Lobbyists regroup after public beats bailout bill

A letter signed by more than 50 trade groups said lawmakers had to find a way to "prevent a meltdown" of the nation's capital markets before businesses and people found it impossible to get loans.

The note, whose signees included the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable, said Congress should act this week "to address this crisis."

A day after the House turned the measure down and the stock market's Dow Jones industrial average dropped 778 points, a senior Bush administration official said the White House was rounding up outside groups to pressure lawmakers to vote "yes" when Congress takes up the rescue legislation anew. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.

Business groups remained dour Tuesday over the week's setbacks.

"Part of the problem here is that Congress has two ears," said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, a trade organization that represents 100 of the largest financial services companies in the country.

"In one they have constituents asking, 'Why are we helping industry with this self-inflicted wound? This bill doesn't affect me.' In the other ear, they were hearing doom and gloom" from the administration and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, said Talbott.

R. Bruce Josten of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce described Monday's loss in the House this way: "We were overrun 40 to 1," meaning constituents opposed to the legislation contacted their lawmakers in overwhelming margins.

The Chamber of Commerce delivered tough talk of its own to Congress, telling members in a letter just hours before the vote that unless the House acted favorably, "Americans will not tolerate those who stood by and let the calamity happen."

It also said that in its annual compilation of how individual lawmakers vote on issues of importance to business, it would include their votes on the rescue plan--in effect daring them to oppose the legislation.