Chamber targets GOP lawmakers in new ads for tax reform

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday launched a seven-figure advertising campaign to promote tax reform, as President Trump turns his focus to the issue.

The Chamber is partnering with The Business Council of New York State on ads that target several GOP House members from the state who could be vulnerable in the midterm elections. The television and digital ads show people at work arguing that a tax-code rewrite would help the economy and working families.

The new ad campaign comes the same week Congress returned to Washington following its August recess. GOP lawmakers and the White House have said they want to overhaul the tax code by the end of the year, and Trump has started to give speeches making the case for tax reform.

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Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s senior vice president and chief policy officer, said the group will be “holding lawmakers accountable to make sure [tax reform] gets done for the American people.”

“We need lawmakers from all sides of the political spectrum to hear from their constituents — the country has been waiting long enough for a fair tax code that encourages growth and opportunity,” Bradley said in a news release.

New York GOP Reps. Dan Donovan, John Faso, Elise Stefanik, John Katko and Chris Collins are all targeted in the ads. They are all targets of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the 2018 elections.

The Chamber said it plans to expand its ad campaign to other states in future weeks and months.

The business group isn’t the only organization that has been running ads to urge lawmakers to back a tax overhaul that lowers rates and is aimed at growing the economy. Other groups that have launched ad campaigns include the Business Roundtable, the House GOP-allied American Action Network and groups backed by billionaire GOP donors Charles and David Koch.

Meanwhile, a campaign backed by liberal groups called “Not One Penny” has been running ads urging lawmakers to oppose tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations.