they leave, which limits their ability to lobby. Frank's ban suggests lawmakers are increasingly sensitive to accusations that aides could quickly cash in on legislation they helped write.

This is an excerpt.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/update-rep-frank-severs-ties-ex-staffer-working-ice/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxbusiness%2Flatest+%28Text+-+Latest+News%29&utm_content=Yahoo+Search+Results

[Parley Baer]

Hmmmmm, maybe a homo cat fight?

[Gay State Conservative]

The *real* reason? The guy refused to attend Baaaarney’s mandatory tickling sessions in the House shower room.