WASHINGTON — Less than a month before the midterm elections, the Independent Community Bankers of America is launching a new direct mail campaign to promote 13 lawmakers who backed regulatory relief.
The group is sending postcards to constituents that laud a House or Senate member for playing a role in the passage of S 2155, a bill signed into law in May that rolled back certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.
The lawmakers praised by the ICBA include two senators locked in tough re-election battles: Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. The mail campaign also highlights nine House members as well as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. (Crapo is not up for re-election.)
“The passage of S. 2155 was a major victory for every Main Street town—urban, suburban and rural—that’s served by a community bank,” ICBA President and CEO Rebecca Romero Rainey said in a press release. “ICBA and community banks want to increase awareness of the critical role these members of Congress have served in furthering local lending, economic growth and job creation in their home districts.”
Still, the ICBA does not consider the mailings to be campaign endorsements.
“This is an educational campaign recognizing members who have supported Main Street and community bank issues,” Paul Merski, executive vice president for congressional relations and strategy at the group, said in an interview. “This is part of an ongoing campaign. We have run thank you ads, actually thanking all the members of the House and Senate who supported S 2155. This is part of a continuing campaign.”
Recent polls indicate the races involving Heitkamp and Heller are tossups. The ICBA also sent a postcard praising Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee who is facing a tough bid for re-election in his Kentucky district.
Other members of Congress the ICBA is recognizing include Reps. Lou Correa, D-Calif., Sean Duffy, R-Wis., Bill Foster, D-Ill., French Hill, R-Ark., Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and David Scott, D-Ga.
Its educational campaign comes on the heels of a similar effort by the American Bankers Association.
The ABA has
