Small business owners, local chambers, and citizens have sent more than 200,000 letters Congress expressing their strong opposition to the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)

The letters, written by citizens from all 50 states, oppose the CFPA approach and call for a better way to strengthen consumer protection. Small businesses are reaching out to members of Congress to express disapproval of specific provisions that hurt them. Specifically, the bill would result in reduced access to credit for small businesses, and would enable the new consumer financial regulator to regulate merchants, retailers, doctors, and public utilities. The language in the bill is vague and could also impose new regulations on any business that permits customers to pay in more than four installments or on a business that applies interest charges for late payments.

In response to proposed legislation, David Hirschmann, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC), said

"There's a right way to go about financial reform and a wrong way. The proposed CFPA is the wrong way to protect consumers and reform regulation. Another large layer of government bureaucracy with unprecedented reach and powers will needlessly impact businesses that had nothing to do with the financial crisis.

We need bipartisan regulatory reform that provides strong oversight of our financial system and enables continued economic recovery. We must make sure that existing regulators are well coordinated, customers have clear information, and there is effective enforcement against fraudulent and predatory practices. We don't need to create a new layer of bureaucracy on top of a broken system. We need a better government, not bigger government."