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The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee faces the toughest race of his 19-year congressional career.
March 8 -
The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics — news that comes at an uncomfortable time, since Bachus is currently in the midst of a re-election fight.
February 10
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Credit Union National Association launched an unprecedented independent radio campaign here Sunday to help save House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus, the 10-term incumbent who is being challenged by a Tea Party-backed candidate in Tuesday's Republican primary.
The so-called independent expenditure is unprecedented because the trade association has never been forced to help save long-time incumbents — let alone committee chairmen — in inter-party battles.
The $28,000 in ads are running on local radio in Alabama's Sixth Congressional District Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and part of Montgomery. "We're blanketing the district on radio during drive time," said Trey Hawkins, political director for CUNA, which will spend more than $4 million on congressional campaigns contributions this election.
Under federal election rules independent expenditures such as this one cannot be coordinated with a candidate or the candidate's campaign. CUNA has spent far more on some previous independent exenditures but this one is important because of the role Bachus will play in any credit union legislature this year--like the member business loan bill--even as he has vowed not to serve as chairman of the Financial Services Committee next term if reelected.
Bachus was one of only six members of Congress to vote against HR 1151, the 1998 CU Membership Access Act but since then has emerged as one of the main supporters of credit unions in Congress. His chief opponent in Tuesday's primary is Republican state Sen. Scott Beason.
Bachus has been dogged by the right wing of his part for supporting the 2009 bank bailout bill, known as TARP. More recently he has been criticized for allegations he profited from trading on inside information he learned through his role as committee chairman.
