The Chamber of Commerce unveiled a multi-million dollar national ad campaign Thursday intended to prod members of Congress to back tax reform.
The initial wave of ads will target five moderate New York Republicans but the effort will expand to other states after that. The ads feature what appear to be blue collar workers calling for refoms including fewer loopholes and lower rates for corporations, among other changes.
The lawmakers initially target by the blitz are New York GOP House members Dan Donovan, John Faso, Elise Stefanik, John Katko, and Chris Collins. The Chamber hasn’t said how much it is pouring into the campaign but characterized it as a “seven-figure campaign.”
“The time for tax reform is now. As the Chamber’s president and CEO Tom Donohue made clear in an open letter to Congress about tax reform, ‘failure is not an option’ and the Chamber will be holding lawmakers accountable to make sure this gets done for the American people,” said Neil Bradley the Chamber’s senior vice president and chief policy officer.
“We need lawmakers from all sides of the political spectrum to hear from their constituents — the country has been waiting long enough for a fair tax code that encourages growth and opportunity.”
The Chamber has argued reform is necessary to keep the economy going.
Recent investment by business has been driven by the anticipation that a Republican president in the White House and a GOP-controlled Congress means tax reform was going to happen during the current Congress.
If it doesn’t happen, businesses will pull back on investing and this will have the effect of cooling down the economy, Chamber officials warn.
