Alexandria, VA – The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) reacted positively this evening to the Senate’s passage of the Brownback Motion to Instruct the Financial Regulatory Reform Conference. The motion directs conferees to accept the House of Representative’s Campbell Amendment, which exempts dealers from new financial oversight. The Brownback Motion was passed by a vote of 60 to 30.

“AIADA is pleased to have an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate on record supporting auto dealers,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “We also recognize that the true battle lies ahead, and will take place behind closed conference doors. All eyes are now on the conferees, and we are hopeful they will accept the language of the House of Representatives, the instructions of the Senate, and the wishes of their own constituents and exempt dealers from the final financial reform bill. Dealers are already heavily regulated at the state and federal levels. More and redundant oversight will needlessly strain these small businesses and prevent them from offering financing options to customers.”

AIADA has worked for months to include an exemption for dealers in finance reform. Last week, nearly 250 of AIADA’s dealer members gathered in Washington, D.C. to visit Capitol Hill and urge their Senators to support the Brownback amendment to exempt dealers. Dealers now plan to reach out to conference members and remind them that their small businesses played no part in the financial downturn and should not be targeted in a bill aimed at reforming Wall Street banks.