• The treatment of broker-dealer funds held in money market funds under SEC Rules 15c3-1 and 15c3-3 and interpreting Rules 15c2-4 to permit the proceeds of a securities offering to be held in a money market fund; examining the regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisers and suggesting that Congress enact a new regulatory framework.

Duration: November 1, 2007 to April 30, 2008

General Issues: Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities

Spending: about $130,000 (But it's complicated. Here's why.)

It can be tricky to figure out how much an organization spent on a particular lobbying engagement. The law only requires lobbyists to report the amount they were paid for federal lobbying each quarter rounded to the nearest $10,000—and if it's less than $3,000 in a given quarter (or less than $13,000 for organizations with in-house lobbyists), they don't have to disclose it at all. Plus, some organizations include spending that doesn’t belong in the report—for instance, money spent lobbying state governments or other legal work.

Agencies lobbied since 2007: Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Senate, Y Y Securities and Exchange Commission