As House/Senate Finance Reform Conference opens, dealers wait on F&I exemption
[I]62 House Dems call on Conferees to stick with dealer exclusion from Finance Reform[/I]Franchised auto dealers will have to wait at least another week before they know whether F&I operations will be further regulated under Finance Reform legislation now being hammered out in a conference between the House and Senate. That reality became evident the minute the cameras began rolling on the televised proceeding and as those for and against Finance Reform staked out their positions in prickly exchanges that highlighted the large philosophical distance between them.
The conferees are attempting to finish their work by next week so as to have the legislation to the president before the July 4th recess. But that timetable looks to be in trouble as those opposed to critical elements of the measure raise objections. Conference committee chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) had already chided a number of conferees for time wasting as the WANADA Bulletin reported, but it did not appear they would be heeding the chairmans admonition. The dealer exemption from Finance Reform is one of the critical elements of Finance Reform, with the House having voted to exempt dealers and the Senate, while not exempting dealers, did pass an Instruction to the Conferees motion to adopt the House position and exempt dealers by a vote of 60-30.
This week Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) sent a letter signed by 61 Democrat colleagues to Chairman Frank urging him to exempt dealers from the legislation.
“Many auto dealerships are locally owned and operated and played no part in creating the crisis on Wall Street that caused millions to lose their jobs,” Owens said. “During tough economic times when our local dealers are trying to expand their business and create jobs, they do not need new and uncertain regulations from Washington.”
NADA continues to press all dealers to stay in contact with their members of Congress urging them to exempt dealers from the legislation.
NADA reiterated that conferees are under immense pressure, from the president on down, to include dealers in the legislation and its draconian regulatory scheme, which puts dealership F&I at great risk. The way to contact members of Congress at this point is via FAX. In addition to contacting your own members of Congress, have a look at the conference list below to see if you know a conferee, who may be a customer at your dealership, and contact him/her ASAP!
House & Senate Conferees on Finance Reform legislation and their fax numbers:
Alabama
Sen. Richard Shelby, R, 202-224-3416
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R, 202-225-2082
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D, 202-228-1371
California
Rep. Howard Berman, D, 202-225-3196
Rep. Darrell Issa, R, 202-225-3303
Rep. Ed Royce, R, 202-226-0335
Rep. Maxine Waters, D, 202-225-7854
Rep. Henry Waxman, D, 202-225-4099
Connecticut
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D, 202-224-1083
Georgia
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R, 202-224-0103
Idaho
Sen. Mike Crapo, R, 202-228-1375
Illinois
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D, 202-225-7810
Rep. Judy Biggert, R, 202-225-9420
Rep. Bobby Rush, D, 202-226-0333
Iowa
Sen. Tom Harkin, D, 202-224-9369
Rep. Leonard Boswell, D, 202-225-5608
Kansas
Rep. Dennis Moore, D, 202-225-2807
Maryland
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D, 202-225-3178
Massachusetts
Rep. Barney Frank, D, 202-225-0182
Michigan
Rep. John Conyers, D, 202-225-0072
Rep. Gary Peters, D, 202-226-2356
Minnesota
Rep. Collin Peterson, D, 202-225-1593
Missouri
Rep. Sam Graves, R, 202-225-8221
New Hampshire
Sen. Judd Gregg, R, 202-224-3324
New Jersey
Rep. Scott Garrett, R, 202-225-9048
New York
Sen. Charles Schumer, D, 202-228-3027
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D, 202-225-4709
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D, 202-226-4169
Rep. Edolphus Towns, D, 202-225-1018
Rep. Nydia Velasquez, D, 202-226-0327
North Carolina
Rep. Heath Shuler, D, 202-226-6422
Rep. Mel Watt, D, 202-225-1512
Ohio
Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D, 202-225-3529
Oklahoma
Rep. Frank Lucas, R, 202-225-8698
Pennsylvania
Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D, 202-225-0764
Rhode Island
Sen. Jack Reed, D, 202-224-4680
South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson, D, 202-228-5765
Tennessee
Sen. Bob Corker, R, 202-228-0566
Texas
Rep. Joe Barton, R, 202-225-3052
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R, 202-226-4888
Rep. Lamar Smith, R, 202-225-8628
Vermont
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D, 202-224-3479
West Virginia
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R, 202-225-7856
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