Attacking the Law Enforcers

The Financial Times has a fascinating piece on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's new priority: stopping state Attorneys General who are forcing Corporate America to start behaving itself. The move is likely targeted at people like New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D), who has been lauded for his "crackdowns in the mutual fund, insurance, pharmaceutical and financial services industries." A spokesman for Mr Spitzer said on Thursday: "It is sad that the chamber's leadership wants to return to the days of crooked accounting and conflicts of interest."

The chamber, which the FT notes is "the most powerful business lobby in Washington," is considering "supporting legislation that would protect federally regulated companies from the actions of state attorneys-general." Congress has already obliged in many ways. For instance, in 2003, Congress rolled back states' ability to pass and enforce tough financial privacy laws. And now Congress is pushing to limit states' ability to pass and enforce predatory lending laws. With the Chamber's new campaign, however, we are sure to see more of this consolidation of federal power from conservatives who previously purported to care about "states' rights."