The event will be hosted by longtime Gillibrand supporter Jane Hartley and her husband Ralph Schlosstein, chief executive officer of the investment firm Evercore and a former Lehman Brothers employee, according to The Journal. The event will also be attended by other prominent financial sector executives.
While preparing for the Senate debate on a far-reaching financial reform bill that began Thursday, Democrats have criticized Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and John Cornyn, R-Texas for their meetings with Wall Street executives and hedge fund managers in recent weeks, Politico reported.
Matt Canter, a spokesman for Gillibrand, told Politico that Monday's fundraiser should not be misinterpreted as "an industry event," citing Gillibrand's support of the financial reform bill as evidence of her alignment on the banking reform issue.
"Sen. Gillibrand's support for strong financial reform proves there is zero conflict," Canter told Politico. "It is being hosted by some of the leading Democratic donors in New York City, many of whom have supported Sen. Gillibrand since her first run for Congress."
Government professor Linda Fowler said that with regard to the financial reform issue, Gillibrand is generally supportive of the bill, but is also in favor of certain amendments when the final version of the bill comes to a vote.
"[Gillibrand] wants effective regulations [in financial services] that will see the health of the industry in the future, but she is also subjected to a lot of pressure," Fowler said.
Although Gillibrand supports tighter financial regulations and accountability on Wall Street, she has expressed some reservations about one provision in the proposed financial reform bill, according to The Journal.
"[Gillibrand] reiterated her support for the bill, which she voted for, but also shared [some] concerns," Canter said, according to The Journal.
The provision known as "Section 106" requires major investment banks to sell their highly lucrative derivatives-trading operations, The Journal reported. Gillibrand spoke with Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who proposed the derivatives provision earlier this month, at a Senate luncheon on Wednesday to argue against the provision, according to The Journal.
"Sen. Gillibrand does share [President Barack Obama's] concerns about whether this one provision could impact lending to small businesses," a Gillibrand spokesman said, according to The Journal.
Lobbyists from major investment banks including Goldman Sachs are aggressively mounting pressure on Democrats and the White House to remove the derivatives provision, The Journal reported. Last year, Goldman Sachs spent at least $2.8 million on lobbying efforts.
Fowler noted that Gillibrand is in a bind because she has to be "responsive to her constituency, who are angry and want change" on Wall Street, but the state of New York could stand to lose significant tax revenue should the derivatives provision pass in the final bill.
In the past, the public did not pay much attention to banking reform debates, Fowler said, which allowed bankers a "disproportionate amount of influence" on Washington legislators.
The current financial reform debate, however, has garnered a significant amount of media and popular attention, which means bankers today must "work a lot harder to get what they want, and they may not get it," Fowler said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against Goldman Sachs earlier this month, charging that Goldman Sachs defrauded investors by structuring a complex investment instrument tied to subprime mortgages with the knowledge that it would fail, then arranging to profit from its collapse.
Gillibrand has received about $30,000 from the political action committee for Goldman Sachs and from the firm's employees toward her 2010 election campaign, The Journal reported last week.Gillibrand said she will keep the Goldman contributions for now but will return the donations if the investment bank loses its lawsuit against the SEC.
The Journal reported that representatives from Goldman Sachs and other financial firms may attend Monday's event in order to persuade Gillibrand to vote against the finance bill.
Gillibrand's office did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
