While investment manager Stanford contributed to federal candidates; Senate killed bill to combat financial fraud.

Between its PAC and its employees, Stanford Financial Group has given $2.4 million to federal candidates (including both candidate committees and leadership PACs), parties and committees since 1989, with 65 percent of that going to Democrats. Stanford and his wife, Susan, have given $931,100 out of their own pockets, with 78 percent going to Democrats.

The top recipients of cash in the current Congress include Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who received $45,900; Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who collected $41,375; and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who brought in $28,150. (For a full list of recipients, see below.) The company gave the most during the 2002 election cycle, when Congress was debating the Financial Services Antifraud Network Act, a bill that would have created a computer network linking the databases of state and federal banking, securities and insurance regulators to curb financial fraud. Lobbying reports indicate that Stanford Financial Group lobbied on the bill, which the House passed but the Senate did not.

Nelson was vice chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the '02 cycle, when the DSCC collected more than $800,000 from the company.Stanford Financial Group has spent a total of $4.8 million on lobbying efforts since 1999, primarily on issues related to money laundering, financial services and banking.

Last year the firm's lobbying spiked by more than 300 percent, totaling $2.2 million, by far the most it has ever reported spending. In addition to sending its own in-house lobbyists to Capitol Hill, the company also hired lobbying shop Ben Barnes Group last year to represent its interests. These members of the 111th Congress have received contributions from the PAC and/or employees of the Stanford Financial Group since 1989 (includes contributions to both candidate committees and leadership PACs):

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