If you've watched any local television lately, you have probably seen an advertisement from the "Committee for Truth in Politics" that is anything but true. Americans for Financial Reform responded to the advertisement in a recent e-mail to its members:

You may have seen this ad from the "Committee for Truth in Politics" on TV that claims that financial reform is really a $4 trillion bank bailout - a claim that doesn't resemble any truth, as Factcheck.org explains. And where did this group get the idea to say black is white and up is down? From a man named Frank Luntz.

Frank Luntz is a pollster for many of the corporations that created our financial meltdown, including Merrill Lynch and bear Sterns. This is the same Luntz whose health insurance reform talking points - on how to best stir up fear and confusion in the American people to derail reform and protect insurance industry profits - showed up across the web and in the mouths of lawmakers. So it shouldn't be surprising that he's at it again, this time writing a 17-page memo on how to kill financial reform.

Learn more by reading Americans for Financial Reform Director Heather Booth's response on the Huffington Post.

CCAG is committed to our financial security, and is partnered with Americans for Financial Reform to push for the change we need in light of the global economic crisis.

The financial industry is spending millions to block the creation of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Please join CCAG and help us stand up to these big special interests.

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama reinforced his ambitious agenda to fix the economy and enact financial reform, including measures to hold Big Banks accountable for their reckless actions that led to our financial crisis and the loss of millions of jobs:

"The House has passed financial reform...And the lobbyists are already trying to kill it. Well, we cannot let them win this fight. And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back."

Take Action Now! Click here to write to your Senators and tell them to stand with you. Tell them to hold the Big Banks accountable for bringing down the economy!

After you've written, be sure to call Senator Dodd at (202) 224-3121. Thank him for supporting the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) without weakening states' ability to protect consumers and to please continue to fight for an independent CFPA.

Click on the read more link below to learn about Americans for Financial Reform.

Why do we need State consumer protection laws, once we have the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)?

States must be able to address problems within their borders, before they become nation-wide problems. Purely local problems do not need national legislation. These issues are best dealt with at the State and local levels.

Won’t this result in the CFPA and the States issuing rules on the same topic?

No. Historically, the States have stepped in where Federal policymakers have failed to establish adequate protections. The CFPA is intended to avert such failures in the future. If the CFPA does its job, it will ensure that consumers are adequately protected, and States will not feel compelled to go further. State legislators are subject to the same pressures as all other policy makers, and they do not seek out reasons to push back against the lending industry. Keeping alive the States’ traditional role will provide a backstop against lapses at the federal level and extra assurance that consumers will be appropriately protected. This will also incent industry to cooperate with efforts by the CFPA to issue protections that are appropriately robust and effective.

Are there other advantages to retaining the State’s traditional role in policymaking?

State laws responding to local problems provide useful models and data points for policymakers in other States and at the Federal level. This keeps our policies vibrant and innovative, and enables Federal policymakers to develop best practices based on the experiences of the States.

Click here to continue reading two news clips about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

The Better Choices for Connecticut coalition rallied at the Capitol this week to oppose cuts to vital services and to express support for increasing revenues instead. The Better Choices plan proposes raising income taxes for the state's wealthiest residents--those who make $200,000+ every year--and closing corporate tax loopholes.

Governor Jodi Rell's proposal is to balance the budget on the backs of the poor by cutting much-needed services. This is far from a "shared sacrifice" when she has failed to ask the state's wealthiest residents to pay their fair share of taxes.

Connecticut can maintain quality services and balance the budget by asking for more from those who can best afford it.

Learn more about the Better Choices for CT proposal on the coalition's website.

More videos from the March 25th rally can be viewed below, just click on the "read more" link.