‘THE HOUSE EXEMPTED AUTO DEALERS FOR GOOD REASON,’ NADA SAYS. ‘THE SENATE SHOULD DO THE SAME.’

WASHINGTON (April 15, 2010) - The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is organizing a Dealer Fly-in on April 26 to meet with Senators and urge support for the Brownback Amendment which would exempt auto dealers from the proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The proposed bureau would have sweeping powers to control dealer-assisted financing and even commissions for auto salespeople.

NADA is working with state and metro dealer association executives to put together a team of dealers that would fly into Washington on April 26 and meet with their Senators the following day.

Dealers are rallying behind an auto dealer amendment to the Senate financial regulation bill, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.

“Auto dealers should never have been in the Senate bill in the first place,” said Ed Tonkin, NADA chairman. “The Brownback Amendment will correct that mistake.”

NADA's legislative office pointed out that the House voted to exempt auto dealers from its financial reform legislation on a strongly bi-partisan basis. “The House bill covers auto loans, but not auto dealers because auto dealers are already heavily regulated at the federal and state level,” said David Regan, NADA's vice president of legislative affairs. “The Senate should do the same.”

The announcement of the Fly-in comes one day after NADA issued a nationwide call-to-action to all dealers. The call-to-action alerted dealers that the Senate is soon to consider a financial regulation bill that would subject auto dealers to a whole new set of burdensome regulations. “Adding another layer of regulation will limit availability of credit and increase costs to consumers,” Tonkin added.

NADA also argues that including auto dealers as part of the new bureau is unnecessary. Banks and finance companies that underwrite and service auto loans would be covered by the new bureau. “We're not banks; we're not lenders; we're facilitators, providing consumers with a wide variety of financing options from multiple financing sources,” Tonkin said.

NADA wants the Senate to focus financial reform on what caused the economic crisis.  “Wall Street caused the financial meltdown, not local auto dealers on Main Street,” Tonkin said.

Editor's note: NADA's legislative office is urging dealers to contact both of their Senators to support the Brownback Auto Dealer Amendment to the Senate Financial Reform Bill, and to include the amendment in any compromise legislation. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121.