U.S. Chamber Plans $3M Ad Blitz Vs. Dodd Bill

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Congress Daily reported today that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it would spend at least $3 million in a multi-state TV ad buy opposing Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd's (D-CN) bill to revamp the financial regulatory system. David Hirschmann, President of the Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, said his organization would spend the money as the bill gets ready to be marked up and voted upon in the Senate Banking Committee next week. The chamber has vowed to kill President Obama's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency and is upset that the Dodd draft creates a strong agency, entitled to a portion of the Federal Reserve’s budget outside of the normal appropriations process. The agency would be led by a presidential appointee, independent of the Fed leadership and the big banks. According to Andrew Pincus, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP working with the Chamber: "It is a pretty unprecedented and shocking concentration of power in one individual," Pincus said. "This is a person who is not under the president's policy control and could only be fired for cause and totally determines their own budget up to a cap." Let’s hope his analysis is correct. A shockingly powerful consumer advocate is just what the nation needs right now. Keep your eyes peeled for ads, and let us know if you see them. The Chamber will focus its blitz in states represented by moderate members of the Banking Committee, including Sens. Jon Tester (D-MN), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Mark Warner (D-VA).