Chamber applauds Dems’ stimulus votes

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobby that typically supports congressional Republicans, is praising House Democrats for voting in favor of the economic stimulus measure that passed two weeks ago.

The Chamber sent press releases to local media in several states with potentially vulnerable Democrats. The statements tout the stimulus bill’s job-creating effects, which the Chamber said would increase consumption and investment while improving the economy.

{mosads}”Since the elections, we’ve worked with the president and Congressman Foster to quickly pass a bill that would apply a defibrillator to the economy and shock it back to life,” Chamber Executive Vice President Bruce Josten said in a statement supporting Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), one beneficiary of the releases.

“While not everyone in Washington or Illinois agrees on every item in this package, the whole is more important than the individual parts,” Josten added. “Our economy is in uncharted and dangerous waters and inaction from Washington is not an option.”

Releases went out to districts held by Reps. Frank Kratovil (D-Md.), Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.), John Adler (D-N.J.), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) and Eric Massa (D-N.Y.), and a Chamber spokesman said up to 20 Democrats would be included on the final list of beneficiaries.

All six members are freshmen who won Republican-held districts in 2008, some by razor-thin margins. Foster won a special election in March 2008 after ex-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) resigned, then won by a wider margin in November to earn a full term.

“Having the U.S. Chamber supporting our members locally underscores the broad and diverse support the recovery plan has across the country,” said Doug Thornell, a spokesman for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the lawmaker who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The Chamber is not usually associated with propping up Democratic members of Congress. Though the Chamber’s political action committee gave a few thousand more to House Republicans in 2008 than it did to House Democrats, the group spent millions backing Republican Senate candidates last year.

This year, too, some have accused the Chamber of favoring Republican incumbents as they voted overwhelmingly against the stimulus plan. The Chamber has said it will not include the stimulus vote in their annual list of votes on which they rank members of Congress, giving Republicans a pass on having to vote against a usual ally.