Chamber ads aim to stop CFPA
TEXT OF STORY
KAI RYSSDAL:Now that the health care debate is at least officially finished, Washington lobbyists are looking around for the next big thing. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opened a new front in its $3 million campaign against financial reform today.
Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Nancy Marshall Genzer: The Chamber of Commerce let loose with a barrage of TV, radio and online ads today — all against creating any new consumer watchdog.
Chamber of Commerce ad: A massive new federal agency that will create more layers of regulation and bureaucracy.
A House bill does create a new agency; the Senate would put a consumer watchdog at the Fed. It would also let states apply their consumer protection rules to national banks.
David Hirschmann is running the chamber’s ad campaign. He says a hodgepodge of state rules would lead banks to cut back on credit for small businesses.
David Hirschmann: It ranges from the types of credit card offerings that are available to small business to the type of home equity credits that they sometimes use.
Travis Plunkett is with the Consumer Federation of America. He says small business owners need state protection.
Travis Plunkett: These are exactly the kind of people, just like consumers who are vulnerable to unfair and deceptive practices by creditors.
And some small business groups have come out in favor of a consumer watchdog.
In Washington, I’m Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
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