Industry groups urge quick action on financial relief bill in Congress

WASHINGTON In an unusual outreach effort to every member of Congress, a coalition of more than 50 trade associations including the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is prodding the House and Senate to pass legislation before the end of the week to rescue investment banks and restore credibility to the financial markets.

NACDS joined with other groups to send a jointly authored letter to all members of Congress, expressing disappointment in the failure early this week to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Congress will again take up the measure Thursday.

“We are writing to express our profound disappointment in the House vote yesterday rejecting the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and to urge both the House and Senate to act as soon as possible this week to enact legislation to bring stability to credit markets,” the letter stated.

Noting the stock market’s rout on Monday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average staged its largest single-day point drop in history, the letter warned that the negative consequences of a failure to act on a bailout package for Wall Street would go far beyond that one-day, 778-point market decline. “Americans rely on credit and liquid markets to make our economy function, and we will continue to see our economy and the well-being of all Americans impacted unless Congress acts,” the group stated.