Key to the Obama administration's proposal for financial industry reform is the establishment of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The proposed agency would "have a broad mandate to cover the spectrum of consumer financial products and to fill gaps in current regulations." Not surprisingly, big business is fighting back. "I think when people read this, they will be shocked about the incredibly broad delegation of power," said the American Bankers Association's Edward Yingling. An executive with the Financial Services Roundtable worried, "If you argue against the agency, then you could be incorrectly painted as arguing against consumer protection." Americans for Financial Reform -- a new coalition including AARP, AFL-CIO, ACORN, Consumers Union, MoveOn.org Political Action and Public Citizen -- would presumably agree, except for the word "incorrectly." A coalition statement reads, "Opposition to the Agency from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street bankers and the financial services industry is a slap in the fact to the millions of Americans who played by the rules and got burned." The Hill reported that the financial industry groups opposing Obama's proposal are considering the services of a number of PR firms including Powell Tate, Vox Global, Goddard Claussen and Direct Impact.

As the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill nears a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, environmental groups are "teetering at the edge of existential crisis," writes Josh Harkinson. "Almost all environmental groups agree that Waxman-Markey is far from ideal," but some are supporting it, while others "believe the bill is so deeply flawed it might actually make matters worse." Critics say the bill "lines the pockets of polluters with little to show for it. The most it would cut carbon emissions by 2020 is 17 percent below 1990 levels, nowhere near the 25 to 40 percent reduction sought by scientists and international climate negotiators." Other concerns are that the bill may decrease clean energy production, as it would overrule higher renewable mandates in states like California; it would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants; and it would auction just 15 percent of emissions permits, giving a whopping 50 percent "to the fossil fuel industry for free." Some environmentalists blame the United States Climate Action Partnership, "a coalition of industry and moderate environmental groups," for sticking with a "quietly hammered out" agreement developed during the Bush administration. Others criticize President Obama, "who spoke out in favor of auctioning off pollution permits during his campaign ... but is now thought likely to sign whatever bill crosses his desk." Meanwhile, the industry front group Cooler Heads Coalition is planning efforts to oppose the bill, with "scientific skeptics and legislative critics," reports Greenwire.

"Telecommunications analyst Scott Cleland, whose work is bankrolled by companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, also signed on as a hired gun for Microsoft earlier this year," reports National Journal. Cleland is "a frequent critic of Google" who "runs Precursor, an industry research and consulting firm, and chairs NetCompetition.org, which he describes as 'a pro-competition e-forum funded by broadband companies.'" Last year, Cleland released a controversial report "alleging that Google 'is by far the largest user of Internet bandwidth,' the company's share of bandwidth usage is rising rapidly, and its bandwidth use 'is orders of magnitude greater than its payment for its cost.'" Not surprisingly, Google disputed the report, but independent voices like Free Press' Tim Karr also faulted Cleland's "payola punditry."

President Obama's nominee for Army Secretary has requested $40 million in earmarks to be added to the defense appropriations bill. Rep. John McHugh, a Republican congressman from New York, called for $4.7 million for the Lockheed Martin aviation corporation, which has contributed $35,000 to his congressional campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. "Rockwell Collins, Inc., a defense contractor with a facility in upstate New York would receive $2 million under the requests. ... Rockwell Collins until this year had been a client of PMA Group lobbying firm, which closed after it was the target of an FBI investigation into campaign finance violations. PMA’s political action committee, its employees and its clients gave $160,250 to McHugh’s congressional campaigns." McHugh is the top Republican serving on the House Armed Services Committee.

The former CEO of PR giant Burson-Marsteller has been chosen for a top post with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As the Chamber's vice chairman, Tom Bell will support the business lobby group's "biggest marketing/lobbying campaign to 'support free enterprise,' which the powerful business group believes is under attack by the Obama Administration." Chamber CEO Tom Donohue says the Chamber "will spend 'tens of millions of dollars annually' to counter inroads made by 'union leaders, some environmentalists and a growing force of anti-business activists' that are pushing to 'close trading markets, lock down capital markets, expand entitlements and raise taxes and debt to unsustainable levels.'"