Photo: Liz Lynch

By Bara Vaida

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. says she will introduce legislation aimed at preventing financial firms receiving any portion of the $700 billion bailout from using that money to lobby. The move comes after Feinstein and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., wrote a letter urging troubled insurance company AIG to halt its lobbying efforts, which it agreed to do.

I asked a Feinstein spokesman whether that means institutions that take the government help have to give up lobbying altogether until the money is paid back, or just cease lobbying on issues related to the bailout? "Details are still being worked out by our legislative staff," the spokesman said, adding that Feinstein wants to make sure that "taxpayer money isn't being used to lobby or [for] lavish trips or some of the other things we have seen." AIG executives were heavily critized for spending thousands of dollars on expensive corporate retreats even after the insurance giant had to be rescued by the government last month.