Advocacy group spent $130K lobbying in 1st quarter

WASHINGTON

The Center for Responsible Lending spent $130,000 lobbying the federal government in the first quarter as it continued to press for stricter regulation of credit card fees and on other consumer issues, according to a disclosure report.

The Durham, N.C.-based advocacy group, which advocates tighter regulation of mortgage lenders, also lobbied Congress and federal agencies on creation of a new consumer financial protection agency as well as overdraft loans and payday loans.

In addition to the House and Senate, the group also had lobbying contacts with the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., according to a disclosure form filed April 20 with the Senate's public records office.

The $130,000 the group spent in the January-March period is below the $180,000 spent in the first quarter of 2009 and the $175,000 expended in the fourth quarter of last year.

Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.