Documents on Rep. Cannon’s website nearly identical to Merchants Payments Coalition

[maddezmom]

Documents on Rep. Cannon’s website
By Bob Cusack
Posted: 06/18/08 07:00 PM
Rep. Chris Cannon’s (R-Utah) House website has documents describing credit card fees that are nearly identical to the talking points of an industry coalition that is backing his legislation on the issue.


The employer group, called the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC), is lobbying for a bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Cannon that would make significant changes to how credit card transaction fees on merchants are set. The so-called interchange fees have set up a fierce lobbying battle between merchants and credits cards as well as the banking industry.



Under a headline “Chris Cares” on Cannon’s website , a question is posted: “Why are Interchange fees hidden?” The answer listed is 302 words, with almost every word identical to those in MPC’s white papers posted on its website, unfaircreditcardfees.com . The only difference between the MPC’s talking points and Cannon’s posting is that the lawmaker does not include the industry group’s headings.


Cannon does not cite the MPC on his website.


In another post, Cannon’s site asks, “What are Interchange fees?” The first four paragraphs, except for headlines, are the same as the industry group’s white paper. The last two paragraphs of the Cannon answer are similar to a posting on creditcards.com . The only difference is that Cannon’s site uses a “which” instead of “that.”



more:http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/documents-on-rep.-cannons-website-2008-06-18.html